Since then, many companies have become part of Google’s Android One program. But some of them launched their products in the Indian market. HMD Global, a smartphone maker of Nokia brand, announced that all its Android smartphones would be part of the Android One program. All the phones of the Nokia brand launched at Mobile World Congress 2018 have been brought into the Indian market. Now Xiaomi has introduced an upgrade Mi A2 of its first Android One smartphone Xiaomi Mi A1. This stock comes with better hardware in addition to Android. Those who want pure Android experience should buy only Xiaomi Mi A2? We have tried to find the answer to this question.
Xiaomi Mi A2 Design
Xiaomi Mi A2 There is a best design smartphone. It comes with metal unibody and gives a feeling of premium in hands. The first major change is seen in the display compared to Xiaomi Mi A1. The handset has a 5.99 -inch 18: 9 aspect ratio display. Because of this the phone looks long and thin. The edges are curved and for this reason there is good grip in the hands. The black variant given by the review comes with matte finish. Fingerprints do not easily fall on this. But the phone slips easily in the hands and we would suggest our readers to use the cover given in the retail box.
Power and volume buttons are on the right side. Their response is good. We found that the power button position is good, but the volume buttons are slightly above our choice. Xiaomi has placed selfie cameras, earpieces, selfie lights and notification lights above the display. The bottom part of the display is empty. The smartphone has a color notification LED.
The USB is a Type-C port on the lower back. There are speaker grills on both sides of it, but only the right one has loudspeakers. The IR Ameter is also present in the phone, with the help of which the phone can be used as remote control. It has found a place with secondary microphone at the top. The phone does not have a 3.5mm headphone jack. Instead, USB Type-C Dongle has been given in the box. Xiaomi claims that it has used a better quality application, so that the speaker and the headphones get good sounds.

Xiaomi has given dual camera setup on the back, in vertical position. The rear has a 12 -megapixel primary camera, 20 megapixel secondary lens and LED flash. The camera is of bulging. Because of this, the phone remains lifted on the flat surface. The fingerprint sensor has found a place next to the camera module. Xiaomi has given 3000 mAh battery in Mi A2.
Xiaomi Mi A2 Specification, Software and Feature
The Chinese smartphone manufacturer has used Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor in Mi A2. Adreno is with 512 GPU integrated with it. Xiaomi Mi A2 has 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage. Sadly, there is no microSD card slot, that is, you will have to compromise with the storage of the phone. This dual sim smartphone has a place for two Nano SIM slots. Both SIMs have support for 4G and VoLTE.
The 5.99 inch display is full-HD+ resolution. Its pixel density is 403 pixels per inch. Corning Gorilla Glass 5 has been used for protection. The viewing angles are fine, but the display is not very bright. You will not be able to control the output either. Ambient display feature activates the phone when notifications come.
The battery capacity of the phone is 3000 mAh which is smaller than the battery found in the rest of the phone in this price segment. As an example, Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 ,Review) It comes with a large battery of 4000 mAh. Xiaomi Mi A2 has a Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 4+ support. But you will get only 10 watt standard charger in the retail box. The connectivity feature of Xiaomi Mi A2 includes Bluetooth 5.0, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 AC, GPS, A-GPS, Glonas and Bidu.

Xiaomi has focused on the camera of Mi A2. There is a 12 -megapixel primary camera with F/1.75 aperture on the back. The secondary camera is 20 megapixels and its aperture is only F/1.75. Remember that Mi A1 had a zoom lens for 2x optical zoom in the secondary camera. But Xiaomi Mi A2 will give good performance in low light.
Xiaomi Mi A2 Stock runs on Android 8.1 Oreo. The company has given its feedback, file manager and me drop app in it. The feedback app cannot be disabled or uninstall, but the remaining two apps can be removed from the handset. The camera app is also customized by Xiaomi. This default is different from the Android app. Google’s apps are already installed in this phone. When we started reviewing the phone, it was equipped with a security patch of June. But during the review, it received an update after which the phone was equipped with the security patch of August.
If you want pure Android, you will like the software experience of Mi A2. It has an app drawer. You can see all the installed apps by swiping up. You can get Google feed by swiping the right side on the home screen. Google Assistant can be activated by pressing the home button for a long time. We found that there is no app to use the IR Ameter in the phone. This means that the handset cannot be used as out of box remote control. If you want, you can do this by downloading Me Remot App from Play Store. Xiaomi told Gazettes 360 that she would bring updates after which the Mi Remot app will already be installed in this phone. The camera app can be activated by pressing the power button in Mi A2 twice.
Xiaomi Mi A2 Performance and Battery Life
We have used Nokia 7 Plus and it comes with the only processor with Xiaomi Mi A2. Nokia’s phone also runs on stock Android. The performance of Xiaomi Mi A2 is similar. We had no problem while using multitasking or phone UI. 4 GB RAM will prove to be great for common use. The fingerprint sensor is fast and unlocks the phone quickly.
We played games like PUBG, Clash Royal and Asfault 9 on the phone. PUBG ran into medium settings in default. We did not complain about performance. We played this game for about 25 minutes. During this time it was found that the phone was hot, but not too much. Aicefault 9 went on without any leg or trouble.

