Xiaomi Mi A3 Review

The Mi A1 smartphone was Xiaomi’s first smartphone that was part of the Google Android One program. Like other Xiaomi smartphones, it was also launched with powerful hardware, but it runs on stock Android instead of MIUI. After this, Xiaomi launched the upgraded version of Mi A1, Mi A2 (Review). At that time, the Mi A2 smartphone was one of the best camera smartphones in the price segment of less than Rs 20,000. It is worth noting that the Mi A2 does not have a 3.5 mm headphone jack and the option to increase storage. Now Xiaomi has launched the upgraded version of Mi A2, Mi A3, in India, so let us now provide you detailed information about Xiaomi Mi A3…

Design of the Xiaomi Mi A3

Xiaomi Mi A3 has a glass sandwich design, remember that Mi A2 was launched with a metal-clad design. Corning Gorilla Glass 5 has been used on the front, back and camera module of the phone, which will help protect the device from scratches to some extent during day-to-day use. The selfie camera has been placed in the dewdrop notch on the front panel of the phone.
The Mi A3 has thin bezels on the sides, but the border at the top and bottom of the phone is a bit thick. Xiaomi Mi A3 also uses a chrome finish along with a plastic frame. We have the More Than White color variant for review. Apart from this, Not Just Blue and Kind of Gray color variants of the Mi A3 have also been launched.

The names of the colour variants of the Mi A3 seem to be inspired by Google’s Pixel phones. The top of the phone has a 3.5mm headphone jack, a secondary microphone, and an IR emitter that can be used to control IR-based appliances. There are two grilles at the bottom of the Mi A3, but the grill on the right has a loudspeaker and a USB Type-C port.

Xiaomi has placed the power and volume buttons on the right side of the phone, the buttons are easily accessible by hand. The hybrid dual-SIM tray is provided on the left side of the phone. The back of the phone has three rear cameras with a single-LED flash. Like the Mi A2, the Mi A3 will not have a fingerprint sensor on the back panel of the phone because the Mi A3 is equipped with an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Xiaomi Mi A3 specifications and software

Competition is increasing in the price segment under Rs 15,000, which is why handset manufacturers are launching smartphones with better hardware in the market. Phones like Redmi Note 7 Pro (Review) and Vivo Z1 Pro (Review) are already available in the market in this price segment which are equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 and Snapdragon 712 processors respectively.

The Xiaomi Mi A3 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 processor. The same chipset is also used in the recently launched Realme 5 (Review). This processor is an upgrade of the Snapdragon 660, which was used in the Mi A2. The Mi A3 has been launched in two variants, one with 4GB RAM / 64GB storage and the other with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage.

We have the 6GB RAM variant of the Mi A3 for review. Xiaomi says that the Mi A3 has UFS 2.1 storage. One thing that was surprising was that the company has used an HD+ display in the Mi A3. While both the Mi A1 and Mi A2 handsets were launched with full HD+ panels.

Compared to the LCD panel in the older model, the Mi A3 has been launched with an AMOLED panel. We did not find any way to adjust the color output of the screen, we found that it boosts too much. The panel has adequate brightness but sometimes it can be difficult to read the display in daylight outside.

The Mi A3 is powered by a 4,030mAh battery, unlike the Mi A2 which comes with a 3,000mAh battery. The phone supports 18W fast charging, but Xiaomi has only provided a 10W charger in the retail box. The Mi A3 comes with Bluetooth 5, dual-band Wi-Fi, dual 4G VoLTE and four satellite navigation system support.

Since the Mi A3 is part of the Android One program, it runs stock Android rather than MIUI. There is no bloatware pre-installed, which means no spammy notifications. There is a Mi Community app along with a few Google apps. There is no app to use the IR emitter, so you will have to download it yourself.

Digital Wellbeing feature will also be available in Mi A3. Mi A3 is guaranteed to receive major Android OS updates for two years and security updates for three years.

