Xiaomi just unveiled the
Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite on stage. These represent the company's second generation
of stock Android phones and come with Project Treble support. Plus they are a
solid upgrade over the Mi A1 - the Mi A2 is more powerful while the Lite model
brings a large battery.
The spec sheet is no surprise, but it’s still good
to see Xiaomi venture into more premium territory with its Android One
offerings. The Xiaomi Mi A2 packs some pretty capable hardware in its aluminum
unibody. It features a 5.99” IPS LCD with 1,080 x 2,160px resolution. It
promises 85% NTSC color coverage and 1,500:1 contrast ratio and it is guarded
by a beveled Gorilla Glass 5. The phone has roughly the same dimensions as the
A1 (it’s 3mm taller), but offers 12% more screen real estate thanks to the
taller aspect ratio.
Photography is a key part of the Mi A2 package. The
selfie camera is built around a 20MP Sony IMX376 sensor. It has 1µm pixels, but
in the dark it can group four of them for improved light sensitivity. There’s a
dedicated LED flash for selfies as well as the usual bundle of AI-powered
effects and HDR.
The rear dual camera uses the same sensor (with an
f/1.75 aperture) as well as a 12MP Sony IMX486, which has larger 1.25µm pixels
(and the same aperture). You can manually switch between the two sensors,
depending on what’s appropriate for the scene. Note that there’s no difference
in the field of view, as in no telephoto or wide-angle lens.
The Mi A2 is part of the Android One program and is
powered by the speedy Snapdragon 660 chipset. The RAM is 4GB on the base model
and 6GB on the top model. Storage starts at the limited 32GB (there’s no
microSD slot) and there are 64GB and 128GB options (the latter is the one with
6GB RAM).
The phone measures 7.3mm thick and weighs 166g. Its
aluminum body will come in Black, Blue, Red, Gold and Rose Gold. The battery
has a 3,000mAh capacity and you get a 10W charger.
The Xiaomi Mi A2 will launch in 40 markets. Here’s
the pricing for Spain where the phone will launch on August 10. Other countries
that got their launch dates confirmed are France (July 27 launch) and Italy
(August 8).
- 4GB/32GB € 250
- 4GB/64GB € 280
- 6GB/128GB € 350
You can think of the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite as a refresh
of the original. It’s powered by the same Snapdragon 625 chipset and the screen
has roughly the same surface area – though now with a trendy notch and 19:9
aspect ratio. The phone is both shorter and narrower, making it easier to handle.
The battery is a big upgrade with its 4,000mAh
capacity. Xiaomi promises 6 hours of non-stop gaming or 34 hours of music
playback. We don’t mind the 8.8mm thickness, but we do mind the outdated
microUSB port a little bit.
Back to the screen – it’s a 5.84” panel with 1080p+
resolution. Its notch is home to a 5MP front camera, which promises selfies
with bokeh effects. The dual camera on the rear is a 12MP+5MP combo. The 12MP sensor is
the primary shooter and it features 1.25µm pixels and phase detection autofocus.
The Mi A2 Lite comes in two versions – with 3GB of
RAM and 32GB storage and 4GB/64GB. There’s a dedicated microSD slot, so storage
expansion is always an option (even if you use both SIM slots). Still, the
extra gig of RAM may make the second version more desirable.
The Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite has the same launch dates as
its sibling - France on July 27, Italy on August 8 and Spain on August 10. The
pricing is pretty aggressive, on the level of the Redmi 6 (and the hardware is
essentially Redmi 6 Pro).
- 3GB/32GB € 180
- 4GB/64GB € 230
