Xiaomi MiA1 : Critical review and Analysis

Manu kumar Jain, MD of Xiaomi India is bullish on brand Mi, and launches MiA1 in September. Manu Jain thrilled with top position occupied by Redmi 4 and Note 4 in Q1 and Q2 in India. Xiaomi is launching new models rapidly. In July it launched Mi Max 2 in 6.4 inch screen size. Mi Max 2 has been a disaster product.

MiA1 Rose Gold
MiA1 Rose Gold

MiA1 is on path of Mi Max 2. Manu Jain has forget important lesson, i.e. it is not depth of portfolio which makes brand a success but good quality product at right price point. Strength of Mi India has been feature enrich phones providing value for money to consumers. Mi Max 2, which was not better than calling tablet was launched at rs. 17,000. Mi Max 2 met its designed fate.

MiA1 is first copy of RedMi note 4, but at high price. It looks Xiaomi India is launching new variants for sake of launching.

A detail analyses of MiA1 and Note 4 is listed here.

MiA1 Note 4 Remarks
Network and Connectivity Technology GSM / HSPA / LTE GSM / HSPA / LTE No change
2G bands GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 – SIM 1 & SIM 2 GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900 – SIM 1 & SIM 2 No Change
Physical Dimensions and Sim Slot Dimensions 155.4 x 75.8 x 7.3 mm (6.12 x 2.98 x 0.29 in) 151 x 76 x 8.5 mm (5.94 x 2.99 x 0.33 in) Almost same
Weight 165 g (5.82 oz) 165 g (5.82 oz) No change
SIM Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) Hybrid Dual SIM (Micro-SIM/Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) No Change
Screen and Display Type LTPS IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors Screen is LTPS IPS LCD
Size 5.5 inches (~70.1% screen-to-body ratio) 5.5 inches (~72.7% screen-to-body ratio) No change
Resolution 1080 x 1920 pixels (~403 ppi pixel density) 1080 x 1920 pixels (~401 ppi pixel density) pixel density is 403 ppi
Multitouch Yes Yes No change
Protection Corning Gorilla Glass (unspecified version) Corning Glass
Operating System and Processor OS Android 7.1.2 (Nougat), planned upgrade to Android 8.0 (Oreo) Android 6.0 (Marshmallow), upgradable to 7.0 (Nougat) Android 7.1.2
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8953 Snapdragon 625 Qualcomm MSM8953 Snapdragon 625 No change
CPU Octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 Octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 No change
GPU Adreno 506 Adreno 506 No change
MEMORY Card slot microSD, up to 128 GB (uses SIM 2 slot) microSD, up to 256 GB (uses SIM 2 slot) Note 4 was upgradable up to 256 GB
Internal 64 GB, 4 GB RAM  64 GB, 4 GB RAM No change
CAMERA Rear Camera Dual 12 MP (26mm, f/2.2; 50mm, f/2.6), phase detection autofocus, 2x optical zoom, dual-LED (dual tone) flash 13 MP, f/2.0, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash, check quality camera was better in Note 4
Features 1.25 µm/ 1.0 µm pixel size, geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, panorama 1.12 µm pixel size, geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, panorama, HDR little improvement over Note 4
Video 2160p@30fps, 720p@120fps 1080p@30fps, 720p@120fps, check quality Video is at 2160p
Secondary 5 MP, 1080p 5 MP, f/2.0, 1080p No change
COMMS WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspot Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot No change
Bluetooth 4.2, A2DP, LE 4.1, A2DP, LE 4.2 version of Bluetooth
GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS No change
USB 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector microUSB 2.0, USB On-The-Go USB Type C
FEATURES Sensors Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass No change
– Fast battery charging – XviD/MP4/H.265 player Almost same
– Xvid/MP4/H.265 player – MP3/WAV/eAAC+/Flac player
– MP3/WAV/eAAC+/FLAC player – Photo/video editor
– Photo/video editor – Document viewer
– Document viewer
BATTERY Non-removable Li-Ion 3080 mAh battery Non-removable Li-Po 4100 mAh battery battery was better in Note 4
Price Price 14999 INR 12999 INR Over Priced

Note 4 scores high on MiA1 on following

Note 4 rear camera is better than MiA1. While Note 4 came with 13MP (f2.0 aperture) rear camera, MiA1 exhibits only 12 MP(f2.2 aperture).

Battery : Note 4 comes with better battery capacity at 4100 mah, while miA1 comes with 3080 mAh battery capacity.

MiA1 memory is expandable up to 128 GB through micro SD card, while in Note 4 memory is extendable up to 256 GB with MicroSD card.

Note 4 price is Rs. 12,999 while one need to spend 14999 in order to acquiremiA1.

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