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.