Xiaomi Mi A1, the Flagship Android One Phone with Dual Camera at ₹14999

[Rewati Baruah]

Xiaomi has unveiled a flagship Android One phone for Indian users at just ₹14,999. The new Mi A1 combines the software experience designed by Google and the hardware Xiaomi with an all affordable price tag of ₹14,999 in India.

With this collaboration, Xiaomi is all set to offer Google stock Android experience. Incidentally, the flagship phone carries a tagline “Created by Xiaomi, Powered by Google.”

Xiaomi Android One – Mi A1 Specifications:

The Mi A1 has a premium design with a big display, dual camera and full metal unibody resembling the recently launched Mi Max 2 smartphone. It comes with rounded back edges for a perfect grip. Not just in terms of looks, the phone gives a premium feel in hands too.

The Mi Android One (A1) sports a 5.5-inch Full HD display with Corning Gorilla protection. It’s just over 7mm in thickness and weighs 168 grams. Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 Octa-core processor with 14nm FinEET technology, the Mi A1 packs 4GB RAM and 64GB inbuilt storage space.

Why Special Love for Snapdragon 625 SoC?

It seems the Chinese telecom company has got a special love for Snapdragon 625 chipset. This is the third handset from Xiaomi in 2017 using Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC. In fact, it is highly efficient chipset resulting in smooth performance, thermal performance and great battery life. One can handle graphics intensive games like Modern Combat 5, Asphalt 8 without breaking a sweat.

Picture Perfect Dual Camera:

The Xiaomi Android One sports 12MP + 12MP dual camera set up similar to Apple iPhone 7 Plus to click perfect shots. The company claims that it has performance equivalent to a DSLR. The wide angle and 2x optical zoom Telephoto lenses camera setup makes you excel in photography.

The Mi A1is equipped with a large 1.25μm pixel that lets in at least 56% more light than typical sensors. The Xiaomi boasts that its stereoscopic imaging and deep learning algorithm delivers perfect portrait with shallow depth of field shots even in low-light conditions.

Also Read: Lenovo K8 Note with Dual Rear Camera Launched, Starting Price ₹12999

The rear camera is equipped with Beautify 3.0 and natural correction features. However, there is no mention of to Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) support.

Improved Sound Quality:

As per the company, the new handset includes a 10-volt smart power amplifier that improves playback quality. It even protects speakers from getting damaged when at high volumes.

The company claims that it has got the Dirac HD Sound (DHS) algorithm and a standalone audio amplifier to provide more natural sound. These are enough to run headsets with impedance levels as high as 600 ohms! The Mi A1 has got dual pyrolytic graphite sheets that help to stay cool all the time irrespective of heavy visual gaming sessions.

On contrary to its budget-friendly image, the Mi Android One comes with a USB Type-C port. Incidentally, the company has customized a 380V charger for India that can withstand frequent power spikes in India.

Being an innovative company, Xiaomi has made Infra-red blaster a default one that helps the user to easily control appliances using Mi Remote app.

Stock Android Experience:

Despite its popular MIUI theme, the Xiaomi has got stock Android designed by Google that helps the user to get the latest security, apps and innovation straight from the Google’s house.

As per the collaboration, Mi A1 will get Android Oreo update by the end of 2017. Moreover, it will be one of the first handsets to get Android P.

It doesn’t have any bloated software and gives the user an ultimate experience. If you a photo PRO, you don’t need to worry about the storage of photos as Google offers unlimited photo storage. With Google Assistant, you will have a simple, smart and safe access to online experience.

Also Read: Coolpad Launches Cool Play 6 with 6GB RAM and Dual Rear Camera at ₹14999

Though a 3,080mAh battery looks small on paper, with Snapdragon 625 SoC, you can’t complain its performance. Currently, the flagship Mi A1 will be available in Black, Gold and Rose Gold colours. It’s been reported that all the variants are highly fingerprint resistant. The popular matte black colour variant has an anti-fingerprint coating.

Apart from Google Unlimited Photo storage, Airtel India will offer 200GB extra 4G on the purchase of Mi A1 handset. Regarding the availability, Mi A1will be available in 37 nations across the Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Americas.

The Xiaomi has got an exclusive partnership with Flipkart. Starting September 12th, 12 noon, the handset will be available for sale through Flipkart, Mi.com and Mi Home. Interestingly, the company has also announced that the handset will also be available offline through Mi Preferred Partners and large-chain retailers including Sangeetha, Poorvika, BigC, LOT, 3G, UniverCell, eZone, Hotspot, Croma, Pai International, myG, StoreKing, Fone4, Vijay Sales etc.

What’s Your Opinion?

Though Google’s Android One program is a failed concept, the search giant wants to codify the Android experience for low-end customers. This time Google has selected Xiaomi as it is a strong brand in the Indian market.

As per the latest figures, Xiaomi has got 17 percent of Indian smartphone market share behind Samsung’s 24 percent. Thanks to its top 2 selling smartphones Redmi Note 4 and Redmi 4!

Hope the new smartphone Mi A1 – created by Xiaomi, Powered by Google will help the search giant to establish its dream run in the Indian subcontinent.

[Toshi Tandon]

@Rewati-Baruah

Hey! That’s a big news from Xiaomi. If I’m not wrong the Mi A1 is actually the same Mi 5X that was launched in China. The only difference is ditching the usual MIUI interface.

I’m not against the popular MIUI interface but having the stock pure Android UI on board gives a clear advantage. Recently, the other Chinese telecom giant Lenovo ditched its famous Vibe UI for stock Android.

Instead of relying on the developer OS, the handset will quickly receive OS updates and bug fixes. Moreover, it doesn’t have any bloatware resulting in a clean interface.

Back to the Xiaomi Mi A1, it runs on Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box.

Though @Rewati-Baruah is comprehensive, it missed some minor details such as:

1. It has a fingerprint scanner at the back.

2. It is equipped with a 5-megapixel selfie shooter.

3. Along with Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, it has 4GB RAM and Adreno 506 GPU.

4. The in-built 64GB storage can be further expanded up to 128GB using an external microSD card.

5. The Xiaomi Mi A1 supports 4G VoLTE and has a hybrid SIM card slot with 3.5mm headphone jack.

Though the company claimed iPhone 7 Plus and OnePlus 5 as its competitors, in reality, based on the pricing strategy, it needs to fight with the new players like Nokia 6, Coolpad Cool Play 6 and Moto G5S Plus.

Based on the price, specs offered by Xiaomi, and Google’s stock Android experience, the Xiaomi Mi A1 is a decent buy.