Xiaomi has launched a new variant of its Redmi Note 3 smartphone in China. This new variant is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 SoC. Earlier in November 2015, the company had launched a MediaTek Helio X10-powered Redmi Note 3, which was earlier believed to be launching in India, soon. However, after the launch of the new variant, we reached out to Xiaomi, and it confirmed that the Snapdragon-powered variant of the phone will be coming to India. The new, Snapdragon 650-powered variant is priced at CNY 999 (Rs. 10,100 approx), and will go on sale in China, from this Sunday.
The new Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 essentially has the same hardware as the one launched earlier, with the exception of the new SoC and a new camera. As mentioned, the phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 SoC, earlier called the Snapdragon 618. This is a hexa-core SoC, with 4+2 core setup. The four-core cluster uses Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.8GHz, while the other uses Cortex-A72 cores clocked at 1.2GHz. The new smartphone will come in two variants — 16GB and 32GB of storage, and 2GB and 3GB of RAM, respectively. The phone has a 5.5-inch Full HD display, with a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels, and Xiaomi claims that it will offer 178-degree viewing angles.
Read: Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Launched in India
The phone runs on MiUI 7, layered on Android Lollipop. The phone is 4G-enabled, and will support dual-SIM slots. It has a 4000mAh battery, which the company claims can charge upto 50 percent in one hour. The other new feature on the phone is the new 16MP rear camera, which supports phase detection autofocus (PDAF) and dual-LED flash. It has the same 5MP front-facing camera, as well. The phone has a metal build, and a fingerprint scanner at the back. It weighs 164 grams.
Xiaomi is also going to announce the much awaited Mi5 in February 2016. Xiaomi’s flagship smartphone will sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC, and is expected to feature 4GB of RAM and 16/64GB of storage. The phone is suggested to include a 16MP rear camera and a 8MP front-facing camera. Earlier today, the phone was accidentally listed on an online seller’s website, with full specifications and images.