Xiaomi Mi A1 gets a Rs 1,000 price cut, to cost Rs 13,999 now: Read review

Xiaomi has officially slashed the price of the Mi A1 smartphone by Rs 1,000. The Xiaomi Mi A1, an Android One smartphone, was launched in September with a price tag of Rs 14,999. Now, after the price reduction, the device is available on Flipkart and Mi Store at Rs 13,999.

The Mi A1 is the first Xiaomi smartphone to use stock Android version instead of company's heavily customised MIUI theme. It is also a first premium mobile phone to wear the Android One moniker, created with the promise of a pure Android experience and quicker software updates, and earlier limited to budget smartphones. That indeed is the device’s USP, but how does it fare on other parameters?

Business Standard took the Xiaomi Mi A1 for a spin and here are our observations:

Design
At first glance, the smartphone resembles the Google Pixel, with some minor tweaks. The metallic uni-body design feels premium in hand and the 2.5D curved glass on top of the screen accentuates the details. On the back, the dual camera set-up bulges out from the body, enclosed in a metallic frame, accentuating the camera unit. The fingerprint scanner is placed at the upper centre which makes it easier to reach and comfortable to use.

Overall, Xiaomi has not done any fancy design experiment with the Mi A1 and the result is no-frills, neat-looking smartphone.

Display
For a smartphone with a 5.5-inch screen, the Mi A1 is a big device with huge top and bottom bezels around the display. The side bezels are slim and the 2.5D curved glass on top makes it look almost bezel-less. The screen is of in-plane switch (IPS) breed, with fullHD resolution. It looks sharp and bright. There is no dearth of contrast, either, but the reflective nature of the glass deteriorates the screen’s sunlight legibility.

The touch feels smooth and there is no lag or touch latency of any sort. Instead, the curved glass makes it easier to operate the phone.

Xiaomi Mi A1 offers more than just pure Android experience

Xiaomi India launched its first stock Android-based ‘Mi A1’ smartphone on September 5. The phone is priced very competitively at Rs 14,999 and will go on sale starting September 12 through offline and online channels.

The Mi A1 smartphone from the stable of Xiaomi got the stature of Android One, a platform created by Google for budget smartphone makers with a promise of pure Android experience and quicker software updates.

The Mi A1 is the first Xiaomi smartphone to run on stock Google Android Nougat out of the box. Xiaomi has infused the camera app, Mi Store app, Remote app and app for feedback in the OS but other than that everything else is pure Android. The software offers no frill design and is clean to the core and, therefore, there is no clutter anywhere.

What is important to note here is that the device will get Android latest Oreo update soon and the phone will be one of the devices to get the ‘Android P’ first. The information was shared by the company’s official at the launch.