Xiaomi Mi A1: Review Of Budget Phone With Good Dual Camera


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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:

  • 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.
Tid-bit : Mi A1 is sold as Mi-5X in China, but with MIUI OS.

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 :

1 Split Screen.jpg

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 :

2 Battery - 07th Day.jpg

2 Battery - 16th Day.jpg

2 Battery - 22nd Day.jpg

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 *************
 
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Re: Xiaomi Mi A1 - Review of a Budget phone with a good Dual Camera

D. Part-3 : Dual Camera Review
Lot many “online reviews about Mi A1’s Dual Camera” are ‘positive to very positive’. They are telling you that a Tata Nano with a “tuned Engine” and with six people on board, is as good as an Innova. Just dismiss them. No phone Camera, be it “iPhones or Pixels or Samsungs or LGs or OnePlus or Honor” can go near a DSLR. With that understanding let us go forward.

The Primary Camera has two Cameras. One Camera sensor is paired with a “wide angle 26mm lens” and the 2nd Camera sensor is paired with a “50mm lens (2X telephoto lens)”.

With the 2X lens, subjects appear closer, without loss of details as is seen when digitally zooming a wide angle shot. The ‘Portrait Mode’ uses this 2X lens and the subject is isolated from surrounding. Decent for Rs. 15,000/-. This 2X Lens is also good for taking pictures of Distant objects when you don’t want to walk or cannot go close, like while taking pictures of “Animals, bee-hive, Bird on a tree etc”. When you want to “Crop out” the crowd, you can use the 2X. While using the 2X lens, chances of getting a shaky picture are more. So hold the phone steady (or use Manual Mode to increase shutter speed – explained later). As I am a APS-C Mirrorless Camera user, these mobile-camera-gimmicks are “mere convenience and nothing more”.

Mi A1’s Primary Camera is “quick to auto focus”. In ‘good day light’ the photos out of Mi A1 look very good with pleasing colors. Resolution is also good. I would say, the pictures would be good enough for a 10” x 8” print or bigger. If used in ‘Auto Mode’ in low lights like “on a cloudy day, indoor etc” the Mi A1 struggles to get right “White Balancing” and the software also ramps up the ISO to 800, 1600 or 3200 resulting in noise in almost ALL shots (Use Manual Mode to control these – explained later). Few samples below :

3 Blue Sky 01.jpg

3 Blue Sky 02.jpg

3 Clouds.jpg

3 Metro Stn 1.jpg

Crop from above photo is given on the next three, to give you an idea about the "Resolution, Contrast and Noise"
3 Metro Stn Crop1.jpg

3 Metro Stn Crop2.jpg

3 Metro Stn Crop3.jpg

Audio Shutter release Feature: Both the Rear and Front Cameras come with a "( thro') “Audio” feature. You can ‘snap your fingers’ to take a Pic, by enabling the Audio. COOL.

Manual Mode:
In Camera App, “Options --- Manual” will give you control over “White Balancing, Focal length, Shutter Speed, ISO”. There is NO Control to change the Lens Aperture (the F Number). Of course, I didn't expect it.
Under "Focus" option, “just by sliding" the slider, you can change focal length from "Macro to Tele”. I have not tried the Tele option, as I don't believe the efficacy. But, this option is good for getting a Macro shots to wide angle. “Objects in Focus” will GLOW in RED Color (Focus Peaking Feature). This is a standard option in many costly Cameras and is a very good way to "check and control" what is in focus. Keeping this slider to Left extreme around 10mm will get you “Macro shots” for capturing ‘Flowers, Food items, Jewelry etc’. Choose appropriate shutter speed to suit the ‘lighting conditions”. You can see that in the "Auto" mode, Mi A1 completely missed the focus on the 'Blue Color Stand'. When zoomed (as in the crop next), it is very much evident. I am pretty sure, most mobile phone cameras will give similar results. But, when the Manual Mode was invoked, I was able to nail the focus (using 'Focus Peaking'). That is the 2nd one below. Samples with Crops are given in a single picture below :

4 Macro 01.jpg

Under “White Balance”, simply sliding thro the line you get to control the image to produce “Natural COLORS”. See example below :

