The Redmi 1S and Redmi 2 (along with the Redmi 2 Prime) have done well for Xiaomi. Together with Motorola's Moto E, these phones have given buyers on a tight budget some good options. These are also the prime examples of value for money. The budget phone segment would not have been the same without the Moto E, or for that matter, the Redmi 1S and Redmi 2.

This year, things are a little different. The Moto E3 doesn't exist in the Indian market (for now) and even in places where it has been displayed, like in the UK, it doesn't exactly dazzle. Xiaomi's Redmi 3S Prime on the other hand, instantly strikes you as a greatest hit of the budget segment. And once you start using it, the impression only gains in strength. In fact, the Redmi 3S is so good that it makes you want to question the existence of the Redmi Note 3.



Design and build quality

Not long ago, Xiaomi sized-up the Redmi Note 3 to make the gigantic Mi Max. Now, it just shrunk the Redmi Note 3 down to make the Redmi 3S Prime. The Redmi 3S Prime is simply the Redmi Note 3, only scaled down to fit the Redmi 2 Prime's cute and comfy form factor. 5-inch phones are hard to come by these days. The Redmi 3S Prime belongs to that rare category of smartphones. And to me, that's a huge thing. You see, I just love 4.7-5-inch phones. They just have the right size. The Redmi 3S Prime, as expected, feels right in the hands. It's not as small as last year's Redmi 2 Prime (which was 4.7-inch) and yet not as phablet-sized as the Redmi Note 3 (which is 5.5-inch).

Size is not the only "big" highlight of Xiaomi's new ultra-budget smartphone. The Redmi 3S Prime boasts of a full-metal body: a first for any smartphone in and around this product category. The top and bottom ends are of course plastic with brushed metal finish and have a slightly different hue as compared to the rest of the body, but given its low price, I think you should give it the benefit of doubt. An all-metal smartphone at just under Rs 9,000 was a sight for soar eyes, until now.

Also Read: Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 review: Mr dependable like Rahul Dravid

The Redmi 3S Prime weighs in at just over 140 grams, which isn't quite that much when you consider the fact that it's housing a 4,100mAh battery inside. What is remarkable here is that even though it crams in such a ridiculously huge battery inside, the phone feels practically the same no matter how you hold it. An even distribution of weight throughout its body, coupled with a 5-inch form factor ensures the Redmi 3S Prime isn't as slippery as some of the other metal-clad smartphones in the market, including the Redmi Note 3. But it is a metal smartphone, after all. Things are bound to get a little slippery every now and then.

On the front, a chrome strip helps a great deal in balancing the equation, enhancing grip. So much so that the Redmi 3S Prime is easily the most ergonomic all-metal smartphones at its price point right now. The power button and the volume rocker are on the right, while the dualSIM hybrid card slot lies on the left. The phone's speaker vent is located on the rear lower end.

The Redmi 3S Prime is simply the Redmi Note 3, only scaled down to fit the Redmi 2 Prime's cute and comfy form factor

The Redmi 3S Prime has some kind of scratch-resistance protective coating on-board, but folks back at Xiaomi wouldn't tell me exactly what kind. "For protective glass, we use multiple suppliers and can't comment on which exact one, but its quality is up to what you'd expect from the premium competition," is what a Xiaomi spokesperson told me. You might want to keep a tempered glass at hand if you're planning to buy this phone.



Display

The Redmi 3S Prime comes with a 5-inch HD IPS LCD display with a 720x1280 pixels resolution which roughly translates to 294ppi pixel density. Brightness levels are just about adequate and adaptive brightness works as it should.

Colours look rich and vibrant -- a little warm by default -- but there's a manual mode inside that helps achieve better results. There's also an in-built reading mode that turns colours to the warmer end of the spectrum for night-time reading.

The Redmi 3S Prime is sadly missing out on Xiaomi's hallmark Sunlight Display technology. This means even though the phone has good enough brightness levels indoors, these go for an all-out toss when you're out in direct sunlight, so do the phone's viewing angles. Despite its somewhat low brightness output, the Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime still manages to better rival phones around its price category in display department, especially in colour accuracy.



Software

The Redmi 3S Prime runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow-based MIUI 7 out-of-the-box, much like the Mi Max. As expected, you get a user interface with lots of fancy colours schemes and animations, and no app drawer. Latest software iteration does not necessarily translate to drastic changes in Xiaomi's interface. There's generally very little difference between a KitKat-based MIUI and a Marshmallow-based MIUI which could be a deal-breaker for stock Android fanatics, even more so because Xiaomi's MIUI kills off key Android 6 interface elements, like Now on Tap.

If, however you are not a "stock Android fanatic", MIUI 7 offers all the bells and whistles that you'd want from a fully-functional operating system, including themes. Moreover, the upcoming MIUI 8 is expected to bring back features like Now on Tap. Even if it doesn't, the MIUI 8 is definitely going to be a thorough upgrade to its predecessor. I've been using the MIUI 8 beta for a while now, and some of its features like scrollable screenshots, second space and dual apps are worth the wait.

Also Read: Xiaomi Mi Max review: A giant that's surprisingly light on its feet

Additionally, the Redmi 3S comes with an IR-blaster that can be used (in tandem with the Mi Remote app or even some third-party solutions) to control smart home appliances.



