Build quality is top-notch, the metal body is neat and sturdy.
The display is decent: it isn’t among the brightest we’ve seen, but offers deep blacks, good viewing angles and contrast. The sunlight legibility however is only average.
Battery life impressive with an endurance rating of 93h.
Rich wireless and wired connectivity options.
MIUI 8 is a clean and light Android Lollipop launcher but with rich customization options; we would’ve liked to see a more recent version of Android, though
The Snapdragon 650 is very fast for the mid-range
Video player supports every common video codec and AC3 sound but has no subtitle support.
Audio quality is excellent with an external amplifier, but average with headphones plugged in.
Camera photos are good, with average good detail and dynamic range.
The 1080p video samples are decent
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 is priced as an open-box item, but make no mistake about it - the phone can easily stand comparison to more premium competitors. Speaking of, the first place to look for solid but equally affordable competition is China.
Meizu can offer the excellent MX5 and m1 note metal. The latter was the real threat to the original Note 3. It has virtually the same 5.5" IPS 1080p display, runs on the Helio X10 chip, the camera is 13MP with a dual-LED flash, the body is made of metal, and there is even a fingerprint sensor. However now that Xiaomi upped the processing and imaging power things are decidedly in its favor.