Xiaomi Redmi 6A

Xiaomi Redmi 6a Price in India

The Xiaomi Redmi 6A was released in two variants: 2GB RAM + 16GB internal storage and the 3GB RAM + 32GB internal storage version. Unfortunately, both the versions are currently out of stock on both Amazon and Flipkart and are unlikely to be restocked again.

In low-cost phones, cameras generally struggle, and Redmi is no exception. However, if you want excellent power for basic functions and a companion battery that could last for one day, this is one of the best, economical devices to go for.

Redmi 6A does not come with any dramatic changes to the set. It is slick and covered with plastic, which is smooth and easy to hold but can attract a lot of finger smudges. It is light, weighing around 145 gram and has rounded corners which is great for display and comfort. There is a camera bump at the back, but it is slight and not noticeable. One of the significant downgrade from Redmi 6 is the removal of the fingerprint reader, which is an expected feature to be present at this range. It retains the headphone jack and like Redmi 6, the speaker at the back which can muffle sounds if placed on any soft, sound-absorbing surface.

Redmi 6A has a 5.45-inch screen with high-end 18:9 screen installed at this range, coming with a resolution of 720×1440 pixels. At the age of QHD+, this resolution is not premium and could have been bumped up to 1080p. It comes with thick top and bottom bezels which reduces screen space though the side bezels are reduced to a minimum. The display is bright indoors though sunlight legibility will go down when taken outside.

Redmi 6A sports a MediaTek Helio A22 chipset, same as the Redmi 6. It is a good processor for an entry-level phone used for the essential functions of the smartphone. As a task switcher, it works smoothly, and it could handle the basic apps thrown at it. Rarely, it can take more than one to two seconds to open an app. You can use gestures instead of the on-screen Andriod navigation, but that could be extremely slow. It got a decent 61,053 in AnTuTu which is satisfactory considering the low range of the phone. The graphics performance is moderate getting a benchmark score of 5,451. The 20fps score in GFXBench’s T-Rex test makes it clear that 3D games won’t run well on this set.  The processor has four ARM Cortex-A53 cores that are clocked at 2GHz and uses a power-efficient 12nm process which gives the battery life an extra boost

Redmi 6A produces decent photos, but they do not capture a lot of details. It has a 13MP camera with f/2.2 aperture and feature Phase Detection Auto Focus, and the 5MP front camera. The daylight shots captured by the camera is reasonably good with acceptable details and reasonable sharpness. Sometimes, the focus does not lock on the ideal spots making the bright areas blow out of the frame. However, the colours remain vibrant and colorful.

Low-light shots can be decent enough, only if there is a light source nearby. The subject gets washed out, and the details are not captured accurately. Shadowed areas come out completely black.

As an entry-level device, the front selfie camera does a passable job in clicking moderate selfies that could be used in social media, but not as brilliant as Instagram pictures. It is possible to record 1080p videos with this device but it is often jerky, and there are focus shifts that lead to a loss of details. Video taken in bright sunlight can become oversharpened and turn out to be a bit artificial.

The 3,000 mAh battery of Redmi 6A worked wonderfully and can last for a day with moderate use. On an HD video loop, the battery managed to last for 13 hours 22 minutes which is excellent considering the price range. Light video streaming and gaming can easily make it last for 10 hours without a problem. However, it does not come with fast charging, taking about 3 hours to charge from 0% to 100%. It is a lot of time for charging, even considering the price range.

The Redmi 6A comes with a better processor, bigger screen and polished look that makes it a worthy upgrade of Redmi 5A. As an entry-level phone, this does an excellent job in keeping power, quality battery and good design compiled into one set. However, it does not have any exceptional quality outside its price range. Based on similar competition, it easily beats Honor 7S and Coolpad Mega 5A in terms of performance. However, these are similar features which you can get in Redmi 6, coupled with a fingerprint scanner and better performance, which is worth considering. As a low-cost phone, Redmi 6A tackles the competition well and should be one of the first choices for users.