Xiaomi And Google Announced Mi A1 With Great Specs, Affordable Price And A Promise of Oreo in 2017

Today, Xiaomi and Google announced a new smartphone under the Android One brand dubbed the Xiaomi Mi A1. The partnership sees Google bring back its Android One program from the dead and Xiaomi ditching MIUI 9 for one of its devices.




Based on the Mi 5X which launched in China almost two months ago, the Mi A1 features a dual-camera setup at its rear. The handset features a full metal unibody design, with plastic inserts at the top and bottom edges for improved network reception. Here are the full specs of this device :

CPU and GPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 64-bit 2GHz octa-core, Adreno 506
Display	5.5" IPS Full HD with Corning Gorilla Glass
RAM and Storage	4GB RAM, 64GB storage with hybrid SIM/MicroSD slot
Rear Camera	12MP wide-angle (1.25μm pixels) + 12MP telephoto lens with 2x Optical zoom and 10x digital zoom, dual-tone LED flash
Front camera	5MP
Power	3000/3080mAh Li-poly battery with USB Type-C charging
Network	FDD-LTE / TDD-LTE | WCDMA | GSM | VoLTE, Dual SIM and dual standby
Dimensions	7mm thick, 168g heavy
Other	IR blaster, Rear fingerprint sensor, 10V smart power amplifier for audio (drives high impedance up to 600 ohms), White front notification LED
Software	"Pure" Android Nougat (upgrade to Oreo before the end of 2017)
Colors	Black, Gold, Rose Gold
Price	₹14,999 (approx. $234)

Xiaomi says it used a pyrolytic graphite sheet in the device to improve the thermal dissipation and reduce the temperature by 2°C. Additionally, the black model also has a special coating to resist fingerprints, which should be welcome for anyone who's seen how unsightly most glass-covered black devices get after being handled for a few minutes.

Apart from its beautiful design, the dual-camera setup of the Mi A1 is also one of its highlights. Xiaomi says there are several dual-cam setups on the market today, but it opted for the wide-angle + telephoto one, with 12MP lenses on both that are "similar to iPhone 7 Plus" and deliver "a remarkable DSLR experience." There are plenty of software enhancements to the camera too, including natural color correction and a "Beautify 3.0" feature for the back camera. This allows the A1 to offer 2x optical zoom and a background blurring Portrait mode similar to what we have seen on the likes of the iPhone 7 Plus and OnePlus 5. At the front, the device features a 5MP selfie shooter.  

You can see samples taken by the Mi A1 below, though they've obviously been reduced in size and probably a little processed.

On the software front, the Mi A1 runs on Android 7.1.2 Nougat. It does come with Xiaomi’s camera app, IR remote, and Mi Store app preloaded but otherwise, it runs on completely stock version of Android. 

Google promises it'll get Oreo in 2017 with Play Protect, Google Assistant, and unlimited "high-quality" Google Photos storage. And will be among the first devices to receive Android P next year.

The Mi A1 will be available in India starting from September 12 on Flipkart and Mi.com for Rs 14,999. It will be available in Black, Gold, and Rose Gold colors. In addition to India, Xiaomi and Google will also be making the Mi A1 available in 12 other countries including parts of Europe, America, Russia, Thailand, and other markets.