Xiaomi Mi A2 launched in India: From price to specs, all you need to know

The Xiaomi Mi A2 gets a major design overhaul in comparison to the predecessor, along with several new improvements in terms of specifications and features

Xiaomi, a Chinese mobile phone manufacturer, launched a Google Android One operating system-based Xiaomi Mi A2 smartphone in India on Wednesday, priced at Rs 16,999 for 4GB variant with 64GB internal storage model. Pre-order for the smartphone will begin at 12pm on August 9, 2018, and the first sale will be at 12pm on August 16. The 6GB variant with 128 GB internal storage model will be launched later in the market.

Xiaomi Mi A2 comes with a data and cashback offer from Jio. It features a familiar design that the company introduced with the launch of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro. The phone sports a bigger 5.99-inch in-plane switch (IPS) screen in a form factor almost identical to the predecessor. The screen features fullHD+ resolution that stretches in an 18:9 aspect ratio, protected by a 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass 5. While most other midrange phones are moving towards all glass design, the Mi A2 retains the metallic body design of its predecessor, but now boasts more colour options.

First unveiled in Spain on July 24, the device is a successor of the Mi A1, which was the first Xiaomi smartphone to run stock Android out of the box.

In terms of specifications, the Xiaomi Mi A2 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 system-on-chip, paired with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. Being an Android One smartphone, the Mi A2 runs vanilla Android Oreo 8.1, and the company had promised to upgrade it to Android P sometime later this year. The phone also gets unlimited high-quality photos storage on Google Drive.

Mi A2 features a 12MP Sony IMX486 with f/1.75 aperture and a 20MP Sony IMX376 secondary sensor with f/1.75 aperture on the back. The front camera is a 20MP one with LED flash. The phone packs a 3,010mAh battery and the Indian variant supports Qualcomm’s QuickCharge 4.0. However, there’s no special fast-charger in the box. Finally, Mi A2 does not have a microSD slot or headphone jack.

While most of the things have been upgraded and improved in the Xiaomi Mi A2, it also misses some of the key utility features that were there in the phone’s first iteration. These features include microSD card slot for storage expansion and 3.5mm audio output port. Although these features are slowly fading away in new generation smartphone, they are still quintessential in budget and midrange smartphone segment.