While launching the Android One device, Google made it clear that the Google One project is not just for cheap smartphones. Android One was introduced in 2014. The company’s effort was to make stock Android available to the general customers and also guarantee regular updates to these phones in the budget segment. And India was one of the first countries where this OS was introduced. However, this project could not become as popular as Google expected. But the new launch makes it clear that this project has not been closed, rather the company has tried to breathe life into it.
Xiaomi Mi A1 is being marketed with the tagline “created by Xiaomi and powered by Google”. During the launch event, Google also said that Android One will soon be available on a wide range of devices and will not be limited to the affordable segment. Xiaomi Mi A1 is expected to receive Android 8.0 Oreo update by the end of the year. However, it is too early to say anything. An update to Android P is also promised for next year.
For Xiaomi, the Mi A1 is a flagship smartphone that has not been launched at a very high price point. That too when the Xiaomi Mi 6 has not been launched in India yet. The specifications of the Mi A1 are good for the price and the dual rear cameras are a welcome feature. It will be interesting to see how Xiaomi fans react to the Mi A1. And how well does this strategy work for both companies?
Xiaomi Mi A1 design and build quality
The Xiaomi Mi A1 is a design upgrade over other Redmi devices launched in India. It has a touch of older Redmi devices but manages to create its own identity. Technically, it is a variant of the Xiaomi Mi 5X that was launched in China in July. The phone comes in Black, Gold, and Rose Gold colours. We were given the Gold unit for review. Initially, only the Black and Gold variants will be made available. Rose Gold is expected to be introduced later.
The front panel has a 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass design which gives the phone a premium feel. The curved edges make it fit well in the hand. The 7.3mm side profile makes it look slim. Xiaomi has repeatedly said that the Mi A1 will feel good in the hand and we won’t completely deny this claim. The full-metal body is solid. But the back is slippery. We had to take special care of this while using the phone. We would suggest you not to forget to buy a back cover with the phone. The Mi A1 feels more premium than the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 and the Mi Max 2.
Xiaomi has compared the Mi A1 to the iPhone 7 Plus many times and we can see the similarities between the two. The dual rear cameras and the placement of the antenna lines on the Mi A1 will remind you of the iPhone 7 Plus. To prevent the phone from overheating, Xiaomi has talked about providing dual pyrolytic graphite sheets in the handset. This releases heat quickly and reduces the temperature by 2 degrees in a jiffy.
Capacitive buttons for Android navigation are provided below the screen. The power and volume buttons are on the right side and there is no problem in reaching them. The hybrid dual SIM tray is on the left and the infrared emitter is on the top. You will find a USB Type-C port at the bottom. Along with this, a 3.5 mm jack and speaker grill have also been placed.
The fingerprint reader is on the back and it works well. Both the rear cameras are slightly elevated from the surface. They are accompanied by a two-tone flash. There is no branding on the front panel. But on the back, you will find the Android One logo along with the Mi logo at the bottom.
Overall, the Xiaomi Mi A1 looks and feels better than any other Xiaomi handset. Xiaomi has paid attention to every detail. Be it the speaker grill or the antenna band line. However, the main problem of the Mi A1 is that the phone looks similar to other models of Xiaomi and Vivo. However, this is a completely new attempt from Xiaomi in terms of software and the series is also new. In such a situation, the company should have worked more on the design.
Xiaomi Mi A1 specifications and software
The Xiaomi Mi A1 uses an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, which has been a part of the Redmi Note 4 and Mi Max 2. During the launch, Xiaomi said that it has been trying to keep the price of the Mi A1 in check. The clock speed of this chipset is 2 GHz and it comes with 4 GB of RAM. The inbuilt storage is 64 GB and if needed, it will be possible to use a microSD card up to 128 GB. Like other Xiaomi devices, the Mi A1 also has a hybrid dual SIM design. This means that you have to choose between two nano SIM cards or one nano SIM card and a microSD card.
The phone has a 5.5-inch LTPS display. Its resolution is full-HD (1080×1920 pixels). The pixel density is 403 ppi. The dimensions of the handset are 155.4×75.8×7.3 millimeters and its weight is 165 grams. The battery is 3080 mAh. Mi A1 also has an infrared emitter.
The company has praised the two rear cameras of this phone. You will get two 12-megapixel cameras. One of these is a wide angle lens with F/2.2 aperture and the other is a telephoto lens with F/2.6 aperture. A 5-megapixel camera with F/2.0 aperture has been provided on the front panel and it comes with beautification mode.
Being an Android One device, the Xiaomi Mi A1 offers you a stock Android experience. It runs on Android 7.1.2 Nougat which is the latest OS for any Android device today.
The best thing about stock Android is that it doesn’t have any unwanted apps. This is a big change for a budget phone. Despite the promise of stock Android UI, the Xiaomi Mi A1 also comes with Mi Feedback, Mi Remote and Mi Store apps preinstalled. The camera app on this handset is also from Xiaomi. Because Google has not yet released dual camera support for its stock Android camera app.
