Thread Starter
#1
Contents:
A. Introduction
B. Part-1 : Who all would be happy with Xiaomi Mi A1 ?
C. Part-2 : Mi A1 --- Main Review
D. Part-3 : Mi A1 --- Dual Camera Review
E. Part4- : Options I considered
A. Introduction :
Before going deep into the Review, I would like to state that "as of now, no phone under Rs. 24K is able to give the “so called Flagship phone experience. Though the Snapdragon 625 is good, it is no match to Flagship phones. So, if your budget is around Rs 25,000/, and if you want to play it safe, go get the OnePlus-3T or Huawei Honor 8 Pro. The SnapDragon and Kirin processors in these two phones are superb. Performance of these phones is ONLY little behind current Flagship phones from Samsung / LG / OnePlus. More on this is covered in Part-4 of this review.
I’m using the Mi A1 in Black variant, since 24-Sep-2017 and I would like to summarize by stating that it is a good phone at the price point. Mine is currently on Android Ver 7.1.2, with Android Security patch dated 01-Oct-2017. Basically, for Rs. 15,000, I got a phone that matches the performance of my earlier OnePlus One (OPO) bought in Jan 2015. For those not in the know, OPO was a “Flagship Killer” phone released in June 2014. OPO was launched with Snapdragon 801, the best Snapdragon processor at that time. I am happy using Mi A1.
B. Part-1 : Who all would be happy with Xiaomi Mi A1 ?
This Mi A1 is for you, if you meet the following:
C. Part-2: Mi A1 --- Main Review :
Mi A1 comes with :
Feel in Hand : Build quality is very good and Mi A1 feels PREMIUM to hold. Size and Weight wise, it is slimmer by 1.6mm than my earlier OnePlus One (OPO), but almost same in size and weight. So feeling natural to handle it or when it is in my shirt pocket. I was not used to the Metal Unibody design and felt bit dicey for the initial one week. Bought a rear cover and phone feels more assured in hand.
Finger Print Scanner : It is a BEAUTY. Pretty FAST and accurate. So far my phone is set to recognize four finger prints and a gentle touch unlocks the phone. However, it struggles if the finger is wet. Take note of it.
Performance : Mi A1 booted quick, upon first boot. Had about 2 GB RAM unused and only 50.3 GB ROM available. My OPO had 54 GB of ROM; it even has NOW. Mi A1 has “Snapdragon 625” (14 nm chipset), Adreno 506 Graphic Processor (GPU) and runs on stock Android. My OPO has “Snapdragon 801” (28 nm chipset), Adreno 330 GPU and runs on Cyanogen Mod OS. I found that the performance of Mi A1 was comparable to OPO. Apps opened fast. Mind you, this word “FAST” is coming from a Flagship killer user (for 2.5 plus years). That is certificate enough for a Rs 15,000 phone. Switching between Apps was quick; you touch the “Capacitive Menu Button”, scroll and touch an App… and the App just FILLS up the screen. Very Good Job, Google / Xiaomi.
Dual Cameras : This phone was “searched so much” on the net due to this key feature. So, please head to “Part-3” of this review (separate post).
Display : I am happy with just FHD on a 5.5 inch LCD screen. It is bright even in “Direct Sunlight”. I have normal eye and am unable to find faults with Color reproduction; it is OK. It also supports “Split-screens”; you can run two Apps, “one below other in portrait mode” or “side by side in landscape mode”. There is some use for this, while Copy-Pasting from one App to another. COOL. Not ALL Apps support this feature, though. This is how it looks like :
Signal Reception : My office seat is in a poor 3G reception; it is around -110 dBm, while 2G signal is around -93 dBm. 2G is stronger by more than 5 times. With my OPO, when I chose “WCDMA preferred” and “Data ON”, OPO was just happy to be at 2G/EDGE and would NOT cause battery drain. When I try the same thing with Mi A1, it keeps hunting for 3G Signal and battery drains. Solution is to keep it at either (1) GSM only with Data ON or (2) WCDMA preferred and Data OFF. Problem solved. Toggle to 3G or 4G or VoLTE when you are in a better coverage area. I am not having any problems with Signal reception at my residence.
Telephony : I use a BSNL 3G nano SIM. Call quality is VERY GOOD, with calls being loud and clear. I don’t have a 2nd SIM and hence the 2nd slot is empty. “OK Google” is enabled in ALL screens and I haven’t faced any Call issues. I had call issues in OPO (details in my OPO Review thread).
SMS: I am using the default SMS Application. It is fine and functional though not as colorful as Textra. In my OPO, I was forced to use Textra SMS App (details in my OPO Review thread).
