Xiaomi Mi A1 with dual flagship camera launched: Should you upgrade to this phone?

Xiaomi Mi A1 will pretty much deliver performance that is seen in most flagships like iPhone 7 and OnePlus 5.

| Updated: Tuesday, September 5, 2017, 18:25 [IST]

Xiaomi, as scheduled, has announced the Mi A1 smartphone in India. While due to the numerous leaks and rumors we pretty much had an idea of what the smartphone was bringing to the table but Xiaomi had few surprises for the consumers.

Xiaomi Mi A1 launched: Likely to continue the legacy of Redmi Note 4

The new smartphone comes with premium design, flagship dual cameras, high-quality audio for an immersive audio experience, added customization capabilities and some other interesting features. Moreover, as per the company, this mid-range device will pretty much deliver performance that is seen in most flagships like iPhone 7 and OnePlus 5.

However, the smartphone has similar features to that of Xiaomi Mi 5X and a similar dual camera setup. So fans and consumers you don't need to be sad. The only difference though will be that Mi A1 will come with stock Android OS.

In any case, let's take a look at more details about the Xiaomi Mi A1 below. You can check out the launch video at the bottom as well.

Design and Display

The new Xiaomi Mi A1 features a unibody metal design with rounded edges. The device has a coating at its rear that offers a smooth finish and is fingerprint resistant as well. The handset also has been developed with a pyrolytic graphic sheet that helps in heat dispersion. The device measures 155.4 x 75.8 x 7.3 mm and it weighs 165g.

The Mi A1 boasts of a 5.5-inch FHD 1080p display with 2.5D curved glass on top. There are three capacitive navigation buttons at the bottom and not too thick bezels around the screen. Also, there is an infrared sensor, 3.5mm audio port and a fingerprint scanner on board the device.

Under the Hood

As for the specifications, Xiaomi Mi A1 is powered by an octa-core 2GHz Snapdragon 625 Soc which is paired with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. The storage can be expanded up to 128GB using a microSD card.

The device is an Android One device and Xiaomi has partnered with Google to bring the stock Android experience to its users. The good thing though, Google will now be directly providing updates for the smartphone in terms of software.

Google executive present during the event also promised Oreo update by the end of the year and he also stated that the Mi A1 will be one of the first devices to get Android P as well.

Further, the device is backed by a 3080mAh battery. There is a hybrid SIM card slot on board and connectivity features such as 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, USB Type-C and GPS are available.

Cameras

Well, the main USP of this device is the dual flagship cameras that it is equipped with. Well, Xiaomi Mi A1 has a flagship level dual camera setup at its rear as the one we saw on the Mi 6.

The rear camera consists of a primary 12MP wide-angle lens with an aperture of f/2.2 and a secondary 12MP telephoto lens with an aperture of f/2.6. The camera has 2X optical zoom, PDAF, and dual tone LED flash too. Up front, there is a 5MP selfie camera as well.

The cameras also come with several modes for shooting pictures.

Price and Availability

The Xiaomi Mi A1 has been launched in three color variants - Black, Gold and Rose Cold and is priced at Rs. 14,999. The sale will debut on September 12 at 12 PM through Mi.com and Flipkart. The smartphone will also be made available at offline partner stores across India.