Xiaomi Redmi 3 review: Precious little one

Display

The Xiaomi Redmi 3 features a 5" HD IPS - 0.3" bigger than the one on the Redmi 2. The resolution is the same and on the larger screen, that means a slightly lower pixel density of 294ppi. That's still borderline Retina-grade, and it is still more than enough for crisp images and sharp text.

Taking a closer look at it under our digital microscope reveals a standard RGB arrangement of the sub-pixels that make up the Xiaomi Redmi 3 LCD panel.

Unfortunately, there is no information on the glass covering the display, and there is a good chance it isn't of the scratch-resistant kind.

The Xiaomi Redmi 3 has a relatively high maximum brightness of 520nits. At the lowest level, the screen is also spectacularly dim as well - 1.2nits.

With an average deviation (DeltaE) of 5.2 the screen's color accuracy is about average. By sliding the screen's color temperature all the way to Warm, we were able to get out better color rendering, which we'd consider good all thing's considered. The Avg. Delta E, in this case, falls to 3.8 (remember it needs to be below 3 to be considered calibrated color output), but it comes at the expense of the maximum brightness, and it gets lower to 488nits.

Display test	50% brightness			100% brightness
	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio
Xiaomi Redmi 2	0.30	273	943	0.58	561	974
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2	0.17	162	953	0.492	467	953
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3	0.16	152	927	0.42	403	953
Xiaomi Redmi 3	0.19	204	1091	0.42	520	1238
Meizu m2 note	0.16	183	1096	0.42	473	1108
ZTE Nubia Z9 mini	0.26	225	875	0.44	394	895
Microsoft Lumia 550	0.21	203	958	0.57	546	963
Oppo F1	0.24	200	833	0.46	408	897
Meizu m1 metal	0.08	54	720	0.50	390	780

Outdoors, the Xiaomi Redmi 3 is an above average performer regarding sunlight legibility. The glass on top of the display is reflective, but most of the time you'll have no problem seeing what's happening on the screen.

Sunlight contrast ratio

• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  4.615
• HTC One A9
  4.274
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
  4.124
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  4.09
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  4.019
• OnePlus X
  3.983
• Oppo R7s
  3.964
• Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
  3.879
• Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
  3.873
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  3.859
• Apple iPhone 6
  3.838
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  3.816
• Apple iPhone 6s
  3.783
• Meizu Pro 5
  3.781
• Vivo X5Pro
  3.706
• BlackBerry Priv
  3.645
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  3.53
• Microsoft Lumia 950
  3.512
• Oppo R7 Plus
  3.499
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  3.422
• Meizu MX5
  3.416
• Oppo R7
  3.32
• Samsung Galaxy J2
  3.235
• Motorola Moto X Play
  3.222
• Lenovo Vibe Shot
  3.113
• LG Nexus 5X
  3.092
• Huawei Mate S
  3.073
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
  3.065
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  3.023
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  2.97
• Huawei Mate 8
  2.949
• HTC One S
  2.901
• Sony Xperia Z5
  2.876
• Microsoft Lumia 550
  2.851
• Sony Xperia Z5 compact
  2.784
• LG V10
  2.744
• Xiaomi Redmi 3
  2.735
• Sony Xperia M5
  2.69
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  2.641
• Xiaomi Mi 4c
  2.574
• Microsoft Lumia 640
  2.563
• Motorola Moto G 4G
  2.546
• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
  2.525
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  2.503
• Motorola Moto G
  2.477
• Huawei G8
  2.471
• Sony Xperia Z
  2.462
• Huawei Honor 7
  2.406
• ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
  2.382
• HTC One E9+
  2.305
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
  2.253
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3
  2.249
• Sony Xperia C4 Dual
  2.235
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  2.233
• LG Nexus 5
  2.228
• Huawei P8
  2.196
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
  2.166
• OnePlus Two
  2.165
• HTC One X
  2.158
• Archos 50 Diamond
  2.134
• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  2.119
• Huawei P8lite
  2.078
• Moto G 3rd gen max manual
  2.026
• Sony Xperia E4g
  1.972
• OnePlus One
  1.961
• Meizu m2 note
  1.892
• BlackBerry Leap
  1.892
• HTC Butterfly
  1.873
• ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
  1.759
• Sony Xperia U
  1.758
• Asus Zenfone Selfie
  1.68
• Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
  1.675
• ZTE Nubia Z9
  1.659
• Motorola Moto E
  1.545
• Sony Xperia M
  1.473
• Xiaomi Redmi 2
  1.311
• Sony Xperia C
  1.283
• Meizu MX
  1.221

Battery life

Xiaomi Redmi 3 has almost double the battery capacity of its predecessor - a 4,100 mAh battery is a serious battery for a 5" device.

Before we continue with the battery life test results, we want to announce a change in our battery testing routine. Starting with the Xiaomi Redmi 3, we will be testing all devices on a fixed level of brightness of 200nits instead of merely positioning the slider at 50%.

This change has been a popular user request for quite some time now. Whereas before we would set the brightness slider midway on the phone's brightness slider, which worked out to a relatively random brightness number, we would now aim for a fixed level.

The level of 200nits, which we've chosen for our tests, has become somewhat of an industry standard. But more importantly, it's both the median and average value of the brightness levels at which we've tested all reviewed devices so far. This means our older battery life results will remain relevant and comparable.

So, we ran our battery test, and the Xiaomi Redmi 3 scored a 107h rating, which means you can count on the battery to last 4 and a half days if you do an hour each of calling, web browsing and video playback a day.

Such usage pattern is of course entirely artificial, but we've established it, so our battery results are comparable across devices. You can input a usage pattern of your own over at our full battery test score table, where you can also compare it to all of the smartphones we've tested.

The Redmi 3 did well on all tests - 3G talk, web browsing, video playback, and it posted very impressive scores on standby, which makes it a great performer. The Snapdragon 616 chip seems quite energy efficient, but we should mostly thank the 4,100mAh battery for that.

Our proprietary score also includes a standby battery draw test, which is not featured in our battery test scorecard but is calculated in the total endurance rating. Our battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you want to learn more about it.

Connectivity

The Xiaomi Redmi 3 supports 7 LTE bands, and you can tap to an LTE network on either SIM, but once you do, the second one will be limited to GSM connectivity only. As for that, the Redmi 3 also offers tri-band GSM connectivity. There is tri-band 3G connectivity with HSPA support.

The rest of the connectivity features include single-band Wi-Fi b/g/n/ support and Wi-Fi Direct. There is also support for Bluetooth 4.1, GPS with GLONASS and Beidou, plus an FM radio.

A microUSB 2.0 port handles charging and data connections. Media transfer mode is supported for accessing the phone's built-in memory over a USB connection. The microUSB port also supports USB On-the-go for connecting USB peripherals such as pen drives, keyboards or USB hard drives.

Wireless screen mirroring is available via the Miracast protocol.

The IR blaster is located on the top and coupled with the right software, it can be used to operate almost any remotely controlled home appliance, turning the Xiaomi Redmi 3 into a universal remote. Xiaomi provides its MiRemote app right out of the box.

MiRemote app