Xiaomi recently released its two new mid-tier smartphones in India, the Redmi 3s and the Redmi 3s Prime. Both of them are successor to the crowd favorite Redmi 2 series of smartphones, that included Redmi 2 and Redmi 2 Prime. Both of the phones belonging to the Redmi 3 series have been launched simultaneously unlike their predecessors. The Redmi 3s is available at 6,999 rupees while the Redmi 3s costs 8,999 rupees.The price difference of 2,000 may not seem much however in a price conscious market like India this difference can mean a lot. It is therefore important for the customers to be well-informed about the devices in order to make a suitable choice. So if you are wondering whether to opt for a budget friendly Redmi 3s or you should spend a few extra bucks and purchase Redmi 3s Prime, you have come to the right place. So what is the difference between the two phones? let’s compare and find out.
Display and Design
Both of these devices come with an identical 5-inch HD display resulting in a pixel density of 294ppi. As far as the design is concerned, they boast of a full metal body which is pretty rare for any product in this price segment. Even in terms of weight and dimensions, both these devices measure the same. A major difference in the design of these phones is the presence of a fingerprint scanner mounted on the back of the Redmi 3s prime that is not available in Redmi 3s.
Configuration
Regarding configuration, both the devices are armed with Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor paired with Adreno 505 GPU. However the Redmi 3s prime is slightly ahead on this front, thanks to its 3GB of RAM as there is only 2GB available in Redmi 3s. This gives the Redmi 3s Prime a faster performance and a better ability to multitask.
Storage
Another major difference between the two, is the amount of storage available in them. The Redmi 3s Prime has 32GB of internal storage while Redmi 3s has 16GB in it. Although both of these devices feature a hybrid SIM slot that can support microSD card of up to 128GB.
Camera
In the camera department there isn’t much difference as both of them feature a 13MP main camera with f/2.0 aperture, Phase Detection Autofocus and an LED flash along with a 5MP secondary shooter on the front
Battery and Connectivity
The primary selling point of these devices are their battery, both of which can store 4,100mAh of power that can easily give you a day’s worth of battery backup even if you use them intensively. You will also get, an IR blaster in two of them which can be used to control various electronic appliances. With regards to connectivity, both of these phones feature 4G connectivity with VoLTE support. Also you will get usual list of sensors available expected in a smartphone like light, proximity, accelerometer, compass and gyroscope.
So after an in depth comparison, Redmi 3s Prime does come out as a better device compared to the Xiaomi Redmi 3s. The biggest differentiating factor in these two devices is the availability of a fingerprint scanner on 3s Prime which makes it a secured device compared to the regular 3s. On the storage front, although the 3s Prime offers more space, but this advantage can be negated by using microSD card on the regular 3s although at the cost of dual SIM functionality. With regards to configuration, the 3s Prime scores a little better on paper thanks to its 3GB of RAM as compared to 2GB on the Redmi 3s. Although practically you won’t experience much difference between the general performance of these two devices, but if the Redmi 3s was equipped with a less potent processor compared to the prime variant, then that would have been a different story. Overall the fingerprint scanner acts as a deciding factor between the two devices. But considering these handful of upgrades, the price difference between the two phones does seem a little large.