All Redmis come in small paper boxes and those contain only the most crucial necessities - a 2A wall plug and a microUSB cable. Xiaomi is not bundling headphones or cases in this price range.
Redmi 3s Prime retail box • Redmi 4 Prime retail box
Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime spreads at 139.3 x 69.6 x 8.5 mm and weighs 144g, while the Redmi 4 Prime footprint is slightly bigger at 141.3 x 69.6 x 8.9mm. The Redmi 4 Prime also weighs a bit more at 156g.
The Redmi 3s Prime and Redmi 4 Prime may have a lot in common, but design is not one of these shared elements. While both Redmi have metal bodies with the satin finish on the back being their design highlight, the similarities end there.
The Redmi 3s Prime is built in the spirit of previous generations Redmi phones with rounder edges and a frame that transitions smoothly into the rear cover piece. On the contrary, the Redmi 4 Prime has flat sides bordered by chamfers, and then the rear cover begins with a curve.
Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime next to the Redmi 3s Prime
A closer peek on the back of the Redmi 3s Prime reveals the top and bottom bands are made of plastic, no surprises here, since those cover the phone's antennas. Then there is the Redmi 4 Prime, which keeps the top plastic strip, but the bottom one is replaced by an iPhone-like tiny gray line, which allows the 4 Prime to keep the metal going all the way to the bottom.
Redmi 3s Prime • Redmi 3s Prime • Redmi 4 Prime • Redmi 4 Prime
If the chamfers, the flat frame, and the antenna shields were not enough to make a difference for you, there is also the screen glass - the Redmi 3s Prime has a perfectly flat screen, while the 4 Prime's is curved along the edges in the trendy 2.5D manner.
Redmi 3s Prime • Redmi 4 Prime
Finally, the handling of both phones is great, but the Redmi 4 Prime provides a bit more secure grip thanks to the chamfers around the frame.
Redmi 3s Prime • Redmi 3s Prime • Redmi 4 Prime • Redmi 4 Prime
Winner: Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime. Despite the strange mix of antenna strip designs, the more prominent frame with the nice chamfers and the 2.5D glass raise the Redmi 4 Prime looks above its predecessor. It's not only the better looker of the two, but its design is one of the best in the price range.
The display is where things start to get even more competitive. The Redmi 4 Prime uses a 5-inch IPS unit of 1080p resolution, which offers flagship-grade 441ppi pixel density and is actually a premium choice in this segment.
The Redmi 3s Prime, on the other hand, offers a lower 720p resolution, which drops the pixel density down to 294ppi over the same 5-inch diagonal. Even though this number seems low when compared to the Redmi 4 Prime, it's still great for a budget smartphone.
Both screens offer very good viewing angles and a crisp image, but if you put them next to each other, you will clearly notice the crisper picture on the Redmi 4 courtesy of the higher resolution.
Naturally, we tested both screens and things turned out very similar. The black levels are OK for LCD panels and, combined with the relatively high brightness, both Redmi 3s Prime and Redmi 4 Prime achieved respectable contrast ratios. There is a tiny bit of difference in the blacks of the Redmi 3s - they turned out a bit deeper, hence the higher contrast, but it's a rather insignificant difference and that can't be seen with a naked eye.
Display test | 100% brightness | ||
Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | ||
0.475 | 528 | 1112 | |
0.43 | 518 | 1205 |
With an average deviation (DeltaE) of 7.1 the screen's color accuracy of the Redmi 3s Prime is about average. The colors are punchy, but if you want a more color accurate representation you may want to try the Warm Color option in Display Settings - it changes the color calibration to a very balanced one with an average DeltaE of 4.4.
The Redmi 4 Prime has a reasonably accurate color accuracy in Standard mode with an average DeltaE of 5.0. Opting for Warm colors takes average DeltaE to 4.6, close to the Redmi 3s Prime 4.4 result.
Overall both screens can be tuned for very good calibration, but the default mode of the Redmi 4 Prime is more accurate than the one on the Redmi 3s Prime.
Outdoors, the Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime is an above average performer regarding sunlight legibility. The glass on top of the display is reflective, but most of the time you'll have no problem viewing the screen content.
The Redmi 4 Prime glass is no better, and in fact, it scores less than the Redmi 3s Prime and thus offers only average visibility under bright sunlight.
Winner: Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime. Both screens are very good in their own class and do praiseworthy on the tests, but the Redmi 4 Prime's higher resolution is a real treat and if put side by side, everyone will pick the Redmi 4 over the 3s.
Both Redmi 3s Prime and Redmi 4 Prime are powered by similar 4,100 mAh battery units. Those phones have different screens and chipsets, though, so we expected to encounter some difference.
The Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime running on Snapdragon 430 outed an 85h endurance rating and posted respectable scores across all tests.
The Redmi 4 Prime and its Snapdragon 625 did better with a final endurance of 91 hours. It also bested the web and talk scores of the Redmi 3s Prime, but underperformed on video playback.
Both phones support regular charging over a 5V/2A adapter, which may not be as fast as the newer QuickCharge standards, but still do a good job.
Winner: Redmi 4 Prime. It's a simple matter of numbers and the Redmi 4 Prime wins, though not by a huge margin.
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