In our HD video loop test, the battery of this phone of Xiaomi supported 8 hours 13 minutes which is less than average. In our review Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro ,Review) And Redmi Note 5 Had supported for 16 hours, although they come with large batteries. Active WhatsApp and Gmail account, about an hour -long gaming, some time on Instagram and some phone calls, the battery saver mode became active after about 7 hours 30 minutes. If your user behavior is also similar, then do not forget to keep the charger together. It takes about 2 hours to fully charge the handset for the charger given with the retail box. In such a situation, we will suggest you to use the charger coming with Qualcomm Quick Charge Support.
Xiaomi mi a2 camera
Xiaomi has worked on the camera app of this phone and this stock is different from the Android camera app. You will find shot video, portrait, square, panorama and a manual mode. In manual mode, users will be able to control white balance, focus, shutter speed and ISO. During this time users can also choose between regular and low light lenses. Xiaomi claims that it has made some changes in the portrait mode that in sufficient light it uses the camera of 12 megapix and the 20 -megapixel secondary camera becomes active when low light. But we found that this would not happen. When one lens is used, the other acts as a depth sensor.
The Mi A2 very quickly identifies the light and locks the focus. Pictures taken from Mi A2 in outdoor come with a lot of details and colors are also accurate. Even after zoom in, you will be able to see the details in the picture and the noise is not too much. We also found that the camera app automatically switchs to HDR mode if required. The autofocus is fast while taking a macrose shot. We found that the Mi A2 is also capable of focusing on a very small object. Macrose shot came sharp. The phone showed a clear difference between the subject and the backgrame.
In low light, the Mi A2 increases the ISO and reduces the shutter speed, so that instead of using the secondary camera, the primary camera will capture more light. We believe that Xiaomi should have used the secondary given for better photography in low light. But if you want, you can do this by going to manual mode. These photos also brought pictures with details, but we found that the dark area has an aggressive noise redeem, which causes the watercolor effect to zoom in.
Tap on the image to see Xiaomi Mi A2’s camera sample
Selfies also come with details. Photos came in the indoor. Selfie Phil Light proves to be very effective in low light conditions. HDR is also available for selfie camera and it becomes active on its own when needed. You can decide the level of beautification according to your own.
In Xiaomi Mi A2 you will be able to record 4K videos from primary camera and up to 1080 pixels from selfie camera. You will have the facility to shoot videos of 1080 pixels resolution at the rate of 60 frames per second from primary camera. But we found that the camera was having trouble locking focus at higher frame rates. Video stabilization is available for the rear camera.
Our decision
Stock in budget range for Android experience Xiaomi mi a1 ,Review) Always was the first choice. However, the situation has changed. Especially after HMD Global brought Nokia Android One Phones. In such a situation, Xiaomi will have to take special care of the price and the company has done something similar with the new launch.
Xiaomi Mi A2’s cameras are fantastic. If seen, it is one of the best camera phones of this price range. Apart from this, the powerful Snapdragon 660 processor has been part of the more expensive phone so far. In such a situation, this phone will definitely entice this phone to customers who want strong performance at the budget price.
Xiaomi Mi A2 is priced at Rs 16,999. Given the hardware, this is a very aggressive price. However, Xiaomi Mi A2 also has some shortcomings. The battery capacity is less than average. Because of this we have a weak battery life. Xiaomi has discharged 3.5mm headphone jack and there is no slot for microSD cards. Buyers pay much attention to both these aspects. If you want stock Android and the camera is also desired to be strong, then Mi A2 is made for you. If you have no problem with MIUI Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro ,Review) It is still a better option and its price is also low. We would suggest you to keep an eye on Honor Play.