Xiaomi Mi A2 Android One review: Perfect mid-range camera phone

Xiaomi's 2017 series Mi A1 had set the benchmark on how to make the Android One phone. And earlier this month, the company launched Mi A2 with several upgrades both in terms of design and also internal hardware.

As the tag-line of the device says — Picture Perfect Photos, the USP of the Mi A2 is the camera. But, does it really live up to the expectation? Let's check it out.

Build quality, design and display:

Xiaomi Mi A2 flaunts a sleek unibody design with a metallic shell having a matte finish. When held in the hand, I felt the premium material used on the back. It's really sturdy and offers stability to the structure capable of sustaining any accidental fall. I appreciate the company for offering separate shell cover adding another layer of protection. Also, it actually makes the back even without which, the phone would wobble on a flat surface as the dual-camera camera module protrudes out a bit.

The company engineers have done great paint job with the antennae lines, as the light grey colour perfectly blends into the dark-hued shell.

On the front, the Mi A2 sports a full HD+ (2160x1080p) display with 2.5D curved glass display, which adds value to the visual appeal of the phone. It is also protected by the Corning's Gorilla Glass 5 same as the one used in the latest premium Galaxy Note9 (price starts at 67,900). This is unprecedented for a phone priced under Rs 17,999 or ever sub-Rs 30,000 for that matter.

But, it would have been great if the company had used a more vibrant screen. Even in the full brightness mode, it's not that bright enough. On the upside, it has 18:9 aspect ratio, which offers cinematic viewing experience.

Another qualm is that Xiaomi has ditched the 3.5mm audio jack. I am not fully sure where it got the idea to make such a move like that; most probably from Google, I guess (FYI: Pixel 2 series don't have it either). On the bright side, the company is offering a Type C USB-to-3.5mm port connector for user convenience.

Performance:

I have no complaints about this aspect. Mi A2's Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor supports Artificial Intelligence Engine so that the advanced Kryo260 internal CPU cores is well optimised to work with pure Android Oreo and add to that, the chipset is backed by LPDDR4X RAM. The Mi A2 perfectly does its job in terms of the swift opening of the apps, camera loading, switching between multiple apps and playing games. Also, the fingerprint sensor and face unlock feature of the Mi A2 works perfectly fine with less False Rejection Rate (FRR).

It scored impressive 1625 and 4762 points on single-core and multi-core tests, respectively on Geekbench 4.0. And on the AnTuTu, it got a whopping 130,375 points. And on the 3D Mark's Sling Shot Extreme benchmarking app, it scored 1,253 and 1,023 points on OpenGL ES 3.1 and Vulkan graphics' tests, respectively.

The most I like about this device is its pure Android experience. I being a reviewer, I tend to switch between several phones almost every few days. They come with their own complicated UI having unnecessary customisation options and have to relearn on how to navigate through the settings and get annoyed with so many third-party apps every time.

Consumers will be happy to know that Mi A2 supports Google's Project Treble, meaning the device will get the faster system and security updates and stay up to date than other any third-party Android devices in the market.

Camera:

In the aspect, Mi A2 truly lives up to its reputation to offer picture-perfect photos. It's the best camera phone in the price range or under Rs 20,000 if that matters. The detailing and near-accurate colour representation of the subjects in the captured picture, and also the dynamic range of the camera is praiseworthy. Even the low-light imaging of the Mi A2 is of top-notch quality.

Thanks to Electronics Image Stabilisation (EIS), the Mi A2 takes stable videos even when the hands shake during the shooting. It is capable of taking full HD (1080p) video in 60fps (frames per second) and even 4K at 30fps.

The front-camera too, it's impressive particularly the AI-based Beauty app and will definitely find traction among youth. In addition to taking really good snaps, the camera app offers a plethora of options to adjust skin tones after taking selfies to make more appealing to be posted on Instagram and Twitter.

Check out the Xiaomi Mi A2 camera samples:

Battery:

Xiaomi Mi A2 houses a 3,010mAh with Quick 2.0 charge-compatible charger. Though the cell capacity seems small compared to rival brands, including its own brethren Redmi Note 5 series for that matter, it's offer day-long battery life.

During the testing, it easily lasted a whole day under mixed usage which included a session (around 20 minutes) of watching videos mostly movie trailers on YouTube, gaming, voice calls, WhatsApp messaging and going through the social media website and other day-to-day activities.

It can be noted that the Mi A2 also supports Quick Charge 4.0+, but consumers have to buy the charger separately.

Final thoughts:

It's a very difficult job for smartphone-makers to bring out the 'wow' factor in successive iterations, particularly in the mid-range segment. But, Xiaomi keeps surprising us. The new Mi A2 is one prime example. There is no rival phone in the mid-range segment in India that can match Mi A2 Android One in terms of picture quality, performance and system configuration for under Rs 20,000.

If you are looking for a great camera phone that doesn't burn a deep hole in the pocket, just go for the Mi A2 Android One. Also, it will be getting Google's latest Android 9.0 Pie software update very soon.

Pros:

• Exceptional camera hardware
• Pure Android experience
• Really good system configuration
• Day-long battery
• Cost-effective price
• Very loud dual speakers

Cons:

• The display could have been more vibrant and brighter
• No 3.5mm audio jack, but it can be noted that Xiaomi is bundling Type-C to 3.5mm port adaptor with the retail package of the phone.

Key specifications of Xiaomi Mi A2 Android One:

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