ISSUE 50 • ANDROID ADVISOR 85REVIEWWith HDR mode turned on an otherwise gloomy day
suddenly gets a boost, with the Note 3 doing a
good job of lightening the shadows without losing
any detail.
Low Light performance is excellent. The Mi Note
3 is able to clearly light up the scene, differentiate
between shades of black, and produce readable text.
While it’s the same primary camera as we find on the
Mi6, the front camera has been upgraded to a 16Mp
lens. This is a very capable phone for taking selfies.
Software
We touched earlier on the fact the Xiaomi runs MIUI
9.5 rather than standard Android. This is based on
Oreo, but looks like quite a departure thanks to
the lack of preinstalled Google Play services and
alternative apps for many of those you will be familiar
with. The app tray has also been removed and the
Settings menu rearranged.
Just because MIUI is unfamiliar does not mean it’s
no good, of course. It has some useful features such
as Dual Apps, Second Space, App lock, Quick ball and
One-handed mode. Plus you can install Google Play
and the Google launcher, then set it up how you like.
Verdict
The Mi Note 3 is a downgrade on the Mi6 and,
arguably, the Mi Note 2, but it appeals with a lower
price and an attractive premium design. Though it
doesn’t feature a flagship processor, this is a very
capable smartphone with a very decent dual-camera.
Provided you can live without 800MHz 4G and are