Wi-Fi : The phones download and upload speeds when connected to my landline Wi-Fi connection was a max of 13.83 Mbps (=1.7MBps) / 6.53Mbps (=0.8 MBps). Measured using Ookla speed test.
Bluetooth: My Mi A1 works fine. It is ON 24x7 and connects to my Car Audio in no time.
Battery life: An average user will get around 24 Hrs battery life. For a heavy user, Mi A1 will easily last for 10-12 Hrs,; good enough to get thro’ a “Working Day”. See the screen-shots below :
I have not monitored the charging times for Low (0% or 5%) to Full (100%) battery charge. My mistake.
Loud Speaker: I considered OPO as “Tea shop Radio”. Mi A1 is loud and is at par with OPO.
GPS and Navigation: With Data ON, positional fix is quick; within three minutes, I am getting an accuracy of 10 meters. It gets down to 5 meters within 5 minutes. THAT is very good. I am yet to try OFF-line navigation and getting a Fix with Data OFF.
Launcher: I switched over from used the bundled “Launcher3” for a day and installed my Fav “Nova Launcher”. Nova ensures that your Desktop is clutter-free and App shortcuts are grouped into folders and are where you want them to be. I also didn’t like the bundled dialer and installed “True Phone Dialer”. Though the “pull-down notification panel” is gray color, the settings have white background. I would prefer a darker shade. Was able to do that in OPO, with Cyanogen. Missing it in Android One.
Heating: Mi A1 heats up “mildly” while charging. Having a metal body helps Mi A1 to dissipate heat very quick. Phone does NOT heat up during the following major day-to-day activities :
Irritations:
(1) Lock / Unlock : In OPO, I had set “30 seconds for Screen Sleep” and “15 minutes for Lock”. If phone got locked, a Dble Tap on the screen woke up the device. As I didn’t have a PIN, OPO was super convenient to use. If Mi A1 gets locked, you HAVE to reach the “Fingerprint scanner” or the “Power Button + PIN Combo” to unlock it. Though this is good for security, lifting phone every time “just to check a SMS” is an irritant. I feel Grrrrrrrr. I would prefer a front mounted Fingerprint scanner, like in OP-5 or Moto G5 S Plus.But, with “near bezel less” phones to rule the market in future, this irritant will be common with most future phones too.
(2) Freezing : Occasionally Mi A1 freezes in some Apps and also in Landscape orientation. It takes about 10 to 20 seconds and 5 to 10 seconds respectively, to come out. I guess it is due to poor RAM management by Xiaomi.
(3) Screen Rotation : In OPO, I was able to rotate ANY APP to 90, 180, 270 degrees. Mi A1 does not give me the 180 deg rotation option. See, both in OPO and Mi A1, the main Mic and Loudspeaker are at the base. When I was on a Call and using the loud speaker, I could just put my OPO upside down, screen rotated and everything was fine to check a contact, make a new call etc. Many times, at office, my OPO was upside down on its stand (3D Printed - shown in the Macro shot later) while charging or when on hands-free Calls. I am sorely missing that (180 degree rotation) feature in Mi A1. Moreover, in Mi A1, both the loud speaker and the headphone jack are at the bottom. Grrrrrr.
My recommendations:
For less than 15K : Sorry, I have not analysed properly to recommend any phone in this range.
For 15K Budget : The Mi A1 is a very good option. With its “4GB RAM, 64GB Storage, stock android, frequent security patches and confirmed Android OS updates”. It will serve you for at least two years, without ANY trouble. If you don’t like a Xiaomi phone, the Moto G5 S Plus would be a good alternate. Note: After buying Mi A1, I've not followed new Android launches. So I am not aware, if a good competitor has been launched in the past One Month.
Between 15K and 20K: Some phones with eye-catchy 18:9 screen ratio are available from LG, Huawei, etc, but, I don’t think these are worth the extra money, YET.
Between 20K and 23K: Spend more and get the OnePlus 3T or Honor 8 Pro.
Above 28K: Please head to "Part-4 of this review".
**************** "Part-3 : Mi A1 --- Dual Camera Review" will be posted shortly *************
A. Introduction
B. Part-1 : Who all would be happy with Xiaomi Mi A1 ?
C. Part-2 : Mi A1 --- Main Review
D. Part-3 : Mi A1 --- Dual Camera Review
E. Part4- : Options I considered
A. Introduction :
Before going deep into the Review, I would like to state that "as of now, no phone under Rs. 24K is able to give the “so called Flagship phone experience. Though the Snapdragon 625 is good, it is no match to Flagship phones. So, if your budget is around Rs 25,000/, and if you want to play it safe, go get the OnePlus-3T or Huawei Honor 8 Pro. The SnapDragon and Kirin processors in these two phones are superb. Performance of these phones is ONLY little behind current Flagship phones from Samsung / LG / OnePlus. More on this is covered in Part-4 of this review.
