Since then, many companies have become part of Google’s Android One program. But only a few of them launched their products in the Indian market. Nokia brand smartphone maker HMD Global had announced that all its Android smartphones will be part of the Android One program. All the phones of Nokia brand launched in Mobile World Congress 2018 have been brought in the Indian market. Now Xiaomi has introduced Mi A2, an upgrade to its first Android One smartphone Xiaomi Mi A1. Apart from stock Android, it comes with better hardware. Should Xiaomi Mi A2 be the one for those looking for a pure Android experience? We have tried to find the answer to this question.
Xiaomi Mi A2 Design
Xiaomi Mi A2 It is a smartphone with excellent design. It comes with metal unibody and feels premium in hands. The first major change compared to Xiaomi Mi A1 is seen in the display. The handset has a 5.99 inch display with 18:9 aspect ratio. Because of this the phone looks long and thin. The edges are curved and due to this there is a good grip in the hands. The black variant taken for review comes with matte finish. Fingerprints do not appear easily on it. But the phone slides easily in the hands and we would suggest our readers to use the cover provided in the retail box.
The power and volume buttons are on the right side. Their response is good. We found the power button to be well positioned, but the volume buttons are a bit high up for our liking. Xiaomi has placed the selfie camera, earpiece, selfie light and notification light above the display. The bottom portion of the display is blank. The smartphone has a single color notification LED.
There is a USB Type-C port at the bottom. There are speaker grills on both sides, but only the right one has a loudspeaker. IR emitter is also present in the phone with the help of which the phone can be used as a remote control. It has got a place with a secondary microphone at the top. The phone does not have a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Instead, a USB Type-C dongle has been provided in the box. Xiaomi claims that it has used a better quality amplifier so that the speakers and headphones produce good sound.
Xiaomi has given dual camera setup on the back, in vertical position. There is a 12-megapixel primary camera, 20-megapixel secondary lens and LED flash on the rear. The camera is protruding. Because of this the phone remains raised on a flat surface. The fingerprint sensor has got a place next to the camera module. Xiaomi has given 3000 mAh battery in Mi A2.
Xiaomi Mi A2 specifications, software and features
The Chinese smartphone manufacturer has used Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor in Mi A2. Adreno 512 GPU is integrated with it. Xiaomi Mi A2 has 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage. Sadly, there is no microSD card slot, which means you will have to compromise on the phone’s storage. This dual SIM smartphone has space for two nano SIM slots. There is support for 4G and VoLTE on both SIMs.
The 5.99-inch display has full-HD+ resolution. Its pixel density is 403 pixels per inch. Corning Gorilla Glass 5 has been used for protection. Viewing angles are decent, but the display is not very bright. You also won’t be able to control the output. The Ambient Display feature activates the phone when a notification arrives.
The battery capacity of the phone is 3000 mAh which is smaller than the batteries found in other phones in this price segment. For example, Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 ,review) Comes with a large battery of 4000 mAh. Xiaomi Mi A2 has support for Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 4+. But you will get only 10 watt standard charger in the retail box. Connectivity features of Xiaomi Mi A2 include Bluetooth 5.0, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS and Baidu.
Xiaomi has kept the focus on the camera of the Mi A2. There is a 12-megapixel primary camera on the rear with F/1.75 aperture. The secondary camera is 20 megapixels and its aperture is also F/1.75. Recall that the secondary camera in the Mi A1 had a zoom lens for 2X optical zoom. But Xiaomi Mi A2 will give good performance in low light.
Xiaomi Mi A2 runs on stock Android 8.1 Oreo. The company has definitely given its feedback, file manager and Me Drop app in it. The Feedback app cannot be disabled or uninstalled, but the other two apps can be removed from the handset. The camera app has also been customized by Xiaomi. This is different from the default Android app. Google’s apps are already installed in this phone. When we started reviewing the phone, it was equipped with the June security patch. But during the review, it got an update after which the phone became equipped with the August security patch.
If you want pure Android, you’ll love the Mi A2’s software experience. It has an app drawer. You can view all installed apps by swiping up. You can find Google Feed by swiping right on the home screen. Google Assistant can be activated by long pressing the home button. We found that there is no app available to use the IR emitter on the phone. This means that the handset cannot be used as a remote control out of the box. If you want, you can do this by downloading Mi Remote app from Play Store. Xiaomi told Gadgets 360 that it will bring an update after which the Mi Remote app will be pre-installed on this phone. In Mi A2, the camera app can be activated by pressing the power button twice.
