Xiaomi Redmi 3 variant with a fingerprint sensor appears online

A new variant of the Redmi 3 smartphone with a fingerprint scanner spotted online on a Chinese certification site.

A new variant of the Redmi 3 smartphone with a fingerprint scanner spotted online on a Chinese certification site. (TENNA)

Xiaomi just launched the much-applauded Redmi Note 3 in India, one of the first smartphones from the Chinese manufacturer featuring an all metal body and a fingerprint scanner. Now it appears the company is working on a new variant of a Redmi 3 smartphone which will also feature a fingerprint scanner.

According to multiple reports, a new smartphone with specifications similar to the Redmi 3 has been spotted on a Chinese certification site TENAA . The listing reveals that the smartphone features a 5-inch HD display, 1.5Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage.

The only difference being a 3,000 mAh battery as opposed to the 4,100 mAh battery found on the original Redmi 3, along with a fingerprint scanner which was missing in the original Redmi 3 launched back in January in China.

The upcoming variant might be called the Redmi 3S and is likely to launch on April 6, according to GizChina. The handset is expected to be priced around 799 Yuan (₹8,300 approx), which is 100 Yuan more than original Redmi 3. Taking Xiaomi's track record of pricing into consideration, we expect the smartphone to be priced under ₹7,000 if it launches in the Indian market.

China's Xiaomi has brought a fingerprint scanner to its range of affordable smartphones for the first time with Redmi Note 3, followed by the recently launched Mi 5 flagship. The company during its Redmi Note 3 launch event in India announced that the Mi 5 flagship also goes on sale in India very soon though did not mention an exact date.

Xiaomi officially confirmed that it set a new record which it has managed to achieve in less than a week after Mi 5's official unveiling. Over 16.8 million users in China registered for the Mi 5 during its first flash sale, Xiaomi announced in a blog post.