The battery in Xiaomi's new £70 phone is twice the size of the one in the iPhone 6s

Xiaomi, a Chinese phone maker, has announced a new smartphone, the Redmi 3. The device, which will be available in China from January 12, costs £70 ($100) and comes with a 4,100 mAh battery, which is over twice the size of the iPhone 6s.

The Redmi 3 comes with quick charging, but Xiaomi hasn't given an estimate for how long it will take to charge the device to full. A larger battery, denoted by the amount of milliampere-hour (mAh), takes longer to charge but lasts longer when used.

The iPhone 6s, which costs around £539 ($649), has a 1,715 mAh battery. The 6s Plus, which has a 5.5-inch screen, has a 2,750 mAh battery.

The Redmi 3 has space for two SIM cards and can, according to Xiaomi, support all three major Chinese mobile networks. One of the SIM card slots also doubles as a MicroSD card slot, which can be used to increase the phone's storage from 16GB.

The phone has a 5-inch screen and is just 8.5mm thick - the iPhone 6s is 7.1mm thick - and weighs 144 grams, making it one gram heavier than the 6s.

Xiaomi has risen to smartphone fame by building a large fan-base in China, where it predominantly operates. The company is privately held and has a valuation of over $45 billion (£30 billion). Xiaomi recently missed a sales target of 80 million smartphones, however, calling into question the high value investors have placed in the company.