Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime vs. Redmi 3s Prime: Primed up!

Retail package

All Redmis come in small paper boxes and those contain only the most crucial necessities - a 2A wall plug and a microUSB cable. Xiaomi is not bundling headphones or cases in this price range.

Redmi 3s Prime retail box • Redmi 4 Prime retail box

Size and weight

Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime spreads at 139.3 x 69.6 x 8.5 mm and weighs 144g, while the Redmi 4 Prime footprint is slightly bigger at 141.3 x 69.6 x 8.9mm. The Redmi 4 Prime also weighs a bit more at 156g.

Design

The Redmi 3s Prime and Redmi 4 Prime may have a lot in common, but design is not one of these shared elements. While both Redmi have metal bodies with the satin finish on the back being their design highlight, the similarities end there.

The Redmi 3s Prime is built in the spirit of previous generations Redmi phones with rounder edges and a frame that transitions smoothly into the rear cover piece. On the contrary, the Redmi 4 Prime has flat sides bordered by chamfers, and then the rear cover begins with a curve.

Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime next to the Redmi 3s Prime

A closer peek on the back of the Redmi 3s Prime reveals the top and bottom bands are made of plastic, no surprises here, since those cover the phone's antennas. Then there is the Redmi 4 Prime, which keeps the top plastic strip, but the bottom one is replaced by an iPhone-like tiny gray line, which allows the 4 Prime to keep the metal going all the way to the bottom.

Redmi 3s Prime • Redmi 3s Prime • Redmi 4 Prime • Redmi 4 Prime

If the chamfers, the flat frame, and the antenna shields were not enough to make a difference for you, there is also the screen glass - the Redmi 3s Prime has a perfectly flat screen, while the 4 Prime's is curved along the edges in the trendy 2.5D manner.

Redmi 3s Prime • Redmi 4 Prime

Finally, the handling of both phones is great, but the Redmi 4 Prime provides a bit more secure grip thanks to the chamfers around the frame.

Redmi 3s Prime • Redmi 3s Prime • Redmi 4 Prime • Redmi 4 Prime

Winner: Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime. Despite the strange mix of antenna strip designs, the more prominent frame with the nice chamfers and the 2.5D glass raise the Redmi 4 Prime looks above its predecessor. It's not only the better looker of the two, but its design is one of the best in the price range.

Screen

The display is where things start to get even more competitive. The Redmi 4 Prime uses a 5-inch IPS unit of 1080p resolution, which offers flagship-grade 441ppi pixel density and is actually a premium choice in this segment.

The Redmi 3s Prime, on the other hand, offers a lower 720p resolution, which drops the pixel density down to 294ppi over the same 5-inch diagonal. Even though this number seems low when compared to the Redmi 4 Prime, it's still great for a budget smartphone.

Both screens offer very good viewing angles and a crisp image, but if you put them next to each other, you will clearly notice the crisper picture on the Redmi 4 courtesy of the higher resolution.

Naturally, we tested both screens and things turned out very similar. The black levels are OK for LCD panels and, combined with the relatively high brightness, both Redmi 3s Prime and Redmi 4 Prime achieved respectable contrast ratios. There is a tiny bit of difference in the blacks of the Redmi 3s - they turned out a bit deeper, hence the higher contrast, but it's a rather insignificant difference and that can't be seen with a naked eye.

With an average deviation (DeltaE) of 7.1 the screen's color accuracy of the Redmi 3s Prime is about average. The colors are punchy, but if you want a more color accurate representation you may want to try the Warm Color option in Display Settings - it changes the color calibration to a very balanced one with an average DeltaE of 4.4.

The Redmi 4 Prime has a reasonably accurate color accuracy in Standard mode with an average DeltaE of 5.0. Opting for Warm colors takes average DeltaE to 4.6, close to the Redmi 3s Prime 4.4 result.

Overall both screens can be tuned for very good calibration, but the default mode of the Redmi 4 Prime is more accurate than the one on the Redmi 3s Prime.

Outdoors, the Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime 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 viewing the screen content.

The Redmi 4 Prime glass is no better, and in fact, it scores less than the Redmi 3s Prime and thus offers only average visibility under bright sunlight.

