We go hands-on with Xiaomi’s current flagship!

Earlier today we talked with Xiaomi Global VP Hugo Barra. Aside from talking about strategy and the phones that they will offer, we also got to try their latest flagship device, the Mi 3. The Mi 3 is touted by Hugo as the fastest Android smartphone when it comes to AnTuTu benchmarks, possessing a score even higher than recently released smartphones by other brands that use a faster, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor compared to the older, Snapdragon 800 MSM8274AB in the Mi 3.

Xiaomi Mi 3 specs

• 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8274AB processor
• 2GB of RAM
• 16GB of storage, non-expandable
• 5-inch full HD IPS display, 1080 x 1920 resolution
• 13-megapixel camera with autofocus, dual LED flash
• 2-megapixel front camera
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, NFC, USB OTG, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
• 3G, HSDPA
• 144 x 73.6 x 8.1 mm
• 3050mAh li-ion battery (non-removable)
• Android 4.4 with MIUI

Initial impressions: beautifully crafted, wickedly fast

There’s no getting around the fact that the Mi 3 is a beautiful smartphone. Crafted out of aluminum, it looks fantastic and is solidly built, which shouldn’t come as a surprise considering the materials used.  A Xiaomi exec pointed out that the Mi 3 isn’t made out of aluminum, but out of plastic. To be honest we really didn’t notice that, and in person it really does look a lot like aluminum, which is a testament on how well the phone is made.

On the right side lies the volume rocker and the power button. On the top lies the 3.5mm jack and the SIM-card slot that you can access via a small pin. On the bottom of the device lies the USB port, which is offset to the side, along with the speaker grille right beside it.

On the back lies the 13-megapixel camera with autofocus which is offset to the left side of the device. The flash is a dual-LED deal.

Like we said earlier, the Mi 3 uses a relatively older 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8274AB processor paired with 2GB of RAM. While the Mi 3 is one generation behind other flagship smartphones when it comes to the processor, it’s still the fastest Android device around, beating out flagships by other international brands.

This is made possible by Xiaomi’s commitment to weekly updates for the MIUI that works hand in hand with Android 4.4 KitKat in the phone. This translates into an extremely smooth user experience for the device. While we weren’t able to run our own benchmarks for the device unfortunately for the Mi 3, but you can expect us to put it through its paces on Wednesday when we get our review device. So stay tuned for that.

As for pricing, Xiaomi did not reveal just how much this will be, though they have hinted that it will enjoy the same pricing (or as close as it can possibly get) as it does in other markets that the company already has a presence in.