I’m using the Mi A1 in Black variant, since 24-Sep-2017 and I would like to summarize by stating that it is a good phone at the price point. Mine is currently on Android Ver 7.1.2, with Android Security patch dated 01-Oct-2017. Basically, for Rs. 15,000, I got a phone that matches the performance of my earlier OnePlus One (OPO) bought in Jan 2015. For those not in the know, OPO was a “Flagship Killer” phone released in June 2014. OPO was launched with Snapdragon 801, the best Snapdragon processor at that time. I am happy using Mi A1.
B. Part-1 : Who all would be happy with Xiaomi Mi A1 ?
This Mi A1 is for you, if you meet the following:
- Your budget is Rs. 15,000/-
- You want a no nonsense phone with no compromises on Call Quality.
- You hate “skinned Android version” offered by OEMs like Samsung, LG, Huawei, Xiaomi, etc.
- You hate to own “very common” phones like Redmi Note 4 (Note 5 in future).
- You want your phone to look and feel premium but feel OK with copy-cat design at Rs. 15,000/-
- You are particular to get regular Security updates and future Android OS Updates.
- You expect a day’s battery.
- You are looking for a good “stop-gap phone”, till a flagship phone at right budget is launched.
- You are not planning to enter photography contests, with photos taken using a phone.
- You can live with a front facing camera without ‘Flash’ and you are not too much into Selfie Culture.
C. Part-2: Mi A1 --- Main Review :
Mi A1 comes with :
- Stock Android
- Metal unibody design.
- 5.5 inch Full HD LCD Screen, with Split-screen mode
- 155.4 x 75.8 x 7.3 (in mm) and 165 g
- 4GB RAM, 64 GB Storage
- Accurate and fast Fingerprint Sensor
- Decent Duel Primary Camera setup
- Search possible in settings
- Very convenient IR Blaster
- Priced attractively at Rs 15,000
- Has "Type C" USB Connector for charging and data.
Feel in Hand : Build quality is very good and Mi A1 feels PREMIUM to hold. Size and Weight wise, it is slimmer by 1.6mm than my earlier OnePlus One (OPO), but almost same in size and weight. So feeling natural to handle it or when it is in my shirt pocket. I was not used to the Metal Unibody design and felt bit dicey for the initial one week. Bought a rear cover and phone feels more assured in hand.
Finger Print Scanner : It is a BEAUTY. Pretty FAST and accurate. So far my phone is set to recognize four finger prints and a gentle touch unlocks the phone. However, it struggles if the finger is wet. Take note of it.
Performance : Mi A1 booted quick, upon first boot. Had about 2 GB RAM unused and only 50.3 GB ROM available. My OPO had 54 GB of ROM; it even has NOW. Mi A1 has “Snapdragon 625” (14 nm chipset), Adreno 506 Graphic Processor (GPU) and runs on stock Android. My OPO has “Snapdragon 801” (28 nm chipset), Adreno 330 GPU and runs on Cyanogen Mod OS. I found that the performance of Mi A1 was comparable to OPO. Apps opened fast. Mind you, this word “FAST” is coming from a Flagship killer user (for 2.5 plus years). That is certificate enough for a Rs 15,000 phone. Switching between Apps was quick; you touch the “Capacitive Menu Button”, scroll and touch an App… and the App just FILLS up the screen. Very Good Job, Google / Xiaomi.
Dual Cameras : This phone was “searched so much” on the net due to this key feature. So, please head to “Part-3” of this review (separate post).
Display : I am happy with just FHD on a 5.5 inch LCD screen. It is bright even in “Direct Sunlight”. I have normal eye and am unable to find faults with Color reproduction; it is OK. It also supports “Split-screens”; you can run two Apps, “one below other in portrait mode” or “side by side in landscape mode”. There is some use for this, while Copy-Pasting from one App to another. COOL. Not ALL Apps support this feature, though. This is how it looks like :
Signal Reception : My office seat is in a poor 3G reception; it is around -110 dBm, while 2G signal is around -93 dBm. 2G is stronger by more than 5 times. With my OPO, when I chose “WCDMA preferred” and “Data ON”, OPO was just happy to be at 2G/EDGE and would NOT cause battery drain. When I try the same thing with Mi A1, it keeps hunting for 3G Signal and battery drains. Solution is to keep it at either (1) GSM only with Data ON or (2) WCDMA preferred and Data OFF. Problem solved. Toggle to 3G or 4G or VoLTE when you are in a better coverage area. I am not having any problems with Signal reception at my residence.
Telephony : I use a BSNL 3G nano SIM. Call quality is VERY GOOD, with calls being loud and clear. I don’t have a 2nd SIM and hence the 2nd slot is empty. “OK Google” is enabled in ALL screens and I haven’t faced any Call issues. I had call issues in OPO (details in my OPO Review thread).
