Xiaomi’s Beijing keynote concluded today. The company has taken the wraps off three major innovations: two smartphones and a laptop. The list also includes Xiaomi’s Mi Note 3. It serves as the successor to last year’s Mi Note 2 and boasts of a dual rear camera setup and a facial recognition system. With this, Xiaomi has managed to beat Apple, who is always expected to pack its iPhone 8 (scheduled to launch on 12 September) with the same feature. Initially, the phone will be available in China; it might be available in the US by the end of the month.
The exact date of availability in the US and the Chinese market is not confirmed. It is likely to compete with Samsung's J7.
Design and LCD display
The device is a mid-range smartphone. The handset looks pretty distinctive with four-sided curved glass body on both, front and back panels. A mirror-like finish further perfects this. The body is made using a mixture of metal and aluminum. The handset features a 5.5-inch IPS LCD.
Power and storage
According to a report by India Today, the smartphone is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 660 processor. In the storage department, the handset offers 6GB of and three options regarding its inbuilt memory. There are 64GB, 12, GB and 256GB of ROM option to choose from.
Xiaomi Mi Note 3 is home to a 3,500mAh battery and runs on Android Nougat with MIUI 9 skin on top.
Camera and other features
One of the main highlights of the smartphone is its dual rear camera setup. The handset packs two 12-megapixel sensors that are further accompanied by a 4-axis Optical Image Stabilization, a Wide-Angle lens, and 2X Optical Zoom.
There’s a 16-megapixel sensor on the front panel for selfie-lovers. The front camera is integrated with AI-powered filters. There’s also a Facial Recognition Software, which enables users to unlock the handset by just looking at it. With this, Xiaomi beats Apple at bringing the software on its smartphone first.
Pricing and availability
The starting price of Xiaomi’s Mi Note 3 is approximately $400 (6GB RAM, 64GB ROM, Black color variant). There’s another option for $450 RMB (6GB RAM, 128GB ROM, Black Color variant) and for 2,999 RMB (6GB RAM, 128GB ROM, Blue color variant). The company also launched its flagship Mi Mix 2 and a MacBook-like Mi Notebook Pro laptop. Will these products be enough to deliver a tough competition to Apple? This is something that only time will tell.
