In the shadow of the announcement for the handsome new Mi Mix 2, Xiaomi also introduced the Mi Note 3. It's essentially a Mi 6 with a larger 5.5" screen, and with a name like "Mi Note" there are no prizes for guessing which rival flagship it's intended to compete with. The Mi Note 3 also packs dual-cameras, which seems to be the device's key selling point. It has a regular 12MP sensor next to a telephoto lens.

SPECS

OS

Unspecified Android version (likely 7.1.1 Nougat) with MIUI 9

Display

5.5", 1080p

Processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon 660

Storage

64/128GB

Memory

6GB

Battery

3,500mAh

Rear Cameras

dual 12MP cameras (second is telephoto), 2x optical zoom with 4-axis OIS

Front Camera

16MP Front Camera with Adaptable AI Beautify

Dimensions

152.6 x 74 x 7.6 mm

Weight

163g

Other

Front fingerprint sensor, face unlocking, NFC, IR blaster, stereo speakers, USB C, Quick Charge 3.0

The 16MP front camera is also being talked up by Xiaomi, with its slightly scary sounding Adaptable AI Beautify feature. It's a sort of automatic photoshopping tool, which is sadly likely to get a fair amount of use among a certain generation. The Mi Note 3 comes with a less than premium Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chip instead of the expected 835, but elsewhere the specs seem decent enough. The screen is only 1080p, but that's a plus when you consider the battery is just 3,500mAh. It has an impressive 6GB of RAM and the base storage amount is 64GB – it's nice to see an acceptable level of storage being offered with most new releases these days.

There are some other nice additions like stereo speakers, Quick Charge 3.0, and even an IR blaster if you're in need of one. The Mi Note 3 will be available in black for RMB 2,499 (64GB, $383) or RMB 2,899 (128GB, $444), and there's also a snazzy blue option for RMB 2,999 (128GB, $459).

Xiaomi also announced a rather dashing looking new laptop at the same event, the Mi Notebook Pro. That's obviously not our field, but it's certainly worth taking a look at (for that trackpad embedded fingerprint scanner alone).

PRESS RELEASE