Xiaomi Mi A2 performance and battery life
We used Nokia 7 Plus and it comes with the same processor as Xiaomi Mi A2. Nokia phones also run on stock Android. The performance of Xiaomi Mi A2 is also similar. We did not face any problem while multitasking or using the phone’s UI. 4 GB RAM will prove to be sufficient for general use. The fingerprint sensor is fast and unlocks the phone quickly.
We played games like PUBG, Clash Royale and Asphalt 9 on the phone. PUBG runs at medium settings by default. We had no complaints with the performance. We played this game for about 25 minutes. During this time I found that the phone did get hot, but not too much. Asphalt 9 ran without any lag or glitches.
In our HD video loop test, the battery of this Xiaomi phone lasted for 8 hours 13 minutes which is less than average. in our review Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro ,review) And Redmi Note 5 It provided support for 16 hours, although it comes with a bigger battery. After active WhatsApp and Gmail accounts, about an hour of gaming, some time on Instagram and some phone calls, the battery saver mode got activated only after about 7 hours and 30 minutes. If your user behavior is also similar then do not forget to keep a charger with you. The charger provided with the retail box takes about 2 hours to fully charge the handset. In such a situation, we would suggest you to use the charger that comes with Qualcomm Quick Charge support.
Xiaomi Mi A2 cameras
Xiaomi has worked on the camera app of this phone and it is different from the stock Android camera app. You’ll get shot video, portrait, square, panorama and a manual mode. In manual mode, users will be able to control white balance, focus, shutter speed and ISO. During this time, users can also choose between regular and low light lenses. Xiaomi claims that it has made some changes in the portrait mode such that in sufficient light it uses the 12 megapixel camera and in low light, the 20 megapixel secondary camera becomes active. But we found that this does not happen. When one lens is in use, the other acts as a depth sensor.
Mi A2 detects light very quickly and locks focus. Photos taken outdoors with Mi A2 come with a lot of detail and the colors are also accurate. Even after zooming in, you will be able to see details in the picture and there is not much noise. We also found that the camera app automatically switches to HDR mode when needed. Autofocus is fast when taking macro shots. We found that the Mi A2 is capable of focusing even on very small objects. The macro shots came out sharp. The phone showed a clear distinction between the subject and the background.
In low light, the Mi A2 increases the ISO and reduces the shutter speed so that the primary camera captures more light instead of using the secondary camera. We believe that Xiaomi should have automatically used the secondary one for better low-light photography. But if you want, you can do this by going in manual mode. These photos also came out with details, but we found that aggressive noise reduction has been done in the dark areas, which gives a watercolor effect when zoomed in.
Tap on the image to view camera samples of Xiaomi Mi A2
Selfies also come with details. Photos came out sharp indoors. Selfie fill light proves to be very effective in low light conditions. HDR is also available for the selfie camera and activates automatically when needed. You can decide the level of beautification as per your choice.
In Xiaomi Mi A2, you will be able to record 4K videos from the primary camera and up to 1080 pixels from the selfie camera. You will have the facility to shoot videos in 1080 pixel resolution at 60 frames per second with the primary camera. But we found that the camera was having trouble locking focus at higher frame rates. Video stabilization is available for the rear camera.
our decision
For stock Android experience in budget range Xiaomi Mi A1 ,review) was always the first choice. However, the situation has changed. Especially after HMD Global launched Nokia Android One phones. In such a situation, Xiaomi will have to take special care of the price and the company has done something similar with the new launch.
The cameras on the Xiaomi Mi A2 are fantastic. If seen, this is one of the best camera phones in this price range. Apart from this, the powerful Snapdragon 660 processor has till now been a part of more expensive phones. In such a situation, this phone will definitely attract the customers who want strong performance at a budget price.
The price of Xiaomi Mi A2 is Rs 16,999. Considering the hardware, this is a very aggressive price. However, Xiaomi Mi A2 also has some shortcomings. Battery capacity is below average. This results in poor battery life. Xiaomi has ditched the 3.5mm headphone jack and there is no slot for a microSD card either. Buyers pay special attention to both these aspects. If you want stock Android and want powerful cameras then Mi A2 is made for you. If you have no problem with MIUI then Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro ,review) is still a better option and its price is also lower. We would suggest you to keep an eye on Honor Play.