Xiaomi swaps plastic for metal on the new Redmi Note 3

[Wireless News]

http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/a1qUUK89lWFyqoC75oj7gA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3NfbGVnbztmaT1maWxsO2g9ODY7cT03NTt3PT EzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/homerun/digital_trends_973/c9ceaed519880ed684fce75470c50e6a (http://news.yahoo.com/xiaomi-swaps-plastic-metal-redmi-110003486.html)Xiaomi, the incredibly popular smartphone and electronics brand from China, has announced a new smartphone. No, it’s not the long-awaited Mi 5, but the Redmi Note 3, a sequel to the Redmi Note 2 that was only made official back in August. What could possibly justify the updating of a phone that’s less than a few months old? Here’s what the phone is all about. There are three key changes for the Redmi Note 3. The first is the body is made from sandblasted metal, giving the device a more modern, sleeker, and more expensive style that the plastic Redmi Note 2. The body is thinner at 8.65mm, and thanks to a special high density battery that’s lighter than usual, it’s only four grams heavier than the Note 2 at 164 grams. Related: Xiaomi’s Mi Band Pulse has a heart rate sensor and costs about $16 Staying with the battery for a moment, Xiaomi has always put a large cell inside the Note series phones, and the new Note 3 has a whopping 4000mAh battery with fast charge, so it’ll be up to 50-percent capacity in an hour. A 3060mAh battery hid inside the Note 2. The other major upgrade over the Note 2 is the addition of a fingerprint sensor. It’s mounted on the rear, under the camera lens, just like Huawei and ZTE’s phones. Xiaomi claims it’ll unlock the phone in a dizzying 0.3-seconds. A metal body, a larger battery, and the fingerprint sensor separate the Note 3 from the Note 2, as almost all the other specifications are the same. The screen measures 5.5-inches and has a 1080p resolution, the processor is a MediaTek Helio X10 octa-core 64-bit chip, and there’s a choice of two models — one with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of memory, and another with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of memory. The same 13-megapixel camera with phase detection autofocus is on the rear, and there’s a 5-megapixel camera on the front. Xiaomi’s MIUI 7 covers the Android operating system. There’s no release date for the Redmi Note 3 yet, but the price has been announced, and it’s slightly higher than the Note 2. The 2GB/16GB model is the equivalent of $140, and the 3GB/32GB is around $173. Prior to its announcement, there were rumors suggesting the Redmi Note 3 would be called the Note 2 Pro.



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