Also check out: How I Got My Redmi Note 3


Today is the 6th day I'm using my Redmi Note 3! I'm super in love with my new phone! It may not be perfect but it's a big upgrade from my Samsung Galaxy SII!

This is not a professional review as I don't really know a lot about technology stuffs. It's just a declaration of love to my new phone lol. Read: It may be biased because obviously I'm in love with it right now xD Most of the photos taken with Redmi Note 3. Click on the photos for the original version.

My new phone and soft case came in a small and sturdy box. There's a tax invoice inside that will be used to claim warranty if anything unfortunate happens :X

The user manual of Mi's phone consists of just one piece of card lol.

Phew... Just finish reapplying my "screen protector". Actually it's the film that comes with every new phone to protect the screen before unpacking by consumers. As I said I didn't get the tempered glass screen protector so I had to temporarily use this T.T On the first day, to make sure the front camera of the new phone is functional, I had to remove the top part a little because the film would cover the camera and made the picture blurry! So some tiny dust particles must have settled on the sticky part of the film and there were bubbles forming here and there! And today I just pulled out the whole film (well there were already many bubbles so I thought I'll just try to reapply it later) to really test the front camera. I put the film on a table and left the sticky part exposed to the open air :X When I wanted to reapply the film, there were so many dust particles on the film! To make things worse, I let tap water ran through the film lol. I even tried using my dad's alcohol swabs to remove the dust particles but it couldn't help! I was on the verge of giving up when I saw the screen full with bubbles like the photo below literally!



Then, I went to shower thinking I would come up with a solution during the shower (best ideas come in the shower xD). And true enough, I had an idea! That was to use the cellophane tape! HAHAHA it's really a life saver! I think I spent an hour to reapply the film and I think I did a great job! I think I can be a screen protector guru liao! HAHAHA Okay la...there're maybe like 4-5 tiny bubbles near the edges of the screen because I made some scars on the film when I was washing the film with water =.= If don't have the scars I can certainly make the film bubble-free!

Anyway, back to the topic. I'm a person who judge a book by its cover lol. So, design and look of a smartphone matters a lot to me! Of course, iPhone arguably has the most elegant design in the world but it's too expensive for me. Well, Redmi Note 3 is gorgeous too! Look at the pictures I taken from Mi's website (I lazy to take pictures of my phone)!

Gold and Grey

Unfortunately I didn't manage to get the gold one which in my opinion is the prettiest. However, grey one is also quite gorgeous actually. The front frame is black in colour which is classic. The navigation buttons are hidden when the screen is black and I like it this way! The phone is very premium looking even though it's a medium pricing phone!

Even though it's a note-size phone, it's actually quite light! And I didn't feel the screen size is too big for my hand at all! I actually found my new love for big screen because I can see things clearer, play smoother games and I can type on the keyboard better! Now I don't feel comfortable using my Samsung Galaxy SII already lol.

Oh ya, I'm still using my SII because Redmi Note 3 uses micro and nano SIM (dual sim!) and my SIM card is too big. I went to phone shop and requested to cut my SIM but the staff told me my SIM is too old better change a new one wtf! So now I need my dad to come back from China to replace my SIM card because it's registered under his name. Then now I'm using two phones like HL lol SII for whatsapp, calls and sms while new phone for all other things.



The battery life is amazing. With light use (taking notes, surfing FB and the internet, browsing and downloading themes, taking pictures), it can last 2 days ++ before it needs to be recharged! I guess charging takes a longer time ( 27% in 30 minutes) but this is understandable as the battery capacity is bigger. Whoa I don't need to keep worrying about battery running out anymore! When using SII, I had to charge 2 times in a day =.=. I think the MIUI also plays an important role in saving battery life (more on MIUI in another post)!


Xiaomi and some reviewers keep boasting about the Snapdragon 650 processor. I'm no pro but so far no lagginess and everything is damn smooth! Maybe because its a new phone lol. 1000x times better than my SII lorh!

I super love the fingerprint sensor! Before this I didn't set any password or pattern for unlocking the screen because I was simply too lazy! I hate to waste a few seconds unlocking the phone lol. But without lock, other people can easily do naughty things on my FB or even other social apps. They can also access my pictures, messages and other private things! Now I can lock my screen and yet just unlock it in 0.3 seconds! Well, sometimes it takes more than 0.3 seconds but it's okay. And on the first day, the fingerprint sensor had a malfunction. When I put my finger on the sensor, the screen unlocked for 0.3 second and then become black again. It kept on repeating this so I couldn't unlock the screen unless I use the pin. The problem resolved after I reboot the phone. After that it never happened again so I guess its just a minor malfunction. Very few times it couldn't recognise my fingerprint at first but it's forgivable because expensive phone like Samsung Galaxy Note 5 has this problem too.

There are several types of devices that you can add remote to.

For each type of devices you must first select the brand.

Then you will be instructed step by step to set up the remote. First, the power button.

It's very interactive lol.

Second, the menu button.

Lastly, the direction button.

And done! My phone can control the TV now!

It works with the China satellites too! Lol what am I looking at? It's a phone from China duh!

And the air-conditioner!

Devices that I managed to connect to.

I couldn't connect to the living room Panasonic fan though. I guess it cannot connect to all the devices in the world but we can send in reports so that Mi can fix it! The Mi team is very active in improving bugs and whatnot.

Playing with the mirror filter. Looks like I have twin dogs huh xD

Fish eye effect