Performance and battery life

The Redmi 3S Prime is powered by a 1.4GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processer coupled with Adreno 505 GPU and 3GB of RAM. It comes with 32GB of internal memory which is further expandable by up to 128GB via a microSD hybrid card slot. The dualSIM phone supports 4G LTE (VoLTE-ready) and USB OTG. There's no NFC though.

I'll be really quick with this one. The Redmi 3S Prime is everything that the Redmi Note 3 is in terms of all-round performance -- which means it is crazy good -- without the overheating. That's right. The Redmi Note 3 is prone to some overheating. A new software update is said to have fixed the issue, somewhat. The Redmi 3S Prime doesn't heat up at all.

The Redmi 3S Prime is quick and responsive in every sense of the word. There are no visible lags or stutter while navigating between home screens and/or multitasking in our review unit. Remember, its speed and multitasking prowess are being compared with phones in this price range, which means phones like the Coolpad Note 3, the Meizu M3 Note and even the LeEco Le 1S. The Redmi 3S Prime beats all these phones in all-round usage, and nails even the Redmi Note 3 down because it doesn't heat up.

The Redmi 3S Prime is everything that the Redmi Note 3 is in terms of all-round performance -- which means it is crazy good -- without the overheating

Basic games are handled well, but GPU-intensive games are prone to some occasional lags when being played at maxed out settings for longer periods.

The mono speaker on-board the Redmi 3S Prime is average at best. It gets loud but there is often some digitisation observed at peak volume. Also, it's rear placement means sound is muffled when the phone is kept with the back facing down. Voice quality during calls made with the Redmi 3S Prime was excellent.

The Redmi 3S is backed by a 4,100mAh battery which is non-removable. The Redmi Note 3 and the Mi Max have set new standards in battery life in their respective price brackets. The Redmi 3S Prime with its 5-inch 720p display and heat-efficient processor follows suit. Xiaomi claims almost 2 days worth of battery life on this one. And it gets close. Moderate to extreme usage saw us cross the one whole day barrier with ease, while toning down further should get most users one and a half days out of the phone. Extreme usage scenarios got us close to 15 hours on the Redmi 3S Prime, which is kind of amazing. For your reference, the Redmi 3S Prime beats the Redmi Note 3 in battery output. Figures are more or less close to what you get on the Mi Max and that thing has a monster 4,850mAh battery.

The phone supports Qualcomm's Quick Charge but sadly it doesn't ship with a fast charger in the box which is kind of a bummer because charging that thing really takes a lot of time (over 2 hours) using a standard charger.



Camera

The Redmi 3S Prime sports a 13-megapixel camera on the rear with f/2.0 aperture, Phase-Detect Autofocus along with an LED flash. On the front you get a 5-megapixel snapper. Honestly, none of the new-age Xiaomi phones -- Mi 5, Redmi Note 3 -- have really impressed as far as camera performance is concerned. They've been just about average.

The Redmi 3S is more or less on similar lines, only overall, I feel it does a better job as compared to the Redmi Note 3. The Mi 5 still is the best Xiaomi camera phone right now.

The phone captures some good-looking photos in good light with good amount of detail and mostly spot-on (if a little oversaturated) colours. Dynamic range could have been better but then none of the camera phones at under Rs 10,000 have dynamic range to really brag about. They are just about average. The Redmi 3S is a tad better.

Xiaomi's phone is also able to capture well-enough photos in tricky light situations with good detail. Low light photos are prone to noise.

The front-facing selfie camera is just about average with some noise, even in good lighting.

The Redmi 3S Prime, in the grand scheme of things, is the best camera phone that you can buy right now in this price bracket without burning a hole in your pocket.



Should you buy it?

Xiaomi makes some good phones. More importantly, it makes good phones that are also aggressively priced. The combination is quite a steal, I tell you. But not always. Rival companies are catching up really fast. The Mi 5 is perhaps the company's biggest lost opportunity in India. The Mi 5 although an excellent all-rounder, hasn't been a hit like its previous flagship phone, the Mi 4. This is because the OnePlus 3 trumped it big time. The Redmi Note 3 was a glimmer of hope then, but even that phone is facing some stiff competition from the likes of the LeEco Le 2.

The Redmi 3S Prime therefore is a very important phone for the company. This is because it follows the Redmi 2 Prime, a massively popular smartphone in India. Honestly, when company vice president for global, Hugo Barra told me (not long ago) that the Redmi 3 (the original Redmi 2 Prime successor) may not come to India at all, I was a little disappointed. The Redmi 2 Prime was special; it was in fact a benchmark defining phone in its product category for a really long time. To not have its successor come to India was just sad, for me, and for everyone who had patiently been looking forward to it.

But the Redmi 3S Prime is here, and it's every bit as awesome as the phone that it replaces. It looks good, feels good, has a neat display, dependable performance, good-enough cameras and killer battery life. More importantly, it's super cheap. There's an even cheaper option in the standard Redmi 3S. You'll get lesser RAM (2GB), lesser storage (16GB) and no fingerprint scanner. But then, it also costs just Rs 6,999. Not bad, not bad at all.



Also Read: Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime quick review: Give me red-mi

Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime####8/10 #### #### Good stuff

All-metal premium build

Cute and comfy

Slick multitasker

Killer battery life #### Bad stuff

No Sunlight Display

MIUI 7 remanins a buzz-kill

No fast charger in box

Hybrid card slot ############

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