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Xiaomi Mi A1 Review - Incredibly awesome

Emanuele Iafulla

March 29 2023

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Xiaomi over the last few years has been able to grow in the smartphone market by offering end-to-end terminals, but above all it has been able to offer a rich interface of personalization related to graphics and productivity. Let's talk about MIUI, arrived at version 9 which over time has been able to give innovations to the most classic interfaces proposed by the competitors.

But what would a real Xiaomi fan say if he came in contact with a smartphone built by the Chinese company but aboard the naked and raw operating system provided by Big G? Someone might say that Xiaomi without MIUI is like Santa Claus without his reindeer, but in this case the Chinese company wanted to give a taste of its potential to the whole world proposing a smartphone that does not only target the so-called conscious users. We have the honor of presenting you Xiaomi Mi A1 equipped with Android One and offered by Gearbest.com who provided the sample and advised you as an online store to contact you for the purchase of Xiaomi products and more.

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The Xiaomi Mi A1 box looks like the one we're used to, with the difference that the box encloses a cardboard depicting the smartphone image and the Android One logo in good view. Inside we find in addition to the device it also needle for removing the SIM cart, loader with European outlet and exit 5V / 2A, USB Type-C cable for charging and transferring data, instruction manual in English and one welcome consisting of one protective film for the screen.

I have to be honest, find my Xiaomi smack of MIUI interface in my hands, at first impact was a shocking thing. The Xiaomi Mi A1 is in fact the first solution of the Chinese company to be equipped with the Android One operating system, that version of the Google OS that unlike the classic Andorid Stock can not be in any way customized by the manufacturer but at the same time future updates will be managed by the same Mountain View company and then be certified and sent to the devices by Xiaomi . Undoubtedly we find one two advantages as we will have an up-to-date device that is perfect for anyone to use without any problems.

Xiaomi for her Mi A1 did not create anything new but he reused the body and hardware of his previous Mi 5X. Specifically one metal unibody body with inserts on the back, in the upper and lower profiles, that conceal them U-shaped antennas. Always on the back we find the sensor for fingerprint recognition, very quick and precise, which can be exploited to drag the notification curve down and quick toggles. The assembly is performed in a professional way, revealing one general solidity free of crunches confirmed further by the absence of movements "dancers " for the on / off buttons and the volume bar on the right profile, but also by the smooth sliding of the SIM cart on the left side of the device. The only difference with Mi 5X we find it at the bottom of the back of the samrtphone, as it is present the Android One script, the only distinctive feature of his twin with MIUI.

You also appreciate it curve finishing at 2.5D of glass with protection Corning Gorilla Glass covering the LTPS type display  diagonal with 5,5 inches, resolution Full HD and Pixel Density poco below 400 ppi (to be exact 398,65 according to CPU X, while the company claims 403). A display that confirms itself up to Xiaomi's good name, with well-balanced colors, full brightness (values poco above 450 nits) e well visible even under direct sunlight, with an excursion of brightness able to satisfy the degree of need of multiple users. The quality of the images is not denied even at extreme angles with well-balanced whites and deep blacks, thanks to one Contrast ratio equal to 1000: 1, although sometimes the tendency to gray prevails on the actual depth. In addition, the display has the embedded feature in the Nougat operating system, defined Ambient Display, ie when receiving notifications, the screen will light up for a few moments in monochrome mode, returning the notification value.

Remaining on the front of Mi A1 we can find at the bottom i three soft touch buttons on the body, which result backlit and with vibration to the feed, while on the top there are sensors for brightness and proximity (really well-set), selfie camera and headset capsule as well as a comfortable and small white LEDs for notifications alongside the sensors.

Speaking of ergonomics we can safely say that the We A1 seems to be designed to stay in hand (measurements equal to 155,4 x 75,8 x 7,3 mm, weight 165 grams); comfortable and firm grip even when we use the smartphone with one hand. We can also appreciate the presence ofUSB Type-C input with OTG support in the lower profile, accompanied by the main microphone,jack input from 3.5mm for earphones and system speaker. In the top profile instead find the space second noise reduction microphone and IR transmitter, to control TV or other household appliances; endowment not to be underestimated for the price range placed on the Xiaomi Mi A1.

As mentioned earlier, Xiaomi reuses Mi A1 not only the body and design of Mi 5X but also the hardware that in fact consists of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor octacore with maximum clock frequency at 2.0 GHz and constructive process at 14 nm, Adreno GPU 506 to 650 MHz, as well as 4 GB of RAM memory e 64 GB of internal memory with the possibility of expansion via micro SD card (up to 128 GB), however, giving up the functionality of Dual SIM Dual Standby.

