Xiaomi is all set to launch its first offline retail only phone in Indian market from today. Aiming at an offline market in India, the leading smartphone maker has made plans to open 1000 exclusive retail outlets of their own by 2020.
Redmi 3S Plus which was officially launched last month in China will hit the shelves today. This smartphone is very much identical to its sibling Redmi 3S Prime in terms of key specifications except for the fact that it is packed with 2GB RAM.
Specification wise, the Xiaomi Redmi 3S Plus sports a 5 inch HD display and powered by Snapdragon 430 SoC coupled with 2GB RAM, 32GB storage space and expandable up to 128GB via microSD card. And in terms of camera front, the phone supports a 13-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front cam. Just like its sibling, the Redmi 3S Plus will bear a fingerprint scanner and a mammoth 4,100mAh non-removable battery.
The Xiaomi’s first retail only smartphone runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with MIUI 8. As per the reports, retailers have enough stock of the new smartphone that carries an MRP tag of ₹ 9,499 and the best buy price of ₹ 8,799. By going through 2GB RAM spec; it may not sound worth the price. In any case, it’s always better to spend a little extra (₹ 200) and get the Redmi 3S Prime 3GB RAM instead.
However, the offline retail only phone Xiaomi Redmi 3S Plus seems like a great step in the direction. Xiaomi looks determined to make massive headway into offline mode. This retail-only business model will surely attract customers located in tier-II and tier-III cities where people are not used to buying products online.
It will be interesting to how things turn out for Xiaomi’s first entry in massive brick-and-mortar market. With the relaxed rules, several American and Chinese giants have decided to open their own retail stores in India. Starting from Adidas to Xiaomi, many foreign players are working out plans and unique models to reach out to their customers.
