Xiaomi recently launched its new budget smartphone, Redmi 3S, in China but reserved details of the handset's international pricing and availability. The successor to the popular Redmi 3 smartphone comes with significant improvements such fingerprint sensor and a faster processor at a very affordable price point. The Redmi 3S adds competition to the budget smartphone race, where buyers are treated with plenty of options such as Meizu m3s, M3 Note, Coolpad Note 3 Lite, Swipe Elite Plus, YU Yunique and more.
The Redmi 3S could do well in international markets, especially India, where demand for budget phones is extremely high. Since the Redmi 3S is available only in China, buyers are expected to wait for the device to be launched in their respective countries. However, there is an alternate way to get the handset before it launches internationally.
GearBest, renowned third-party online retailer, has listed the Redmi 3S on the site with an option to ship it anywhere in the world. Both the variants of Redmi 3S -- 16GB and 32GB storage -- are available for purchase and can be shipped to markets such as India, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany and the U.S. While the handset is widely expected to arrive in India in time, there is no guarantee that it will see the light of the day in other countries, so this is probably the only way to buy Redmi 3S for those customers.
As per the product listing on GearBest, the Redmi 3S with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage is available for pre-orders at $151.89, which is roughly Rs. 10,300, and the 3GB RAM + 32GB storage variant costs $209.89 (around Rs. 14,200). Xiaomi Redmi 3S is available in all three shades, gray, silver and golden, on GearBest. Pre-orders for the base variant ends on July 5 and July 15 is the date for the the higher-end model. Standard shipping is free for most countries, but expedited shipping will cost extra depending on the countries.
Xiaomi had launched the Redmi 3S in China for ¥699 (around $107/€94/Rs. 7,135) for the entry-level model and ¥899 (around $136/€121/Rs. 9,177) for the high-end variant. By shipping the handset through GearBest, buyers would be paying extra.
Xiaomi Redmi 3S is a lot like its predecessor Redmi 3 with minor yet important upgrades. The Redmi 3S comes with all-metal uni-body, a fingerprint scanner at the back and is powered by a Snapdragon 430. Rest of the features are the same as the Redmi 3 such as a 5-inch HD display, 13MP primary camera with flash, 5MP front snapper, 4,100mAh battery, 4G LTE support and dual SIM card slots.
