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The Mi A3 is the most affordable smartphone with Sony's IMX 586 48MP sensor. But is that all there's to it? Read our review to find out...
A little over two years ago, Xiaomi introduced the masses to its A series of smartphones, which promised a no-frills, stock Android experience. After two successful launches, the company is back with the third iteration in the range in the form of the Mi A3 (first impressions), which is quite possibly the most important smartphone from the brand this year. I say this, because of late, the user experience offered by Xiaomi's MIUI platform hasn't been so great in light of ads appearing on the OS.
Therefore, if you are looking to buy a Xiaomi phone but can't partake with the company's MIUI custom skin, then the Mi A3 is quite possibly your only ray of hope right now. But then again, is the phone any good in the first place? To find out, I put my SIM in the Mi A3 and after testing it for a week, here's what I make of it.
Display | |
Size | 6.08 Inch |
Resolution | 720 x 1560 pixels |
Performance | |
CPU | Quad core, 2 GHz + Quad core, 1.8 GHz, Snapdragon 665 |
RAM | 4 GB |
Storage | |
Internal memory | 64 GB |
External memory | Up to 256 GB |
Battery | |
Capacity | 4030 mAH, Li-ion, Non removable |
Camera | |
Primary camera | 48 MP |
Secondary camera | 32 MP |
Connectivity | |
Network support | Dual SIM 4G |
Other options | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS |
Others | |
Battery Capacity | 4030 |
Operating system | Android 9.0 Pie |
The first thing you'll notice when you pick up the Mi A3 is its compact footprint. The handset ships with a 6.08-inch display, which by no means is a small screen and yet, managed to nestle comfortably in the palm of my hands. What's more, the smartphone cuts a handsome package (especially in the Not just Blue hue) too and has been constructed in entirety using a mix of glass and plastic. In fact, unlike most of the competition, the back of the device is actually glass and the difference in the build quality is immediately evident - the Mi A3 feels thicker, more robust and much nicer in the hands. I'd also like to give the company credit for layering a stunning gradient finish on the handset, which creates visual auras when the back of the phone is viewed at different angles.
I've been using the Mi A3 exclusively for the past week, and I must admit, the smartphone's ergonomics are second to none. The handset ships with a narrower frame, which coupled with its compact size, chamfered corners and a slightly tapered back make it a godsend for one-handed usage. It's not immediately evident, but you'll greatly appreciate the smartphone's minuscule footprint if you commute in a bus or a packed metro every day — places where it's impossible to keep both hands free.
The Xiaomi Mi A3 is among the better shooters in the affordable segment and the handset features a triple camera setup at the back comprising a pair of Sony IMX 586 48MP sensor with f/1.79 aperture, an 8MP wide-angle lens with a 118-degree field of view and a 2MP depth sensor. For selfies, the smartphone features a 32MP front camera.
1. The Mi A3 shoots brilliant photos during the day and the trio of rear cameras ensure that you rarely ever have to come back to a scene and click an image again. Daylight shots are flush with punchy colours and an abundance of details and the built-in AI engine works well to detect a scene and change the camera settings best suited to capture the picture accordingly as well.
2. In typical Xiaomi fashion, the handset's AI engine brings up the details from the shadows albeit in doing so, occasionally overexposes the highlights ever so slightly. Nine times out of ten, you will be able to get away with a stunning picture but it might help to meter down the exposure manually when it's too bright outdoors. As for the dynamic range, you'll love to shoot pictures of a cloudy sky, or play with the shadows of a building with the Mi A3.
3. The Mi A3's camera is on par with the competition for the most part too. In fact, the handset clicks identical photos to the Realme X when it's sunny outside, with the only difference being the added punchiness in Realme's shots. You even get an ultra-wide angle sensor with the phone, which clicks flattering photos during the day with minimal fish-eye distortion.
4. That said, I was a bit disappointed with the smartphone's 48MP mode, which pales in comparison to the one on the Realme X. Take, for instance, the picture outside my office. Upon zooming in, it's evident that the picture is better composed on the Realme X as the bushes in the foreground are more defined and the building being constructed at the back is sharper as well. Therefore, if you plan on clicking a lot of high-res landscape images, the Mi A3 might not be the best fit for you.
7. On the flipside, the smartphone's 32MP selfie shooter is among the best in the biz. The portraits come out beautifully off of the handset's front camera and the device delivers even in lowlight scenarios admirably.
The Mi A3 is only the second smartphone in India after the Realme 5 to be backed by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 665 octa-core processor. The handset features two RAM and storage variants, and you can either opt for a 4GB RAM variant which will give you 64GB of built-in storage, or a 6GB RAM model which comes with 128GB of storage.
Thankfully, unlike its predecessor, the Mi A3 comes with a microSD card slot and therefore, you won't be locked to the storage you get out of the box. Now, specs aside, the Snapdragon 665 isn't the quickest chip in its price range. In fact, for the price you pay for the Mi A3, you could instead opt for a phone with a Snapdragon 710 or 712 processor. To give you a better picture, here's how each chip fares in Antutu benchmark.
Realme X (Snapdragon 710 processor) | 1,56,669 |
Realme 5 Pro (Snapdragon 712 processor) | 1,82,246 |
Xiaomi Mi A3 (Snapdragon 655 processor) | 1,39,196 |
With that said, the Mi A3's near-stock overlay pays dividends as it's not as resource-hungry as the competition's custom skins. Therefore, for the most part, you won't notice any difference in performance between the three aforementioned processors. During my time with the phone, the Mi A3 opened applications quickly, and it rarely ever stuttered whilst multitasking. Gaming, however, is a completely different story and I came across noticeable frame drops whilst running PUBG on the HD graphics preset on the phone. To recap, both, the Realme X, as well as the Vivo Z1 Pro, showed no signs of slowing down when running PUBG at the same settings. Therefore, if you are a hardcore gaming enthusiast, you might want to look at other options before pulling the trigger on the Mi A3.
With the Mi A2 (review), Xiaomi screwed the pooch by removing the headphone jack and shipping the smartphone with a measly 3,000mAh battery. Well, the company rights all wrongs with the Mi A3 as the smartphone features a beefy 4,030mAh cell with support for fast 18W wired charging too. That said, the bundled power brick maxes out at 10W and therefore, you'll have to procure an 18W charger on your own. Regardless, the Mi A3 lasts really long and try as I might, I couldn't kill its battery in under a day.
The Xiaomi Mi A3 starts at Rs 12,999 for the 4GB RAM variant, however, the 6GB RAM variant will set you back Rs 15,999. For the price, the device goes up against the likes of the Realme X (review), the Realme 5 Pro, and the Vivo Z1 Pro (review), all of which offer superior performance and displays to boot. What's more, while the Z1 Pro offers a mammoth 5,000mAh battery and the Realme X ships with a full-screen display, there's nothing that sets the Mi A3 apart. I will admit, the promise of timely updates is quite enticing but it's not enough to sway buyers over to its doorsteps, especially when you can opt for devices like the Realme 5 (review), which cost way less and feature most of the same specifications.
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Rs. 11,499 .00
|
Go To Store
|