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The Mi A2 launches in India today. Ashish Narsale reviews Xiaomi's latest offering for you.
When the Android One was introduced by Google for entry level phones, their target was the global upcoming markets.
It is a vanilla android experience, without any skinning or additional enhancements to the OS by phone manufacturers.
Now, the Android One has evolved its way to mid-range and flagship phones.
It even adds AI capabilities to the OS.
The other advantage is that Google provides fast and regular updates to the devices running on Android One, until a specified period.
Let’s walk through the device and see what it offers.
Design
The design is somewhat similar to that of the Mi A1, with a little bit of the Redmi Note 5 Pro mixed in.
It's 6.24" inches tall, 2.96" inches wide and 0.28" inches thin.
The Mi A2 continues to have the metal uni-body design, with body coloured antenna lines running at the top and bottom of the back of the phone.
The front display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
The phone follows the 18:9 aspect ratio, so you won’t find any notch here.
The dual cameras are stacked vertically on the rear left corner of the phone. The LED flash is positioned at the centre of the camera setup, as it is in the Redmi Note 5 Pro.
The fingerprint scanner is ergonomically placed at top centre of the phone.
The MI A2 will be available in black, blue and gold.
Display
The phone has a 5.99" inch LCD display with a display resolution of FHD+ (2160 x 1080 pixels).
The navigation buttons are software based; this allows you to customise their position to your liking.
Hardware
The phone is powered by a year-old workhorse, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 660.
This is equipped with the Artificial Intelligence Engine and the Kryo CPU found on flagship processors.
The CPU is clocked at 1.95 GHz to 2.2 GHz.
The processor is embedded with Adreno 512 GPU, for graphics and multimedia.
To support the processing, the phone is available in three different memory packages -- 4/4/6 GB RAM for memory and 32/64/128 GB ROM for storage.
The 3.5 mm audio jack is missing in this model.
To help you use headphones/earphones with 3.5mm audio jack, Xiaomi bundles a USB Type-C to 3.5 mm adapter.
Camera
There is a bump up in the camera specifications, as the rear dual camera setup comes as 12 + 20 MP with wide aperture of f/1.75.
The main 12 MP has a pixel size of 1.2um, whereas the secondary 20 MP has a 2um as pixel size, which is achieved by grouping the four 1um pixel to make one 4 in 1 super pixel.
This technology is known as pixel pinning, which allows the camera take in more light and generate a sharper and brighter image.
The same type 20 MP camera sensor is used for the front camera supported by AI for bokeh and enhanced photography.
The front camera also supports High Dynamic Range, offering you better photographs.
Battery
The phone is embedded with a non-removable 3010 mAh battery. And, exclusively in India, the Mi A2 will come specially equipped to support the fast charging Qualcomm Quick Charge 4.0.
Software
The phone comes with Android One; Android 8.0 out of the box.
This Android One OS is enhanced with AI capabilities for smoother functioning of the phone.
Price
The three phone variants are priced at Euro 249 (₹20,034 approximately) for 4/32 GB, Euro 279 (₹22,436 approximately) for 4/64 GB and Euro 349 (₹28,066 approximately) for 6/128 GB.
In India, the 64 GB variant is expected to be priced at ₹17,499 while the 32 GB will cost ₹15,000 approximately.
Along with the Mi A2, Xaiomi also announced the Mi A2 Lite version with a 12+5 MP rear camera, running on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 625, with higher battery capacity of 4000 mAh.
This model is available in two variants -- 3 GB + 32 GB and 4 GB + 64 GB as RAM + Storage respectively -- and is priced at Euro 179 (₹14,395 approximately) for 3/32 GB and Euro 229 (₹18,416 approximately) for 4/64 GB variants.
The Lite version will not be available in India.
Verdict
Though Xiaomi known to package hi-end specs at budget prices, the Mi A2 seems quite expensive. However, it remains to be seen what the phone will be priced at when it arrives in India.
Comparatively, the Mi A1 was reasonably priced.
Apart from the price, the phone looks promising and well packaged.
If you want to enjoy the pure android experience with AI capabilities and good camera and hardware, this is the phone for you.