5 WB 01.jpg

Under “Exposure Times”, choose a “Fast shutter speed (like 1s/1000, 1s/500, 1s/250) etc with the 2X Lens for good results.
Under “Exposure Times”, choose a “Slow shutter speed (like 1s/60, 1s/30) etc with the Wide lens for good results.Remember, a shutter speed of 1s/15 with 15mm Focal length is NOT GOOD and too SLOW, because we are using a TINY Sensor. But, 1s/15 allows more light to reach the sensor and good for the end result. So, BEST is to hold the phone steady or use the “Audio” (finger snapping).
Under ISO, use ISO-400 to get less noisy photos. You will get more Noise at ISO-800 and above; so use it when you NEED to capture a moment. ISO-100 is supposed to give the least noise, but, it will be asking too much from the tiny sensor.

With these combinations, you will get to like your shots out of Mi A1, a lot better. But, I feel, my OPO delivered better pictures than Mi A1. Sooooooo many of the indoor shots from OPO are for keeps.

For the purpose of recording : Xiaomi has added some effects like “Normal, Pop, Icy, Lomo, Mono, BW and other funny effects”, AFTER clicking a Pic, some more effects "West, Palma, Eiffel, Blush, Modena, Blah Blah" are also available. nothing much to write on these.
Oh, I forgot, ... there is an option for Panorama and "Group selfies" available under Primary Camera. WHAT FOR ???.

Front facing Camera: This is what I would like to say, “a front facing camera is there in Mi A1”. "Group selfies" is also available here. It can recognize faces and can track them. It also assigns age to the faces (I am aged between 30 and 60, as per Xiaomi's software [lol]). So much "smoothing and beautification" is done when using the Front Cam. I hate it to the core. I have to say something good about it.... what to do... ??? Yeah, the "Audio shutter release" helps to minimise Camera Shake, while taking Selfies.

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The next portion "Part4- : Options I considered" will come bit later, depending on members response to this thread. Bye bye till then.

PS: Full specs of Mi A1 can be found in this link (here). There is a Review too there.
 
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Hey Vijay,
Great review there, especially on the camera front. I am a noob in that area and learned a thing or two. Going by your 'stop-gap arrangement' on OPO thread, I didn't expect a review of Mi A1 from you. Anyways, I am your company on this thread, at least for now, with the black Mi A1 at hand for about a month. I was eagerly waiting for Asus (or any maker) to launch Snapdragon 660 based Zenfone 4 phones and they royally screwed us Indians by not launching them. With my old phone's battery going weaker by the day, I had no choice but to buy the A1 from FlipKart Big Billion sale for Rs 13500 (I am thrifty [:D]).

And BTW, I came from the same processor as yours on my old phone, the HTC One M8 (AT&T version). In fact, I was on the same custom ROM you were on, but with a newer version in the LineageOS guise. The level of customization in LineageOS is greatly missed in Mi A1's stock Android, no matter how many third party apps are loaded.

Here are some of my observations on the device:
- Build: Nice to see metal body but ergonomics and grip sucks with flat back and bigger dimensions. My HTC, though slippery, had curved back to aid with grip. I will soon throw away my soft case and use a wrap on the back.
- Display: Colors are decent and screen is bright as you said, not as vibrant or sharp as in other Redmi phones.
- Storage: Has A/B partition for quickly updating software by trading off some portion of it. It's as simple as a normal restart and no more long duration "Android is updating" messages.
- Camera: Coming from a 4 MP sensor, I love the details offered by additional 8 mega pixels. Low light pics are almost useless whereas M8 did a great job with bigger pixel sizes. Love using portrait mode which I use mostly to click pics of my 2 year old.
- Camera: The telephoto lens is activated only under good lighting, otherwise it's only digital zoom (I learned this from XDA Dev's review and tested it too).
- Signal Reception: Someone had posted a setting in service menu about this, let me know if you have tried that already, otherwise I will hunt the link and post back.
- Bluetooth: All is well, automatically connects to car without a fuss. Sometimes there is a huge lag in redirecting calls to car audio, as long as 5 seconds or more. Livable though.
- Battery Life: You nailed it, easily lasts a work day with some 20% juice left at bed time. About 5 hours of screen on time.
- Launcher: I use the Pixel launcher for about a week now and is good so far. I also use the Google Earth live wall paper and admire mother Earth's near live view from space (screenshot below).
- Will soon go back to my favorite Nova Launcher. I hate using the finger print gesture to pull down notifications, Nova does it with just wallpaper gesture.
- Apparently this phone was rooted very soon in XDA forum but I decided not to root or flash custom ROM at least until warranty ends (or if OTA not provided as promised under Android One program).
- Overall, I am happy with the purchase and hope to use this phone for at least 2 years, provided I do not break it or brick it.

