There has been stiff competition in the sub-Rs. 10, 000 segment, and majority of smartphones launched lately in this price band have great specifications. This year in particular has been a good one for Indian consumers looking for budget phones, as companies are racing to offer more for less.
Xiaomi, which has had a great run in the Indian smartphone market with the well-received Redmi Note 3( Review) and Mi Max ( Review) , is keeping up the pace with a new smartphone priced below Rs. 10, 000. The Xiaomi Redmi 3S and Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime are the company’s latest attempts to strengthen its position in the segment, and they both also tout the ’Made in India’ label. Since its debut in India two years ago, Xiaomi has managed to earn a reputation for offering great smartphone hardware at affordable prices, and these new models are trying to stay true to that formula.
Both the Redmi 3S variants sport all-metal bodies and pack large batteries. We got our hands on the Redmi 3S Prime, which offers more RAM, more storage space, and a fingerprint scanner for a small price increase. Does the new Redmi 3S Prime offer great value, or does it just end up being a smaller version of the Redmi Note 3? We try to find out in our review.
Look and feel
When we first saw the Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime, it looked like a mini Redmi Note 3 from nearly every angle. Xiaomi phones have started to look quite similar in design. For the company, this might be a way to establish a linear look throughout its product portfolio but sadly this is what Samsung did few years ago with its Galaxy smartphones, and we weren’t fans of that move for long.
In this case, the front of the Redmi 3S Prime is almost identical to that of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, except for the placement of the sensors above the display. We get capacitive Home, Back, and Recents buttons right below the display, and the sensors and front camera sitting on either side of the earpiece just above it. To some extent, this phone also looks inspired by the Mi Max which features a massive 6.44-inch display. However at 8.5mm thick, the Redmi 3S Prime isn’t as sleek as the more premium Mi Max ( Review) which is just 7.5mm thick.
The rear panel packs the primary camera with its LED flash, both placed in the upper right corner. The back also has the fingerprint scanner placed in the middle. There are thin lines running across the top and bottom of the back of the Redmi 3S Prime, which we have also seen before on the Redmi Note 3 and Mi Max.