Xiaomi’s first Android One branded smartphone, the Xiaomi Mi A1 is the first Mi smartphone to offer stock Android operating system. As a matter of fact, this is the first device from the OEM to feature dual rear-camera setup as well.
The device was unveiled last week at an event held in New Delhi. Finally, the device will be available for purchase from 12th September 12:00 PM via Mi official website, Flipkart, and throughout the country via offline resellers like Sangeetha, Poorvika, Big C, LOT, UniverCell, E-Zone, Croma, and Vijay Sales. Not only at these places, the device will be available even in Mi Home and Mi Preferred partners situated at the different parts of the country.
The Mi A1 features full metal unibody design with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on the front. The mobile does resemble the iPhone 7 Plus or OnePlus 5 in terms of design language and aesthetics. In terms of tech-specifications, the device resembles the Redmi Note 4.
The Xiaomi Mi A1 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 Octa-core SoC based on A53 cores and 64-bit architecture with energy efficient FinFET 14 nm technology. The mobile offers 4 GB LPDDR3 RAM and 64 GB onboard flash storage with a Hybrid SIM tray, which can accept either 2 nano SIM cards or a SIM and an SD card. The device offers 5.5 inch full HD IPS LCD panel protected by 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass.
The best part about this device is the dual camera solution. We have seen many dual camera smartphones at the range of INR 15,000 but the Mi A1 difference from the crowd. The dual 12 MP camera with a combination of 12 MP wide angle lens and a 12 MP telephoto lens offers X2 optical zoom, Portrait mode, and 4K video recording capability. The front facing 5 MP selfie camera does offer 1080p video recording and beauty mode.
As this is an Android One branded device, the Mi A1 runs on the purest version of Android Nougat 7.1.2 with a promised update to the Android Oreo by the end of 2017. The phone packs a decent 3080 mAh battery with fast charging capability (5 volts and 2 amps) via USB type C port. The device does support USB OTG and reverse charging capability.
For the audiophiles, the device features 10 volts smart power amplifier with DHS Audio Calibration Algorithm, which supports high-end headphones with up to 60-ohm impedance. Presently, the device offers the best value for money under the INR 15,000 price tag.