Xiaomi Mi A2 Hands-on, First Impressions

Xiaomi has just launched the Xiaomi Mi A2 in Madrid, Spain and we got to spend some time with the device.

Right away, what stands out to us when holding the device is the design itself. Light phones are great, but it’s not hard to appreciate a device that has a bit of heft to accompany a strong, solid feel. The aluminum unibody curves to meet the 2.5D glass at the edges, making it very nice to hold.

The bezels around the screen aren’t the slimmest we’ve seen, but that isn’t to say that the front face is too unattractive. The back has a nice matte finish that is smooth to the touch, although the significant camera bump bothers us and reminds us of the iPhone X’s wobbly table position. Also at the back is the fingerprint reader, which is both fast and in a very comfortable location.

Up front is the 5.99-inch FHD+ LTPS display that unlike the one on the Mi A2 Lite, does not have a notch. It is a pretty comfortable screen size with a now-familiar 18:9 aspect ratio and 2160 x 1080 resolution that will satisfy most users.  The display is crisp, well-saturated, and can get bright enough even for outdoor use.

Powering the Mi A2 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 with up to 6GB of RAM and up to 128GB of storage. The Snapdragon 660 is usually seen in more high-end, premium mid-range phones such as the Vivo X21, Nokia 7 Plus, and OPPO R11. The fact that the Mi A2 has it too easily puts it at the top of the mid-range market right now.

Smooth performance in everything from navigation to multitasking and heavy games is pretty much guaranteed. Stay tuned for our full review to see actual numbers from benchmark results.

The Mi A2 is Xiaomi’s second Android One smartphone (the first being the Mi A1), providing stock Android for users who prefer that software experience over MIUI. With this, you’re getting regular OS and security updates, the best Android experience, and even unlimited Google Photos storage.

One of the shiniest features on this device is its cameras. The primary sensor is a 12MP Sony IMX 486, while the secondary one is a 20MP Sony IMX 376. Both have an aperture of f/1.75.

The camera is powered by Xiaomi’s own camera AI that utilizes scene detection and intelligent separate post-processing of subject and background.

The front-facing camera has the same 24MP Sony IMX 376 sensor as the secondary rear shooter, making it quite the selfie snapper. HDR is present here, so extremely bright backgrounds are not much of a hurdle.

The 3,000mAh battery may disappoint some users, but do not forget that the Snapdragon 660 is a chipset that’s highly optimized for efficiency. So much so that Xiaomi is claiming all-day battery life, but we will have to test that in our full review. A welcome addition in the category of power and charging is the use of a Type-C port, which a lot of entry-level and mid-range devices lack.

We really like the Xiaomi Mi A2’s no-frills approach in providing an excellent competitor in the mid-range segment. It has a great premium design, powerful internals, promising AI cameras, all at a low price when compared to similarly specced devices.

The Xiaomi Mi A2 will be available in the Philippines soon. It is priced at Php14,990 for the 4GB + 64GB variant, and Php17,490 for the 6GB + 128GB variant. It comes in Gold, Blue, and Black colors.

Xiaomi Mi A2 specifications

• 5.99-inch FHD+ LTPS display @ 2160 x 1080px, 403ppi
• Corning Gorilla Glass 5
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 2.2GHz Octa-core processor
• Adreno 512 GPU
• 4GB, 6GB LPDDR4X RAM
• 64GB, 128GB internal storage
• 12 MP (f/1.75, 1/2.9″, 1.25µm) Sony IMX 486 + 20 MP (f/1.75, 1/2.8″, 1.0µm) Sony IMX 376 dual rear cameras with LED Flash
• 20 MP (f/1.8, 1/2.8″, 1.0µm) Sony IMX 376 front camera with HDR
• 4G LTE
• Dual SIM (hybrid)
• WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
• Bluetooth 5.0
• GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
• Gyroscope
• Fingerprint scanner
• USB 2.0 Type-C
• Android One (Android 8.1 Oreo)
• 3,010mAh non-removable battery
• 158.7 x 75.4 x 7.3 mm
• 168 g
• Colors: Gold, Blue, Black