Xiaomi Mi A1

Xiaomi tries their hand at stock Android through their handset, Mi A1. Priced at Rs. 13,000, it has turned out to be a great phone which is value for the money it comes in.

Xiaomi may look different from its predecessors, but it arrives with the same Xiaomi-reliability. It has power along with a good battery life to back up the bright display that it comes with. It can be an excellent find for any user looking for power and a stock Android experience.

Xiaomi Mi A1 has a moderate weight of 165 grams which is quite light. The front of the phone has a 2.5D curved-edge Gorilla Glass which makes it look premium and gives it the required sturdiness. The rounded corners and edges make it fit in the palm without a problem. It has a 7.3mm thickness, which is quite sleek. The phone is of a metal build, making it quite solid. However, the back is slippery, so you have to be cautious while handling the phone. Xiaomi has claimed the phone comes with dual pyrolytic graphite sheets so that it could radiate heat quickly and decrease temperatures fast by about 2 degrees. On the whole, it has a great premium design to it.

Mi A1 comes with a 5.5-inch LTPS display with a full-HD screen that offers a 1080×1920-pixel resolution and a pixel density of 403 PPI. The display is bright and gives a great immersive experience. The colour reproduction is quite good, and it produces sharp images. You can only see the pixels when you hold it up close to your eyes. Otherwise, the pixels are mostly invisible. It has excellent viewing angles and does no get dim when you tilt the phone. The sunlight legibility is quite good, but harsh sunlight may result in visibility issues.

The Xiaomi Mi A1 comes with the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor which was previously used in Redmi Note 4 and Mi Max 2. The chipset is clocked at 2GHz and is partnered with a 4GB RAM. As a result, it is quite fast, and due to the RAM, it can engage in smooth multitasking without a problem. The touch response is great, and it does not quite lag when it comes to running multiple apps in the background. Heavy games run quite smoothly, and there is no noticeable lag when playing games. Benchmark scores put it at 66,381 points which is an impressive score.

One of the selling points of Mi A1 is the dual camera setup placed at the back. It has two 12MP cameras, among which one is a wide-angle lens with an f/2.2 aperture, and the other is a telephoto lens with an f/2.6 aperture. The depth-mode works quite well and results in good bokeh effects. In daylight, the camera performance is quite tremendous and produces natural colours so that images pop out. The edges of the subjects are quite well-defined. There is also a 2x Optical Zoom that works well and does an excellent job without blurring the subject. The autofocusing is quite quick and detects the subjects fast. It helps in landscape photos where the textures appear quite well.

However, the low-light photos take a dip. It contains a lot of noise, and there can be blurring when the pictures are zoomed in. The images appear grainy as well.

The 5MP front camera is quite good and captures enough details when there is light present. However, during the night, the selfies might appear completely dark, unless there is a light source nearby.

The Xiaomi Mi A1 comes with a non-removable 3080 mAh battery. An HD video loop test saw that the Mi A1 was able to last for 10 hours and 18 minutes which may not be great but is satisfying. One of the problems that the phone faces is with its competitors from the same company which offers a better battery backup. However, light to moderate use can get you through the entire day. Charging is quite impressive as well, and it can get from 0% to 100% in just about two hours.

Due to the Android One, Mi A1 appears to be a great set. However, that’s not it’s only selling point. It has adequate power in its internals. The processor is quite good and can run tasks without a problem. While the battery may not be the best, it can last for one day. Plus, it comes with design and display which is capable of pleasing any average user. Hence, it is a phone that can be recommended for any average user. Xiaomi Note 5 Pro is a beautiful phone to consider as well, which comes with a great processor and a larger battery.