Comprising a lightweight operating system and reduced to the essential, the hardware compartment offers great performance at all times. Speed ​​and responsiveness accompany common operations, such as Internet, messaging, and social surfing without any improvisation, with the ability to use two applications simultaneously in multi-window mode. With the gaming, Mi A1 manages to give good unrestricted satisfaction even with fairly heavy games and complex graphics, while maintaining a really good gameplay.

To all this we must add the presence of the best Bluetooth 4.2, form WiFi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac dual band (2.4 / 5 GHz) with well-tuned signal reception and a module GPS with fast fixes and especially reliability in 100% of cases. Actually, however, there are 2 substantial differences with Mi 5X, a definite positive and the other negative depending on the needs. Starting from the negative FM radio is not present on Mi A1unless you follow this guides how to enable it, a forgivable choice in that the 20 band at 800 MHz is present, or rather the Xiaomi Mi A1 has full support for well 43 bands globally with 4G connectivity and VoLTE support.

This translates into one truly extraordinary reception to say the least poco impeccable; audio in crystalline capsule with a perfect volume level. Even hands-free, we can enjoy clean and smudged audio, even more appreciated by listening to multimedia content such as music or video,Dirac HD algorithm generated by the 10V mini amplifier, able to offer deep bass and high quality audio with support for professional headphones with impedance up to 600 Ω. Even in this case though we lose a function we were used to with MIUI, that is, the ability to record the call made.

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In fact, the main feature of this Mi A1 is precisely the operating system which is based on Android One, with updates guaranteed directly by the mother Google. One thing not to be underestimated especially if we think of the Chinese origin of a smartphone that often adopts an interface poco optimized for our country. It happened sometimes even with our beloved Xiaomi, having to resort to alternative rom installations. But with Andorid One we will have no problems with all the tools available from the Nougat version, such as shortcuts, multi-windows applications, or Google Assistant, which should shortly speak Italian.

But if the main feature of Mi A1 is Android One, the strong point is undoubtedly the camera: a double module from 12 megapixel of which one wide angle lens from 26mm opening ffinal match.  (1,25 μm, OmniVision sensor OV_12a10_i) and one Telephoto by 50 mm opening ffinal match. (1,0 μm, OmniVision sensor OV_13880_i) with 2X optical zoom capability. You can also benefit from the portrait tool that allows you to take very professional photos, obtaining a low field depth and a pleasing blur effect. There is a powerful dual tone flash LED that in some situations can improve the final quality of photos taken in low light conditions.

Fast focus, HDR function that works effectively, 2X optical zoom who can return shots with well defined details without having to get too close to the subject. In general, really good photos especially in good lighting conditions while the situation degrades quite significantly when light conditions are not optimal. It is noticed the absence of optical stabilization and background noise is quite evident although this situation is common to much of the market average. The same considerations apply also to the front camera with 5 megapixels (1.12μm,  f/ 2.0, sensor Samsung S5K5E8_1) which does not offer particular features but can be appreciated by returning shots worthy of social and even more.

Obviously we also have the ability to record videos up to a maximum resolution of 4K is 30fps. Even in this case the lack of the optical stabilizer is felt but in general the video comes out of good quality with well balanced audio and faithful colors to reality. It is also worth mentioning a further lack compared to Mi 5X with MIUI interface, ie the ability to scan QR Code directly from the camera, which is not possible with Mi A1. It is also possible to turn videos in slow motion with HD 720p 120fps resolution and time lapse.

The whole MiX A1 ecosystem is powered by a single battery 3080 mAh which may seem like a few compared to the 4000 of the Redmi series, but in this case the power optimization thanks to the Snapdragon 625 CPU, it performs the device extraordinarily, ensuring a day and a half of use with a charge residue of the 11 % is 5 hours and 52 minutes of active screen. It is true that Qualcomm's Quick Charge support is lacking despite the compatible processor, but with the charger packed in about 2 hours we could recharge Mi A1 from 0 to 100.

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This Xiaomi Mi A1 encloses, in relation to the price range it places, the best in circulation. Xiaomi's built-in quality and Google's robustness assured by Google, a blend that holds extra emphasis on battery life, a great camera and an unbeatable price. It's really hard to want more, the We A1 is really a best buy, where each user can store their own personal smartphone choices without having to sleep or be afraid of receiving notifications. Excellent value for money that you do not have to run away, so I strongly recommend purchasing in sight of Christmas coming. Who to turn to? Of course, the best online store for technology made in China and beyond: Gearbest.com.