The latest block buster in smartphones, Xiaomi MI3’s sales are path breaking in India (atleast Xiaomi & Flipkart thinks so :P). The selling strategy of Xiaomi might seem very annoying to many, they have been following the same from the start. Xiaomi believes that this marketing strategy of selling limited units for only registered users and spreading the news of 2 sec and 5 sec sale would do good to them. It’s open for discussion as some support and some oppose. I am myself on the opposing side. But luckily I was able to get a MI3, thanks to Flipkart First Subscription. Now, it has been almost 2 weeks that I have MI3 with me. There have been a lot of positives and negatives we figured during the regular usage. I would be sharing my views about those strengths and weakness of Xiaomi MI3. If you are reading this post, I shall assume that you already know the specifications and the price, so I wont be focusing on that.
First lets start with the Pros of the phone,
1. Lag free interface (MIUI) with a lot of customizing options. A huge collection of Themes, Icons, Folders, Transitions, Widgets etc., free of cost.
2. Snapdragon 800 processor and 2 Gb ram makes multi-tasking very easy. You can almost install and run every app on the playstore without any lag.
3. Very good speaker quality.
4. Excellent viewing angles.
5. Gorilla glass 3 for better protection from scratches and even the display resolutions is pretty crisp.
6. The GPU is strong enough to run any game at high graphic settings without any frame drops. If you are a gamer, then you will definitely love the smooth performance.
7. Regular software updates for the MIUI to improve the phone security, fix the bugs and optimize the performance.
8. Normal Sim size, which can be very helpful at times for some set of people.
9. Good camera for out door shooting.
10. Excellent battery life. Can easily run for one and half day for an average user.
11. Inbuilt security and Battery apps give a lot of control over the phone.
12. Very light in weight.
13. Capacitive touch buttons instead of onscreen buttons.
14. The main USP for Xiaomi – Price for which it is sold.
15. Install the developer Rom without voiding warranty. Its equivalent to rooting the phone.
16. NFC enabled. Can do to lot of amazing things with Trigger app.
The super smart phone with an unbelievable price has some negatives too,
1. Along the run, you would be finding some software glitches here and there. One has to be ready to wait for the Xiaomi to release an update fixing those issues. But believe me, Xiaomi does listen to the customers and provide updates for fixes. ( Recently the LED problem for missed call was solved with new update)
2. Form factor. May not please everyone. Its very big even for a 5″ phone. Difficult to operate single handedly.
3. Slippery back and finger print magnet screen. Be ready to buy a screen guard and back cover for sure.
4. Low light photography with the camera was not so satisfactory.
5. Though Xiaomi provides updates regularly to fix the issues, the list of fixes provided with single update are so numerous that an average user might get confused with the flow. Also the size of each update is of around 300-500 Mb. So one has to have a wifi connection to avail the updates or will have to spend a lot for Data packs.
6. After sales service. (This is any way a grey area as of now. Once the one month period of Flipkart gets over and customers turn to service centers, we can see the response)
7. Some of the android apps doesn’t work as they are supposed to be. Compatability issues. I faced it with AC Display app.
8. The inbuilt security app restrict permissions for a lot of android apps. So if you want to play with apps, then you need to always make sure to change the security settings for the app, which can be a bouncer for a normal user.
9. Placement of speaker is bad. Especially when you are playing landscape games like GTA, Dead Trigger, Asphalt etc the right hand would cover the speaker.
10. Heating Issue during extensive gaming for more than 30 min was observed. Temporary solution for this problems has been explained here.
11. Limited Internal memory might be a problem, but OTG support overcomes this limitation partially.
12. Xiaomi’s selling strategy in India. Not everyone is ready to wait for their number to buy the phone.
13. Single Sim.
14. Call drop issues were experienced by some users. May be Xiaomi would fix that in the next update.
15. No head phone. (Though I would not call it a Con, but can be for some)
These were the major pros and cons I could identify in the usage of two weeks. Let us know if you have face more problems, so that I can update the post with those points added. This can help many in decision making.
Verdict: The Xiaomi MI3 though comes with some software issues, regular updates does fix some of them. Its definitely a great buy for heavy users or even an average user who’s ready to adjust with minor software issues and wait for the updates (Most of the bugs does have an alternative solution to fix temporarily and also the Xiaomi forum is large and helpful). For a normal user, who doesn’t want any issues once you buy the phone, I would suggest to wait for sometime and let Xiaomi fix the issues with updates and then buy MI3. Please share your views.
You can find the comparison of MI3 with Moto G and Zenfone5 here.
If you are interested in getting a Xiaomi MI3 for yourself, dont delay to register. Already the registration are closed for 12th Aug. Lets see how many actually succeed in getting one. Register now
Techno4use 
STOP using AC Display.
The OTPs that the banks / credit card companies send you are accessed.
Not a very safe practice if you shop online a lot.
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In that way, any messaging application including the stock one can access your OTPs. How can anyone co-relate your OTP with the card number or account. They should have all the information at a time. If you are using mobile for shopping, no chance of AC Display accessing OTP as your screen is active. So no need to worry.
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