PS: Are those your work related source code at the bottom of your post? :biggrin:

Screenshot_20171026-205510.png
 
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Hi Prabhagar,

Glad you came up with an additional review so quick; one that is spot on.

I made a detailed review, after I found out that this stop gap phone is good and felt that users could benefit, especially with some guidance on the Camera front. I'm using the "Macro" mode to frequently photograph official items to inspect if all is well; all done under "standard office LED Lights. Can't post those pics, though.

Yes, I'm interested in knowing "tinkering for better signal reception". Pls post the link.

The "Pull down Notification" by pressing the "Home Button" is pretty cool on Nova. Thanks for your reminder, I enabled it NOW [:)] It's Working.


Will try Google Earth WP, too.

Those "kichchdi" at the bottom... It is the formating info from "LibreOffice"; I should have checked before posting.

Thanks for your contribution [clap]
 
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Thank you Vijay. The engineering mode can be accessed by dialing *#*#4636#*#* on the phone. That post (from FB) was specific to Jio, to restrict network to LTE, but the selection has a wide list of options which you may be able to interpret better than me:
Screenshot_20171027-103504.png
 
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Very detailed review [glasses]

Guys, I currently own an iPhone 6 which is serving me from the past 31 months. Apart from basic functions I only use the iPhone for listening to music, viewing CAD files and for some office work (Mechanical Design). I really don't like heavy app crashing for my regularly usage.

Do you think Mi-A1 would be a decent switchover my iPhone 6 ?
 
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Thank you Vijay. The engineering mode can be accessed by dialing *#*#4636#*#* on the phone. That post (from FB) was specific to Jio, to restrict network to LTE, but the selection has a wide list of options which you may be able to interpret better than me:
View attachment 234112
Thank you Prabhagar. The info is useful.

I have been using an Android App "Network" by "Philipp Mangelow", since my Atrix2 days. I used the App to switch between 2G (GSM Only) / 3G (WCDMA Preferred) and also to see the "Received Signal Value". One does not need to remember dialing *#*#4636#*#* to get "the info". Ver 1.03 of the App is available in Goolge Play Store. The App is part of the screen-shot in the 1st Picture (under "Display") in this thread.

Till now, I didn't bother to see below the line "Run Ping Test". Thanks to your post, I scrolled down and found "few more interesting titbits". I also switched to "TD-SCDMA/CDMA/UMTS". The App showed the Network as "UMTS (for voice) and HSPA (for Data)". But, the signal strength (inside my Cabin) was only at -107 to -109 dBm. That is as good as rock bottom.

Then, I changed network to "GSM Only" (using the App). The App showed the Network as "GSM (for voice) and EDGE (for Data)". but, the signal level improved to 88 to 95 dBm. Each 3dB level increase represents "double the earlier signal level". A difference of 12 to 21 dBm means that, inside my Cabin, BSNL's 3G signal strength is 4 to 7 times LESS THAN their 2G signal strength.

Without the App, above can be done thro, "Settings ---> More ---> Mobile Networks" for choosing between 4G / 3G / 2G, and "Settings ---> About Phone ---> Status ---> SIM Status" ... under "Signal Strength".I found that both the App and thro "Settings" make exactly same changes, though the App is the easiest with just one click.

Then I checked signal levels in my colleague's Mobiles, inside our building. This is what I found to be interesting:
2G ----> Between 70 to 90 dBm for Airtel / BSNL / Vodafone
4G ---> Between -100 to -109 dBm for Jio / Airtel
All my colleges are very smart. For Calls, their SIMs are in 2G ONLY. For Data the 2nd SIM is in 4G ONLY. I think it is time I get a 2nd SIM...
 
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Very detailed review [glasses]

Guys, I currently own an iPhone 6 which is serving me from the past 31 months. Apart from basic functions I only use the iPhone for listening to music, viewing CAD files and for some office work (Mechanical Design). I really don't like heavy app crashing for my regularly usage.