Sunlight contrast ratio

• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  4.615
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  4.439
• OnePlus 3
  4.424
• Samsung Galaxy S7
  4.376
• HTC One A9
  4.274
• Samsung Galaxy Note7
  4.247
• Samsung Galaxy A3
  4.241
• OnePlus 3T
  4.232
• Google Pixel XL
  4.164
• ZTE Axon 7
  4.154
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
  4.124
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  4.09
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  4.019
• OnePlus X
  3.983
• Vivo Xplay5 Elite
  3.983
• Apple iPhone 7
  3.964
• Oppo R7s
  3.964
• Huawei P9 Plus
  3.956
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  3.918
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  3.911
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  3.896
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  3.895
• Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
  3.879
• Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
  3.873
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  3.859
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
  3.817
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  3.816
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
  3.802
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  3.798
• LG V20 Max auto
  3.798
• Sony Xperia XZ
  3.795
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
  3.789
• Apple iPhone 6s
  3.783
• Meizu Pro 5
  3.781
• Microsoft Lumia 650
  3.772
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  3.756
• Oppo F1 Plus
  3.709
• Vivo X5Pro
  3.706
• Sony Xperia X Compact
  3.694
• Apple iPhone SE
  3.681
• Huawei Mate 9
  3.68
• Samsung Galaxy A7
  3.679
• Meizu PRO 6
  3.659
• BlackBerry Priv
  3.645
• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  3.588
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  3.53
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  3.526
• Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
  3.523
• Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
  3.523
• Acer Jade Primo
  3.521
• Microsoft Lumia 950
  3.512
• Oppo R7 Plus
  3.499
• nubia Z11
  3.466
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  3.422
• Meizu MX5
  3.416
• LG V20
  3.402
• Oppo R9s
  3.352
• Oppo R7
  3.32
• Xiaomi Mi 5s
  3.276
• Samsung Galaxy J2
  3.235
• Sony Xperia X Performance
  3.234
• Xiaomi Mi Note 2
  3.228
• Motorola Moto X Play
  3.222
• Huawei P9
  3.195
• Lenovo Vibe Shot
  3.113
• Motorola Moto X Force
  3.105
• LG Nexus 5X
  3.092
• Huawei Mate S
  3.073
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
  3.065
• Sony Xperia X
  2.989
• Huawei Mate 8
  2.949
• Xiaomi Redmi 3S
  2.913
• Sony Xperia XA Ultra
  2.906
• LG G5
  2.905
• HTC One S
  2.901
• Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime
  2.893
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  2.884
• Sony Xperia Z5
  2.876
• Microsoft Lumia 550
  2.851
• Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro
  2.803
• Sony Xperia Z5 compact
  2.784
• Meizu MX6
  2.751
• LG V10
  2.744
• Xiaomi Redmi 3
  2.735
• Sony Xperia M5
  2.69
• Huawei P9 Lite
  2.679
• Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
  2.679
• Vivo V3Max
  2.659
• Xiaomi Mi Mix
  2.658
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  2.641
• Sony Xperia XA
  2.609
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto)
  2.582
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus
  2.582
• Xiaomi Mi 4c
  2.574
• LeEco Le Max 2
  2.567
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  2.563
• Microsoft Lumia 640
  2.563
• Lenovo Moto G4
  2.544
• Oppo F1
  2.528
• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
  2.525
• Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
  2.506
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  2.503
• Oppo F1s
  2.481
• Motorola Moto G
  2.477
• Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
  2.473
• Huawei G8
  2.471
• Huawei nova
  2.467
• Sony Xperia Z
  2.462
• Lenovo Vibe K5
  2.459
• Meizu m3 max
  2.447
• Huawei Honor 7
  2.406
• Sony Xperia E5
  2.386
• ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
  2.382
• HTC 10
  2.378
• Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
  2.378
• Meizu m1 note
  2.362
• Huawei nova plus
  2.329
• HTC One E9+
  2.305
• Alcatel One Touch Hero
  2.272
• Apple iPhone 4S
  2.269
• Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
  2.254
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
  2.253
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
  2.249
• Sony Xperia C4 Dual
  2.235
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  2.234
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  2.233
• LG Nexus 5
  2.228
• Huawei P8
  2.196
• Huawei Honor 6
  2.169
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
  2.166
• OnePlus Two
  2.165
• HTC One X
  2.158
• LG Aka
  2.145
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  2.145
• Archos 50 Diamond
  2.134
• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  2.119
• Acer Liquid X2
  2.084
• Huawei P8lite
  2.078
• Moto G 3rd gen max manual
  2.026
• Xiaomi Mi Max
  1.996
• Sony Xperia E4g
  1.972
• OnePlus One
  1.961
• Meizu m3 note
  1.923
• Meizu m2 note
  1.892
• BlackBerry Leap
  1.892
• 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
• Jolla Jolla
  1.605
• Motorola Moto E
  1.545
• Sony Xperia M
  1.473
• HTC Desire C
  1.3
• Sony Xperia C
  1.283
• Meizu MX
  1.221
• Sony Xperia E
  1.215

Winner: Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime. Both screens are very good in their own class and do praiseworthy on the tests, but the Redmi 4 Prime's higher resolution is a real treat and if put side by side, everyone will pick the Redmi 4 over the 3s.

Battery

Both Redmi 3s Prime and Redmi 4 Prime are powered by similar 4,100 mAh battery units. Those phones have different screens and chipsets, though, so we expected to encounter some difference.

The Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime running on Snapdragon 430 outed an 85h endurance rating and posted respectable scores across all tests.

The Redmi 4 Prime and its Snapdragon 625 did better with a final endurance of 91 hours. It also bested the web and talk scores of the Redmi 3s Prime, but underperformed on video playback.

Both phones support regular charging over a 5V/2A adapter, which may not be as fast as the newer QuickCharge standards, but still do a good job.

Winner: Redmi 4 Prime. It's a simple matter of numbers and the Redmi 4 Prime wins, though not by a huge margin.