Xiaomi Redmi 3S Plus is Company's First Offline Retail-Only Phone for India

Xiaomi is ready to unveil the Redmi 3S Plus, its first offline retail-only phone for the Indian market, Gadgets 360 has learnt from its sources. The Redmi 3S Plus is identical to the Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime, except for the fact it comes with 2GB of RAM. The phone, which will run MIUI 8 out of the box, will carry an MRP of Rs. 9,499, and a best buy price of Rs. 8,799. Retailers across the country have started receiving their Redmi 3S Plus units, and the phone is expected to officially go on sale from Saturday.

Just like the Redmi 3S and the Redmi 3S Prime, the Redmi 3S Plus will come with a 5-inch 720p display and be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC. All three phones sport a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front shooter. Just like the Redmi 3S Prime, the Redmi 3S Plus will come with a fingerprint scanner and 32GB of storage, but like we mentioned earlier, it comes with 2GB of RAM, as seen on the Redmi 3S.

If that sounds confusing, we don't blame you, and most people will see the Redmi 3S Plus as a needless complication, since it makes sense to spend a little extra and get the Redmi 3S Prime in any case. But the Redmi 3S Plus can be seen as Xiaomi's attempt to further expand its offline presence in the country. Having an offline-only model means retailers will enjoy flexibility on pricing and be able to pass that benefit on to customers, as evident by the "best buy price" for the Redmi 3S Plus, while all other Xiaomi phones are sold at MRP, even offline. An offline-only phone also means that retailers don't need to worry about competing with online sales and cash backs, at least for that specific model.

Like we mentioned before, the phone may not make sense to those who already have access to online channels, but the retailers Gadgets 360 spoke to are pretty excited about the prospects of the Xiaomi Redmi 3S Plus, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.