Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is still a favorite for many phablet lovers thanks to the great power if packs under the hood, coupled with the roomy and quality display it offers. However, there is a new Note in town and this comes from China’s Xiaomi – the Redmi Note 3.
Aimed at rivaling the Galaxy Note series of Samsung, including the 2014 Galaxy Note 4, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 also packs some impressive hardware that will for sure make many have a tough time making the ultimate decision.
In terms of display, there are 5.5 inches on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3. The panel is an LCD with Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. On the contrary, the Galaxy Note 4 has a 5.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. You also get Corning’s Gorilla Glass 4 protection on this phone. Under the hood, you get more power on the older Samsung Galaxy Note 4 as compared to the newer Xiaomi Redmi Note 3.
Where there is a Snapdragon 805 SoC that is paired with a RAM of 3GB on the Galaxy Note 4, you get a weaker Snapdragon 650 SoC that is paired with either 2GB or 3GB of RAM on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3. This makes the latter handset less powerful than the former. There is only 32GB of storage on the Galaxy Note 4, but the Redmi Note 3 has two offerings – a 32GB model and a smaller 16GB variant. Both handsets have a slot for microSD card storage. Samsung Galaxy Note 4 also offers another variant that is packed with an Exynos 5433, but it keeps the same RAM and storage configuration.
Samsung’s winning streak goes on thanks to the weaker camera specs you find on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3. There is a 16MP snapper at the back with f/2.0 aperture, PDAF, dual-tone LED flash and face detection, among others, but there is no OIS and 2K video recording. On the contrary, Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has a similar 16MP snapper at the back with a smaller aperture of f/2.2, OIS, LED flash and autofocus, among other specs. Samsung offers video recording of up to 2160p on the rear snapper of the Galaxy Note 4, with the Redmi Note 3 only managing 1080p.
As for the front part, the Galaxy Note 4 is outclassed by the 5MP lens of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, which has an f/2.0 aperture and can record up to 1080p videos. The Note 4 has a 3.7MP snapper with a slightly larger aperture of f/1.9, but it gets better in terms of video recording where 1440p videos can be managed.
Despite surviving the jabs thrown by Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 3 all through, Samsung Galaxy Note 4 might not make it when it comes to the battery capacity. There is 4050mAh on the Redmi Note 3 while the Galaxy Note 4 only houses a 3220mAh unit. Still, those who enjoy switching batteries will want to stick with the latter for its battery is removable. The Galaxy Note 4 also gets an S-Pen whereas there is no such offering on the Redmi Note 3.