Do you think Mi-A1 would be a decent switchover my iPhone 6 ?
Yes, yes and yes. You will be happy with the Mi A1, if you meet the conditions I prescribed in "Part-1" in this thread.
 
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Do you think Mi-A1 would be a decent switchover my iPhone 6 ?
I don't see why not. I use the Gaana app quite a lot and find music quality to be great on this phone. On your CAD apps, I can try to install or run tests if you want to [:)].

Thank you Prabhagar. The info is useful.
Glad it was of some help, but I am far from understanding all your points here [:D].
 
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Macro shots, when focal length is in YOUR control

We needed to verify certain things in an item. This is traditionally done using special purpose magnification tools available in a dedicated work area. An Engineer is required to book a slot, go there, wait for a trained person to operate it, see and understand blah blah blah. The whole activity is time consuming.

This time, I used Mi A1’s Primary Camera in Manual Mode. Lighting was regular office LED lights. The Focus Peaking feature was of great help. I cropped out a small part of the photo and re-sized it to 1280 x 704 pixels; THIS is Pic-2 here. I re-sized Pic-2 and made Pic-1, to represent the ACTUAL dimensions. Let us start with Pic-1.

Crop-1-0.jpg

Now to Pic-2; the amount of details it has really surprised me. Even the marks left by the Cutting Tool are clearly visible. I was NOT expecting this from a mobile phone Cam. It is NOT a GREAT photo, but it helped us to evaluate if everything is OK in the item under inspection. Pic-2 below:

Crop-1-1.jpg

After seeing above shot, I tried the Auto mode of Mi A1. It showed only the outlines sans the cutting marks. BTW, the surface smoothness is normally a few micro meters and we cannot FEEL the cutting marks by touching the surface.

if your Camera allows you play with the Focal Length, you will be able to replicate above results, Just remember to select proper shutter speed to avoid shaky pics. Good luck.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

... Glad it was of some help, but I am far from understanding all your points here [:D].
It does happen, Prabhagar, it does happen [lol] BTW, I was using my earlier post as a means to record Historical Data. Don't know if they will be of use; but I hope, they could be of some use to someone in Communication Field.
 
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Though there is NO FM Player in this phone, required hardware and some essential software are in-built.

To invoke FM Radio in Mi A1:

  1. Type *#*#6484#*#* in phone dialer.
  2. Hardware test screen will be shown.
  3. Scroll to bottom. In my phone, FMRadio is available at Sl.No.32
  4. Just tap on FMRadio option.
  5. You will be prompted to insert headset.
  6. Once you insert it, you can use "Previous or Next buttons" to go to different FM Station.
Cons: Unfortunately, you cannot AutoScan and Store the FM Stations. Above steps NEED to be repeated EVERY time to go to FM App.

Summary: Though tedious, FM fans can have a FM Radio in Mi A1. Xiaomi or Google may come up with a dedicated FM App.

Caution: Be careful while fiddling around in the Hardware test section.
 
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One of the MAJOR reasons for choosing Mi A1 was the promised updates. Got "November Security Patch". Screen shots below:

0 Sys Updt - Nov 01.jpg

0 Sys Updt - Nov 02.jpg

****************************************************

While at a nearby Park, attempted a Hyperfocal Shot with Mi A1. In simple terms, you get most of the objects from neat to far away, in the frame, acceptably Sharp. Used the "Manual Mode" . For a mobile phone camera, the result is pretty decent.

1 Hyp_Foc_1.jpg

Next is the same Pic above, but shows areas considered for scrutiny.
2 Hyp_Foc_2.jpg

In the "Crop" below", "Grass blades" are decently sharp.
3 Hyp_Foc_3.jpg

In the "Crop" below", "Tree Leaves" are decently resolved :
4 Hyp_Foc_4.jpg

You can make out the Park's fence (Green Color) and the Gate in a house far away.
5 Hyp_Foc_5.jpg

The edges and corners of the Photo are mushy; though outlines were there, I felt, it is way below par. But, considering this was from a mobile phone Cam, I am inclined to say, "Not bad". When my Nex-5R is not available, Mi A1 would help me record at least 40% of what I want to record, vis-a-vis hyperfocal shots. Same situation happened recently.

