Xiaomi launches the ultra-affordable Redmi 3S in India

Xiaomi’s ultra-affordable smartphone, the Redmi 3S, that was launched in China back in June, has now arrived in India. At a launch event streamed live on Xiaomi’s community website as well as their social media accounts, the company’s vice president (Global), Hugo Barra, showed off the different variants of the Redmi 3S and explained its features.

The Redmi 3S is an upgraded variant of the Redmi 3 and Xiaomi has mostly stuck to the same design this time around. The upgraded itineration does come with a refresh in terms of hardware though, with Qualcomm’s new 64-bit class Snapdragon 430 octa-core SoC and Adreno 505 graphics engine powering the device, instead of the Snapdragon 616 octa-core processor and Adreno 405 GPU inside its predecessor.

Everything else remains the same, including a full metal body with a 5-inch HD screen, a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front facing shooter. What will definitely catch your eye is the whopping 4,100mAh battery packed inside the Redmi 3S, which the company boasts can provide up to two days of battery life with moderate usage.

You’ve got to hand it to Xiaomi for being able to pull off this engineering feat by packing such a huge battery inside a phone with a 5-inch screen, considering that its larger than the 4,050 mAh battery inside the Redmi Note 3 which features a bigger screen of 5.5 inches. Xiaomi is obviously proud of this achievement and has even coined a slogan “Power At Last” for the Redmi 3S.

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For the Indian market, Xiaomi is offering two variants of the smartphone, the Redmi 3S with 2GB RAM/16GB storage and the Redmi 3S Prime, with 3GB RAM/32GB storage, with both having storage expansion capabilities of up to 128 GB via a microSD card. Do be aware that the Redmi 3S Prime comes with a rear fingerprint sensor, which is not included in the regular Redmi 3S.

Xiaomi also announced that the new MIUI 8 will be coming soon to Redmi 3S, bringing exciting new features, such as the ability to take scrolling screenshots, calculate currency conversions, create dual app log-ins, or access split phone profiles. The company also plans to soon kick off a road show in India to promote the Redmi 3S.

As usual, Xiaomi is selling both the models at a price point that will prove very hard to beat for its rivals, with the Redmi 3S selling for approximately $105 (Rs 6,999) and the Redmi 3S Prime for about $135 (Rs 8,999).

If you’re in the market for an affordable smartphone with a great battery life, you should go for this deal and could be among the lucky ones to pick up the device at a flash sale which kicks off on August 9 at 12 PM IST on the Xiaomi India website. Good luck!

Let us know in the comments below if you manage to get your hands on the Redmi 3S or the Redmi 3S Prime!