Xiaomi Redmi 3 review: Precious little one
Precious little one
The gallery
The Xiaomi Redmi 3 comes with a custom Gallery app, slightly updated since the MIUI 6. It defaults to your camera roll, but it also supports Albums, Cloud, and People. The People sorting, once chosen, sorts all of your photos by people's faces. Everything is automatic. Here you can also create a new baby album, to put your newborn pics inside.
Gallery
The integrated editor offers various effects, frames, tools (crop, mirror, straighten, rotate, fisheye, doodle) plus light adjustments that let you bring out the shadows or the highlights.
Editing an image
Music player
The MIUI music player is a custom app with a well laid out, easy to navigate interface. It features two tabs - the first one is cloud music, similar to Google Music service provided by Xiaomi while the second tab has your own local and cloud music.
The player has cool effects, transitions, and transparent elements, especially on the expandable Now Playing section.
Music Player with streaming service* My music • Now Playing screen • Lyrics
Xiaomi Redmi 3 offers customizable equalizers within the phone's Settings menu - there are a few default presets already available for use. You can also try Xiaomi's MiSound enhancer, which comes into play when you use headphones, and especially, a Xiaomi-branded headset.
Audio enhancements and equalizers
An FM radio app is also available. The Redmi 3 requires a headset to use as an antenna. FM recording is also available.
FM radio
Video player
Xiaomi Redmi 3 features a separate video app, which offers a paid video service. Whether you will open your files from the Video app (Local setting) or File Explorer - it doesn't matter.
The video player interface is very basic, subtitles and pop-up play are not supported.
Video player
Audio output is mostly good
The Xiaomi Redmi 3 didn’t quite manage to impress us with loudness (it was only average), but its output with an active external amplifier was clean. With no weak points to its performance, it will do an excellent job of powering your home or car stereo.
Plug in a pair of headphones and stereo crosstalk skyrockets, but other readings remain stellar. It’s not a perfect showing, but it’s more than you can expect at this price point.
| Test | Frequency response | Noise level | Dynamic range | THD | IMD + Noise | Stereo crosstalk |
| Xiaomi Redmi 3 | +0.02, -0.07 | -94.2 | 90.5 | 0.0022 | 0.0096 | -93.7 |
| Xiaomi Redmi 3 (headphones attached) | +0.12, -0.01 | -92.7 | 90.1 | 0.032 | 0.076 | -44.2 |
| Xiaomi Redmi 2 | +0.06, -0.04 | -94.8 | 95.9 | 0.026 | 0.016 | -95.8 |
| Xiaomi Redmi 2 (headphones attached) | +0.04, -0.06 | -94.0 | 91.0 | 0.039 | 0.053 | -70.0 |
| Samsung Galaxy J2 | +0.05, -0.25 | -93.0 | 93.0 | 0.031 | 0.029 | -92.8 |
| Samsung Galaxy J2 (headphones attached) | +0.03, -0.16 | -93.2 | 93.2 | 0.0042 | 0.056 | -58.9 |
| Meizu m1 metal | +0.02, -0.12 | -93.6 | 93.5 | 0.0016 | 0.0068 | -93.9 |
| Meizu m1 metal (headphones attached) | +0.03, -0.16 | -93.2 | 93.2 | 0.0042 | 0.056 | -58.9 |
| Oppo R1x | +0.01, -0.04 | -93.5 | 92.9 | 0.0010 | 0.400 | -94.7 |
| Oppo R1x (headphones attached) | +0.22, -0.03 | -92.6 | 90.4 | 0.0029 | 1.144 | -69.8 |
| Motorola Moto E (2015) | +0.02 -0.06 | -90.8 | 91.1 | 0.0026 | 0.097 | -90.9 |
| Motorola Moto E (2015) (headphones attached) | +0.05, -0.06 | -90.2 | 90.7 | 0.0029 | 0.063 | -51.4 |
Xiaomi Redmi 3 frequency response
You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.
Reader comments
- Aleksa
- 11 Mar 2022
- nUk
Yes, ai have this phone and restart
- Tom
- 29 Jul 2017
- utD
Purchased online just 6months ago.due to charging problem lost all the photos and videos taken on a foreign tour.approached four days to an authorised repair agency. Yet it is not working. I think it is the case for many people. So I cannot recommend...
- Dharmbir
- 13 Oct 2016
- gN{
Phone is automatic restart