In front of Kanchi Ekambareswarar temple, there is a 16 stone-pillar Mandap. While having coffee in a shop nearby, a Carving on one of the Stone-Pillars caught my attention. It depicted "Ravana trying to lift Mount Kailash". Natural Lighting was bit weak and the carving was perhaps at 8 to 10 ft above ground and shops prevented me to go close. My NEX-5R was in the Car parked inside Temple's Car Park and I was too lazy to walk. Using the 2X Mode and by digitally zooming, I clicked the Photo. I cropped out the others and the Pillar alone is below:

6 Stone Pillar 1.jpg
One thing I remember is that "the carving is worn out due to centuries of exposure to Climate". Couple that with the digital zoom that i used, the Crop below appears to be noisy :

7 Stone Pillar 2.jpg
As I could not get up close, I am unable to pass judgment on quality of above. But, OK, the memory was recorded. Next time I WILL use my NEX and share the Pic here. THAT is for sure.

Hey guys, did you notice that above Ravana has only NINE heads ??? Creativity of the sculptor or is there a story behind it ??? Interesting. Some more Pics, but, after the break.
 
Thread Starter #13
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Taking Photos and Making Pictures for Keeps

If you are in the habit of clicking everything and anything, most likely your friends (and relatives) won't be interested, when you show them photos from your Cam. Agreed, we NEED to 'click for the purpose of record keeping'. But, if you want, you can also create some "Wow Pictures" from the "Photos you take". You need to be little observant and be able to see BEYOND what your eyes can see; THAT's all. Two examples below:

Below is a nice Mobile Wallpaper, isn't it ? Used "Prisma App" to create it. Used as my mobile's WP.

8 Hd Lgt 3.jpg

Lemme reduce the Tint and Rotate it to Landscape ...
8 Hd Lgt 2.jpg

Lemme completely remove the Tint, to show ... my Car's left Headlamp.
8 Hd Lgt 1.jpg
I used "Manual Mode" and "Focus length selection" available in Mi A1 to focus on the water drops. I would say Mi A1 did a decent job to clearly bring the outlines of water drops. With "Auto focusing", it will be a hit and miss, as the Camera will be confused between the "water drops" and the "different layers of the main reflector (of the headlamp)".

And, today morning, what my eyes saw was THIS below:
9 View - 1 Ord.jpg

I made the lamp as the Foreground, used "2X mode" and took a photo from another angle. Though I couldn't make the diagonal strips run across the Picture the way I wanted, this one below is better than the above. BTW, B&W photography is ideal on Cloudy Days with low ambient Light. I used "Snapseed App" to make the Pic below:
9 View - 2 Better.jpg
Above is my Lappy Wallpaper Now. Looks Cool.

Using the "2X Mode", I shot a Photo from another angle. Used "Prisma App" and got a picture, with perfect 'Diagonal Strips'. The 'sort of Pencil Strokes' in the background make it a worthy Mobile WP, as below:
9 View - 3 Mob WP.jpg

Once you are able to locate an Object and visualise something better out of it, you would have mastered the "Taking Photos and Making Pictures for Keeps". Good Luck.
 
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Kya baat hai @Vijay, you have really set the bar up there, on how to do a perfect smartphone review.

I didn't know half you mentioned that exists in a phone.

I've a Sony Xperia aqua 4, since nearly 2 years, gifted by my son, he's the wizardry artist at home.

Regards
Vinod
 
Thread Starter #15
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Kya baat hai @Vijay, you have really set the bar up there, on how to do a perfect smartphone review.

I didn't know half you mentioned that exists in a phone.

I've a Sony Xperia M4 Aqua, since nearly 2 years, gifted by my son, he's the wizardry artist at home.

Regards
Vinod
I felt sort of embarrassed to receive such praise, I didn't know how to respond initially. To tell the truth, I am influenced by "many Review Pundits (on Cameras & Mobiles)". Credit should go to all those Pundits. About your Sony Xperia : It's a good looking middle tier phone, when released. As long as YOU feel that 'it is doing its Job, WELL', no need to change it. For the past 5 years, I stay clear of the Big Brands, as I feel they charge a Premium just for their Brand Names.

My blessings to the "Wizardry Artist at your Home".
 

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