SMS: I am using the default SMS Application. It is fine and functional though not as colorful as Textra. In my OPO, I was forced to use Textra SMS App (details in my OPO Review thread).
Wi-Fi : The phones download and upload speeds when connected to my landline Wi-Fi connection was a max of 13.83 Mbps (=1.7MBps) / 6.53Mbps (=0.8 MBps). Measured using Ookla speed test.
Bluetooth: My Mi A1 works fine. It is ON 24x7 and connects to my Car Audio in no time.
Battery life: An average user will get around 24 Hrs battery life. For a heavy user, Mi A1 will easily last for 10-12 Hrs,; good enough to get thro’ a “Working Day”. See the screen-shots below :
I have not monitored the charging times for Low (0% or 5%) to Full (100%) battery charge. My mistake.
Loud Speaker: I considered OPO as “Tea shop Radio”. Mi A1 is loud and is at par with OPO.
GPS and Navigation: With Data ON, positional fix is quick; within three minutes, I am getting an accuracy of 10 meters. It gets down to 5 meters within 5 minutes. THAT is very good. I am yet to try OFF-line navigation and getting a Fix with Data OFF.
Launcher: I switched over from used the bundled “Launcher3” for a day and installed my Fav “Nova Launcher”. Nova ensures that your Desktop is clutter-free and App shortcuts are grouped into folders and are where you want them to be. I also didn’t like the bundled dialer and installed “True Phone Dialer”. Though the “pull-down notification panel” is gray color, the settings have white background. I would prefer a darker shade. Was able to do that in OPO, with Cyanogen. Missing it in Android One.
Heating: Mi A1 heats up “mildly” while charging. Having a metal body helps Mi A1 to dissipate heat very quick. Phone does NOT heat up during the following major day-to-day activities :
- Long Calls - My max duration was 45 minutes
- YouTube – Streaming videos for 40 minutes
- Using Camera – My usage is short bursts, say 5 minutes duration
- Music Player – My max duration was 1.5 hrs
- Games - My max duration is around 15 minutes
- Long WhatsApp sessions - My max duration was about 30 minutes
Irritations:
(1) Lock / Unlock : In OPO, I had set “30 seconds for Screen Sleep” and “15 minutes for Lock”. If phone got locked, a Dble Tap on the screen woke up the device. As I didn’t have a PIN, OPO was super convenient to use. If Mi A1 gets locked, you HAVE to reach the “Fingerprint scanner” or the “Power Button + PIN Combo” to unlock it. Though this is good for security, lifting phone every time “just to check a SMS” is an irritant. I feel Grrrrrrrr. I would prefer a front mounted Fingerprint scanner, like in OP-5 or Moto G5 S Plus.But, with “near bezel less” phones to rule the market in future, this irritant will be common with most future phones too.
(2) Freezing : Occasionally Mi A1 freezes in some Apps and also in Landscape orientation. It takes about 10 to 20 seconds and 5 to 10 seconds respectively, to come out. I guess it is due to poor RAM management by Xiaomi.
(3) Screen Rotation : In OPO, I was able to rotate ANY APP to 90, 180, 270 degrees. Mi A1 does not give me the 180 deg rotation option. See, both in OPO and Mi A1, the main Mic and Loudspeaker are at the base. When I was on a Call and using the loud speaker, I could just put my OPO upside down, screen rotated and everything was fine to check a contact, make a new call etc. Many times, at office, my OPO was upside down on its stand (3D Printed - shown in the Macro shot later) while charging or when on hands-free Calls. I am sorely missing that (180 degree rotation) feature in Mi A1. Moreover, in Mi A1, both the loud speaker and the headphone jack are at the bottom. Grrrrrr.
My recommendations:
For less than 15K : Sorry, I have not analysed properly to recommend any phone in this range.
For 15K Budget : The Mi A1 is a very good option. With its “4GB RAM, 64GB Storage, stock android, frequent security patches and confirmed Android OS updates”. It will serve you for at least two years, without ANY trouble. If you don’t like a Xiaomi phone, the Moto G5 S Plus would be a good alternate. Note: After buying Mi A1, I've not followed new Android launches. So I am not aware, if a good competitor has been launched in the past One Month.
Between 15K and 20K: Some phones with eye-catchy 18:9 screen ratio are available from LG, Huawei, etc, but, I don’t think these are worth the extra money, YET.
Between 20K and 23K: Spend more and get the OnePlus 3T or Honor 8 Pro.
Above 28K: Please head to "Part-4 of this review".
**************** "Part-3 : Mi A1 --- Dual Camera Review" will be posted shortly *************