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SpecEagle review · Xiaomi

Xiaomi Mi 3 review: The 2013 phone that turned Xiaomi into a global name.

SpecEagle Editorial·Sep 2013·$330
Overall
32/100
Class rank
#2 of 3
Tier
Flagship
Buy?
Look elsewhere
The verdict, up front

The phone that made Xiaomi a global player.

The Mi 3 brought flagship power to a low price and pushed Xiaomi beyond China. A pivotal device for the brand — now a vintage entry.

01Display

52/100

52/100 puts it above the 49-point average for flagship phones of 2013.

TypeIPS LCD
Size5.0 inches
Resolution1,920 × 1,080 px (441 ppi)
ProtectionGorilla Glass 3

02Camera

38/100

38/100 — right at the average for flagship phones of 2013.

Main13 MP, f/2.2, Sony Exmor RS
Selfie2 MP
Video1080p @ 30 fps

03Performance

24/100

24/100 — right at the average for flagship phones of 2013.

ChipsetSnapdragon 800 / Tegra 4 (28 nm)
CPUQuad-core
GPUAdreno 330 / GeForce ULP
RAM2 GB
Storage16 GB / 64 GB

04Battery

50/100

50/100 puts it above the 45-point average for flagship phones of 2013.

Capacity3,050 mAh
Wired~5 W
WirelessNo

05Build

50/100

50/100 — right at the average for flagship phones of 2013.

06Value

62/100

62/100 — right at the average for flagship phones of 2013.

What works
  • Flagship Snapdragon 800 at a disruptive $330.
  • Sharp FHD display; capable camera for 2013.
  • The device that took Xiaomi international.
  • Large battery for its size.
What doesn't
  • No LTE; no microSD.
  • microUSB; weak 2 MP selfie camera.
  • Software ended at Android 6.
  • Discontinued — a vintage device.

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 3-phone cohort of flagship devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .