Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, Mi 5 open sale
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, Mi 5 open saleREUTERS/Jason Lee

Xiaomi is once again opening sales of its popular and highly-in-demand Redmi Note 3 and Mi 5 smartphones in India on Wednesday, May 11. The open sale begins at 2 p.m. exclusively on Mi.com/in, where buyers can directly place an order for the devices without having to register in advance.

While the open sale model allows buyers to bypass the registrations process, the demand for the Redmi Note 3 and Mi 5 requires shoppers to make a quick purchase. The sale lasts until stocks last.

In addition to the Redmi Note 3 and the Mi 5 smartphones, buyers can also purchase Xiaomi's highest-capacity 20,000mAh Mi Power Bank, which will be available without registrations starting 2 p.m. on Wednesday. The Mi Power Bank is priced Rs. 1,699.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 comes in two variants â€” 2GB RAM+16GB storage and 3GB RAM+32GB storage. The entry-level model is priced Rs. 9,999 while the higher-end variant costs Rs. 11,999. Xiaomi's flagship Mi 5 smartphone will be available at Rs. 24,999.

The open sale comes at a time when Meizu is announcing its all-new M3 Note smartphone in India, which is in direct competition to Xiaomi Redmi Note 3. The pricing of the M3 Note will decide how well it competes against the rivals in the affordable premium smartphone range, which includes handsets like LeEco Le 1s, Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus, LeEco Le 1s Eco and Huawei Honor 5X.

Lenovo also unveiled its latest ZUK Z1 smartphone in India for Rs. 13,499, and the first sale begins on May 19 exclusively on Amazon India. The competition in the budget smartphone category is getting intense and it remains to be seen how these OEMs will attract new buyers.

We have already covered the specifications of the Mi 5, Redmi Note 3 and Mi Power Bank in previous articles. Here's a quick overview of the key specs for your reference:

Xiaomi Mi 5

  • Display: 5.15-inch Full HD, 428ppi
  • Camera: 16MP primary sensor with PDAF, OIS, dual LED flash and a 2µm (micro-meter) pixel based 4MP snapper
  • Processor: 1.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 quad-core CPU
  • RAM: 3GB DDR4
  • Storage: 32GB
  • Battery: 3,000mAh with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0
  • Add-ons: Metal body, USB Type C, fingerprint sensor, dual SIM, 4G LTE, VoLTE, NFC, IR sensor
  • Colours: White

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3

  • Display: 5.5-inch Full HD display
  • Camera: 16MP primary camera with PDAF, dual ISP, dual flash, 5MP front snapper
  • Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 CPU
  • RAM: 2GB/3GB
  • Storage: 16GB/32GB
  • Battery: 4,050mAh
  • Add-ons: Fingerprint scanner, dual SIM, metal finish, 4G LTE, VoLTE
  • Colours: Silver, gold and dark grey

Xiaomi 20,000mAh Mi Power Bank

  • Dual USB ports with fast charging support
  • Scratch resistant
  • Anti-slip
  • Heat resistant
  • Supports USB Type-C charging.