Xiaomi Mi A3 performance and battery life

While using the Mi A3, we did not feel that the phone was slow. The Snapdragon 665 processor in the phone runs apps without any problem. We have the 6GB RAM variant of the Mi A3 for review, so we were able to multitask easily without cleaning apps in the background. The in-display fingerprint sensor is placed slightly downwards in the display. However, it is not inconvenient and is not slow to unlock the smartphone either.

PUBG Mobile was set to the Low quality preset by default, with graphics set to Smooth and the frame rate set to Medium. We set the graphics quality to Balanced and found that the Mi A3 was able to run the game without any issues. After playing the game for 30 minutes, we noticed that the smartphone got slightly heated up and also consumed 10 percent of the battery.

The Mi A3 offers good battery life compared to the Mi A2. In our HD video loop test, the Mi A3 lasted for 16 hours and 21 minutes. With our regular usage, where we ran all the benchmarks, took photos and videos, and used an active WhatsApp account, the phone lasted for about a day and a half on a single charge.

The 10-watt charger that comes with the retail box charges the Mi A3 up to 27 percent in 30 minutes and up to 54 percent in an hour. If you want to charge the battery faster, you can buy an 18-watt charger.

Camera

Xiaomi Mi A2 was launched with good cameras and naturally people are expecting the same from Mi A3. Mi A3 has three rear cameras, it has a 48 megapixel Sony IMX 586 primary sensor and an 8 megapixel secondary camera with a wide-angle lens. A 2 megapixel depth sensor is also provided.

The Sony IMX586 sensor is found in premium phones like the OnePlus 7 and Redmi K20 Pro. For selfies and video calling, the Mi A3 sports a 32-megapixel front camera. The camera software on the Mi A3 is no different from other Redmi smartphones running on MIUI. The phone’s camera app has several shooting modes including Portrait, Night, Panorama, and Pro.

There are separate buttons for HDR, AI, flash and filters. Apart from this, there is a 48-megapixel mode with the help of which you can take photos at full resolution, but the regular photo mode offers 12-megapixel pixel-binning shots for better clarity. Photos taken in daylight captured good detail. The phone locks focus quickly and sets the exposure correctly.

Objects and text located at a distance can be easily identified. However, the Mi A3 does not handle HDR very well. With the help of the wide-angle sensor, you can capture wide frames but there will be a lack of detail.

Taking macro shots with the Mi A3 was not easy as it focuses slowly. It maintains good distance between the subject and the background and details are also captured well. The portrait mode allows you to adjust the background blur before taking a shot. The phone’s edge detection was good in this mode and colours were also captured correctly.

In low light, the Mi A3 gives good shots. It locks focus quickly but is a bit slow in capturing the picture. The shots taken in low light captured good detail and the noise was also under control. Switching to night mode in the Mi A3 captured brighter and better detailed pictures.

Selfies taken outdoors captured good detail. The app has a Beautify mode that can be enabled before taking a shot. Edge detection was good during selfie portraits, and you also get the option to set the level of blur. Selfies taken in low light captured good detail.

The primary camera is capable of recording video at 4K and the selfie camera at 1080 resolution. Video stabilization is available when shooting at 1080 resolution with the primary rear camera. Shimmer effect is visible in low light. For your information, let us tell you that stabilization will not be available when shooting at 4K or using the selfie camera.

Our verdict

Xiaomi has kept the 3.5mm headphone jack and the option to expand the storage in the Mi A3 but has changed the screen resolution to HD+. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 is a capable processor at this price and it performs well. The Mi A3 has a large battery that provides good battery life. The camera performance of the phone is also quite strong in this price range.

Buying the Mi A3 variant with a starting price of Rs 12,999 may not be a profitable deal, because the Realme 5 is available in the market with the same chipset, which is priced at Rs 9,999. If you value performance more than photo quality, then Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 7 Pro (Review) is equipped with Snapdragon 675 chipset.

The high-end variant of the Mi A3 priced at Rs 15,999 is not very attractive as the Realme 5 Pro with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage is available for Rs 16,999. The Xiaomi Mi A3 can be a great choice for those who want a stock Android experience, software updates and good camera performance.