Xiaomi Mi A1

Xiaomi is grabbing the headlines lately due to its all new smartphone that is powered by the Android One software. It is the first Xiaomi mobile to come with Android One OS pre-loaded on it. The key highlight of the Xiaomi Mi A1 is its dual camera setup, which is getting popular these days even in the affordable smartphone segment in India. Although the Mi A1 runs on Android One OS, it still retains some popular Xiaomi apps such as Mi Store apps, Mi Camera, Mi Services, and Mi Remote.The Android One platform on the Xiaomi Mi A1 is built on stock Android 7.1.2 version. Furthermore, the phone will get a timely update for the Android 8.0 Oreo version.The Xiaomi Mi A1 flaunts a metal unibody design. It has a 2.5D curved glass placed on the display and sports a dedicated fingerprint scanner at the rear panel.

The device has a built-in IR Blaster. The phone features a dual pyrolytic graphic sheet which helps in the reduction of thermal performance by up to 2-degree Celsius and let radiate the heat.There is a dual rear camera setup containing two 12MP sensors among which, one packs a 1.25-micron pixel sensor with a wide-angle lens and f/2.2 aperture, whereas the other sensor will be a telephoto lens with f/2.6 aperture and a 1.25-micron pixel sensor. The telephoto lens is said to be capable of achieving up to 2x optical zoom.Having a dual rear camera setup, the phone will be competent to capture images with Bokeh effect. At the front, there is a 5MP selfie snapper with real-time beautification features.The device comes with a 3080mAh battery. It measures dimensions at 155.4×75.8×7.3mm and weighs 168 grams.

With the Snapdragon 625 inside, this is the fastest Android One phone we’ve seen to date. The Mi A1 is lag free and sufficiently fast.The only real issue is that the phone heats up just enough for you to be uncomfortable while gaming for long periods. Two cameras follow the iPhone’s telephoto and wide angle formula, offering 2x zoom and bokeh mode. There’s a “Stereo Mode” within the camera app for shooting bokeh shots, while you’ll find the family 1x/2x button for zooming seamlessly. The camera app is custom designed by Xiaomi and works seamlessly enough. It’s a good camera to work with and will take good enough shots for sharing on social media, but don’t go expecting much more.Xiaomi’s stereo mode is its take on Apple’s “portrait mode”, and its task is too blue the background. 

You’re getting a balanced display that doesn’t miss touches, responds to commands fast and is just bright enough to be used under direct sunlight. The Mi A1 amongst the better battery performers amongst budget devices.Xiaomi is promising you 2x optical zoom with this device, and the 1x/2x button is quite useful. It switches from the wide angle to the telephoto lens (56mm) seamlessly and the results are quite good. You see some noise when shooting indoors, but not enough to hamper image quality or lead to major loss of details.When shooting in auto mode, the Mi A1 produces really sharp and well-detailed photos in daylight conditions. It’s a very dependable smartphone that you should certainly consider. It’s what Android One phones should have been from the very beginning.

We are getting the best of both worlds as Google’s liquid fluid Android experience is coming to a Xiaomi phone which is offering flagship features for less than Rs 15,000.Software wise, this is clean Android with no software modifications of any kind. This means it also comes baked in with the Google Assistant.Overall, software wise the phone is a joy to use as it is simple and uncluttered. It is the lightest phone on the planet, but it’s a very well balanced one as it doesn't feel like something that’s feather light nor is it too heavy. The display is also great for such gaming experiences. It is big and bright with good viewing angles which make it a pleasure to game on or even consume text. Its biggest weakness is the level of contrast. Still, it remains one of the best performing smartphones in the segment. 

The A1 goes one step further with the vanilla Android Nougat 7.1.2 Nougat experience running in tow with Android One.The sound quality is quite good as well. In daylight, the Mi A1 takes rich images with good levels of detail and color saturation. In low light, the performance stumbles and it falls behind even a phone like the new Moto G5S. But overall, it is one of the best camera phones in the sub 15,000 rupee price band.The Mi A1 raises the bar for what one expects in a mid range Android smartphone.Xiaomi in collaboration with Google has ratcheted up the ante by adding the missing piece of great software.