Update: Xiaomi Mi3 Hands on and first impressions!


We managed to get some hands on time with the Xiaomi Mi3 after the launch show. Hands on photos and first impressions of the flagship Xiaomi Mi3 here!

After the launch Mifans and media lined up for their chances to get their hands and eye’s on the latest Xiaomi products. As you would expect queues were long and time was short so we were only allowed a brief hands on with the new phone, but we still came away impressed!

xiaomi mi3 hands on

The first thing which hit me about the phone is not only how stylish and well made it is, but just how light they have managed to make it. Keep in mind I use a Xiaomi Mi2 as my daily phone which is smaller in both the screen and battery department, yet the Xiaomi Mi3 is much lighter!

xiaomi mi3 hands on

xiaomi mi3 hands on

xiaomi mi3 hands on

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A thin 8.1mm body and rounded corners really make this a comfortable phone. However, as you can see by our hands on photos the bezels are wide and the overall width of the Mi3 is more than we were expecting. Not ugly, but certainly wide.

xiaomi mi3 hands on

The phones we tried were preproduction models, but they were all made to a high standard, better than most phones on sale now, and performance was phenomenal with the China Unicom Snapdragon 800 model we tried!

xiaomi mi3 hands on

Being a long time Xiaomi and MIUI user it was the little things that got me. MIUI looks excellent splashed across the 1080, 5-inch display. The camera app, although familiar, is amazingly fast, and the ‘immersion’ feature for haptic feedback actually adds to the premium feel of the phone.

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It’s safe to say that the Xiaomi Mi3 will be my next phone (and Abbie’s too judging by her reaction), roll on October!

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40 Comments

  1. September 5, 2013

    How much do you think it will cost at stores that deliver internationally?

  2. September 5, 2013

    Andi, huge thanks for being there and broadcasting it for all HUGE fans of Xiaomi! thank u again!

  3. September 5, 2013

    it is really beatiful i love mi3 i will buy one for me:Di want to buy prices with china

  4. Wesley George
    September 5, 2013

    Can you recommend a reliable website to purchase?

    • thinkfurther
      September 7, 2013

      Well its China offical site is http://www.xiaomi.com But I support its only sells for Chinese.

  5. September 5, 2013

    The design is kinda starting to grow on me. I absolutely can’t stand the bezels tho. I’ll buy this to at least check out. It should sell pretty good to the spec people, but I think the looks might be a hard sell. I feel like this phone could have been so much smaller.

    I wish the buttons on the side were black too instead of silver. The design of the buttons doesn’t look good and black wouldn’t draw attention to it so much.

  6. September 5, 2013

    On the plus side, if you were kidnapped and tied up, you could use the Mi3 to cut thru the ropes. Are the edges on this as sharp as they look?

    • September 5, 2013

      Not a sharp edge on it anywhere

      • Ashton Wilson
        September 7, 2013

        So I’ll still be tied up…thanks xiaomi

  7. Speedz
    September 5, 2013

    Just Amazing :).
    Thanks for all the feed Andi 😀

    • September 5, 2013

      My pleasure 🙂

  8. September 5, 2013

    Thanks a lot dear Andi .

  9. mzeddi
    September 5, 2013

    Thanks for the review. Have to get one while still working in China 🙂

  10. Ashton Wilson
    September 5, 2013

    Is there any way to get stock android on the s800 model?

    • September 5, 2013

      Xiaomi have a stock rom for the MI2/S, perhaps they will offer one for this phone.

  11. Akhil
    September 5, 2013

    Just a word for Xiaomi and Andi, “Love you Xiaomi” and “Love you Andi”

    • September 5, 2013

      😉

  12. Zhai
    September 5, 2013

    My biggest concern was the weight of 3050mAh battery, and it seems Andi understand it well. If he said that it weight less than Mi2, then I believe in him. Good choice of comparison!

    Thanks Andi.

  13. Juda
    September 6, 2013

    The dimensions are almost identical to the Sony Xperia Z1. Hope it offers good one handed operation.

  14. Juanra
    September 6, 2013

    Can you recommend a profesional website to purchase?

  15. PRABAKAR
    September 6, 2013

    will it work in india , where can purchase it?

  16. Daveee
    September 6, 2013

    Awesome – just put a pre-order in!

    • September 6, 2013

      On which site have you preordered?

    • vivian
      September 9, 2013

      How do you preorder? I was on their website in both Chinese and English and couldn’t find a way to pre-order…

      • September 9, 2013

        It isn’t available for preorder yet and you will need an ‘F code’ when it finally does

  17. Simon
    September 6, 2013

    In the first two pictures, what is the artefact in the top right hand corner of the phone ?

    • September 6, 2013

      It’s a cartoon sticker 🙂 This was one of the Xiaomi employees personal phone.

      • Simon
        September 6, 2013

        Ah ok fine. Out of interest, will you do an in depth review when you buy one, or are you going to be sent one for testing purposes initially ?

        • liljohn
          September 6, 2013

          andi, which color will you pick for the mi3 and the original leather flip case?

          • September 6, 2013

            Good question… I like the blue and black, but tempted by the yellow also. How about you?

            • liljohn
              September 6, 2013

              black for the phone, maybe blue for the flip case

        • September 6, 2013

          I’ll be buying one and reviewing it 🙂

          • liljohn
            September 6, 2013

            please make ur review as detail as possible, please check whther the battery has protection from overcharging or not…=)

            • September 8, 2013

              and please compare this with the mi2s if possible….

  18. Dmitry
    September 6, 2013

    Tell me what kind of material used for the exterior of the phone? It’s plastic, polycarbonate, or magnesium-aluminum alloy? Describe the body specifically please. Thanks for the review.

    • MK
      September 8, 2013

      Its magnesium-aluminum

  19. peterth11
    September 7, 2013

    will my china mobile sim card work on the WCDMA / CDMA2000 version. i do not care about 3G because i do not use it, will it work just for calls,internet etc

  20. September 7, 2013

    is this phone suitable for one handed operation?

  21. Hieron
    September 9, 2013

    Andy, have you tried looking at the screen trough polarized sunglasses? I noticed with the Mi2S, the screen becomes black. So you’d have to take of your shades everytime you check your phone… the only minus I could find so far for the 2S 😉

  22. September 15, 2013

    Hello,

    Does it work for networks in Romania?

    Thank you!