Compared to Android 7.1.1 Nougat, the new 7.1.2 version has fixed some of the old bugs. You will get popular Android Nougat features like split screen multitasking and app shortcuts. The quick settings avatar has changed. If you want, you can open the notification shade by swiping the fingerprint sensor downwards. Apart from this, you can open the camera app by double-tapping the power button. Finally, you will get GIF support within the keyboard itself.
Cameras of Xiaomi Mi A1
The dual rear cameras of the Xiaomi Mi A1 are its most important feature. The dual lenses give you 2x optical zoom. You will also be able to bring bokeh effect to the pictures. Let’s start with the depth mode. We were able to take great pictures with the bokeh effect. In most portrait pictures, the edges were well defined. But in some shots, some parts of the subject along with the background were blurred. This deficiency becomes more evident in low light. You don’t have to do anything extra for this effect. It works better than the Lenovo K8 Note (Review). Xiaomi claims that the portrait mode performance is at par with the iPhone 7 Plus and OnePlus 5. But we believe that Xiaomi will have to release many updates to reach that level.
The Mi A1 autofocuses quickly and is accurate most of the time. The phase detection autofocus (PDAF) and face detection allow the camera to lock focus quickly. Landscape shots came out well. But macro shots lacked sharpness and detail, especially compared to the Mi Max 2. The phone captured photos with texture and detail in adequate light. However, we noticed a lot of noise in low light. In dark places, the Mi A1’s camera lags behind and photos come out with very little detail.
Xiaomi claims that the Mi A1’s camera app has an enhancement feature to take better photos in low light. But we didn’t notice any major difference after activating it. The Xiaomi Mi Max gave better results in low light.
The Mi A1’s camera app will also guide you through the depth mode. You will get warnings like “It’s too dark now” and “Move farther from the object”. This will appeal to new users.
You will be able to take great photos with the 5 megapixel front camera in good light. There is no dearth of detail in these either. Selfies taken in low light were very blurry.
Overall, we can say that the dual camera setup is a great feature at this price. And you will not be disappointed with it in general. But the performance in low light needs more work.
Xiaomi Mi A1 Performance
We found the screen on the Xiaomi Mi A1 to be bright enough. Images and text look sharp. Viewing angles are also good. However, the glass was more reflective than we would have liked. And we had to crank the brightness to the maximum level when using the phone in sunlight.
The Xiaomi Mi A1 is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 625 processor, just like the Redmi Note 4 and Mi Max 2. It is a capable processor. Common apps ran quickly. The 4GB of RAM makes multitasking a breeze. Touch response is good. We didn’t notice any lags during our review. We enjoyed playing games with powerful graphics like Last Day on Earth and Asphalt 8. We found the 5.5-inch display to be great for watching videos. The benchmark scores of the Xiaomi Mi A1 are on par with the Mi Max 2 and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4.
Xiaomi says that it has used pyrolytic graphite sheets to keep the temperature of the phone under control. What we can say is that we did not feel the phone overheating even when playing games for a long time. However, the phone does get hot while charging.
The Xiaomi Mi A1 has support for 4G VoLTE and call quality was good. The phone connected to the network even in weak areas. The IR emitter worked flawlessly with the Mi Remote app.
The speaker produces enough sound for a small room. The sound is also clear. Xiaomi says that a smart power amplifier has also been used to get better sound from the earphones. The experience with the earphones was good. If you want, you can use Mi A1 as an entertainment device to listen to songs every day. The complaint is that no earphones will be available with the phone.
Battery Life
The 3080mAh battery lasted for about 15 hours with heavy usage. The handset had Outlook, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Telegram, Gmail and WhatsApp apps running in the background. In our HD video loop test, the Mi A1 lasted for about 10 hours and 18 minutes. This is decent. One problem with the Xiaomi Mi A1 is that it offers weaker battery performance compared to other Xiaomi devices. The phone’s battery took about two hours to fully charge, which is not bad.
Our verdict
When Android One was launched, many promises were made. But they could not be fulfilled. Now Xiaomi and Google have tried to give a new face to Android One. But how effective it will prove to be, will be known only in the coming time. Xiaomi Mi A1 is a very powerful handset in terms of price. Metal body and oval finish are excellent. Display and general performance are good. For the first time, the user will get stock Android experience in a Xiaomi phone. If you do not like MIUI then this phone is for you. Dual camera works.
But the company should have paid more attention to photography in low light. Battery life is also average. Other Xiaomi phones also do a good job in these departments.
Priced at Rs 14,999, the Xiaomi Mi A1 will be available on Flipkart, Mi.com, offline stores and the company’s own Mi Home stores. Its sale will begin from September 12. Xiaomi has made its mark with its MIUI software. But it will be interesting to see how customers react to this phone.