We go hands-on with Xiaomi’s two newest Android One phones!

Xiaomi’s strategy of stuffing the best possible hardware in a phone then selling it at near cost to the consumer is one that has managed to propel it to superstardom, earning it millions and millions of fans worldwide. But not everyone is a fan of MIUI, the overlay that comes standard with each Xiaomi phone that comes out of China – some may even say that it’s one of the biggest stumbling block for the company’s hardware in some Western markets like Europe.

That’s why their original Android One phone, the Mi A1, did so well in places like Spain and France since it delivered the same tried and tested Xiaomi formula with pure Android bliss.

 

What are they?

The Mi A2 is Xiaomi’s successor to their first Android One phone, the Mi A1. The Mi A2 is a reworked Mi 6X announced earlier this year that’s made for Western audiences. The biggest change is the removal of Xiaomi’s MIUI overlay and the use of pure Android courtesy of the Android One initiative.

The Mi A2 Lite follows the same vein, sporting much the same hardware as the Redmi 6 Pro but at a much lower price point as the Mi A2. It has less powerful innards, but make up for it with a bigger battery, expandable storage and a 3.5mm jack.

How do they feel?

Both phones feel pretty great. The Mi A2 uses a unibody aluminum design that’s much tougher than glass-backed phones that are the rage nowadays. The rear of the phone holds the vertically stacked dual camera module, which is composed of a 12-megapixel sensor with a f/1.75 aperture lens and a 20-megapixel sensor f/1.75 aperture lens. The main difference is that the secondary 20-megapixel camera does pixel-binning which should result in better low-light photos.

The power button is on the right along with the volume rocker. There’s an IR blaster on the top while the USB Type-C connector is on the bottom, flanked by speaker grilles. If you noticed, there’s no 3.5mm jack, so you’ll have to use the Type-C adapter if you want to use wired headphones with this phone.

The front is a 6-inch display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection, full HD+ resolution and an 18:9 aspect ratio. There’s no notch, but the tradeoff is that the phone is a bit taller than a comparable device with a notch.

Hardware-wise the Mi A2 runs a Snapdragon 660 processor with a choice of either 4GB/6GB of RAM and 32GB/64GB/128GB of storage depending on the price. Qualcomm’s mid-range processor is capable of handling most Android apps that are available on Google Play without any problems.

The Mi A2 Lite is the low-cost Android One alternative to the Mi A2. It’s a reworked Redmi 6 Pro, and utilizes a plastic and metal body, along with a notched display. Because of the smaller 5.84-inch full HD+ display, it’s a little handier to use one-handed, important for people with smaller mitts.

The phone has dual cameras in the form of a 12-megapixel primary camera and a 5-megapixel secondary shooter. Internally its hardware is a little dated though, as it runs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 625 processor with 4GB of RAM and a choice of either 32GB or 64GB of storage. It does have more battery than the more expensive model though, at 4000mAh but sadly both phones don’t come with fast chargers in the box upon purchase.

Both phones feel fast and fluid, and seeing pure Android on Xiaomi-made hardware addresses many of the complaints we’ve had with the company’s sometimes bloated UI. Xiaomi added a few AI enhancements to the camera of the Mi A2, specifically better edge detection when shooting in portrait mode, even when there’s more than one person in the shot. We’ve yet to try this so we’ll have to take their word for it for now.

Xiaomi is pricing the Mi A2 at Php 14,990 for the 4GB/64GB model and Php 17,490 for the 6GB/128GB model. Xiaomi is pricing the Mi A2 Lite at Php 9,990 for the 3GB/32GB model, while the 4GB/64GB is priced at Php 11,990.

Xiaomi has not announced local availability as of yet.