Xiaomi Mi A1 Review Details

     

Xiaomi Mi A1: Detailed Review

A tie up with Google has usually been seen as a stepping stone for budding smartphone makers. But, Chinese Xiaomi is neither a budding smartphone maker, nor a stranger to Google tie-ups. I’ve personally asked the company, on multiple occasions, whether the Mi Box would ever make it to India, but that device has little relevance to India at the moment. What is relevant to the country though is Google’s Android One program. And joining this program puts Xiaomi in the unique position of leading the pack.

The Android One program seemed to have fizzled out since its announcement a couple of years ago. However, many would argue that Google chose the wrong partners to kick off the project. If that was indeed the case, the Xiaomi’s entry into the fray, with the Mi A1, should probably be enough to revive Android One. The company brings with it a viral quality, enthusiast support, growing reach and brand trust that Lava, Micromax and Karbonn probably never had.

On the other hand, the Mi A1 is a big deal for Xiaomi as well. It is the first time the company ditches its trusty MiUI platform, and also its first dual-camera phone in India. The Mi branding tells you that Xiaomi considers this amongst its premium devices, and the company says Android Oreo will be rolled out to this phone before 2017 is through. It is also the most powerful Android One phone ever, which is easy enough to do, but the Mi A1 review, presents us with a phone that is indeed tough to argue against. Xiaomi will sell this phone on its retail channels and Mi Homes, along with e-commerce websites.

Note: At the time of writing this review, we’ve had this device for about a week before launch, but the pricing details haven’t been revealed yet. Considering Xiaomi’s history, the inclusion of the Android One program, and the dual-camera, we’re operating under the assumption that the phone will be priced at Rs. 13,999. The Mi A1 is priced at Rs 14,999 and is available on Flipkart.

Stock Android on a Mi phone

While Xiaomi doesn’t actively promote MiUI anymore, the interface is a major part of the company’s ecosystem. Xiaomi’s fans often swear by it, despite the fact that Xiaomi chooses MiUI updates over Android updates, and that the UI is certainly heavier than a vanilla Android experience.

On the Mi A1, Xiaomi has kept only three apps from MiUI: the uber useful Mi remote app, the Mi Store and the Feedback app. Otherwise, with Android 7.1.2 out-of-the-box, this is Xiaomi’s most advanced (in terms of Android version) phone yet. The only other change is in the camera app and algorithm, which was necessary since Android doesn’t natively support dual-cameras just yet. Xiaomi says this won’t hamper the Oreo timeline mentioned above.

Running on stock Android eliminates some of the overheads on the processor and the phone presents a smooth and lag free experience on general day-to-day things. Apps load as expected and without many hiccups. However, in the past week or so, I have often felt that MiUI on a Redmi Note 4 felt smoother and better tuned. The Mi A1 is not all that different from the Note 4 in terms of specifications, so we will try to gain deeper insights into this via a comparison later.

As a standalone device though, the Mi A1 is as smooth as you expect a stock Android device to be and even faster than some. It’s not absolutely lag free, but then no budget device is that way either. The Mi A1 gets by with minimum lags and its UI performance is certainly above average.

Camera

Stock Android is not the only USP for this device. It’s also the only Android One phone to sport a dual-camera. There are two 12MP sensors on the back of this device, and Xiaomi refused to reveal the sensor details since it will be sourcing them from multiple sources. That means final camera quality on the device you buy may differ from our review sample.