Xiaomi's new Mi A2 is a midrange Android phone with a 5.99-inch screen in an aluminum unibody design. The screen is an IPS LCD and features a longish 18:9 aspect ratio (2,160 x 1,080-pixel resolution) favored by many recent premium Android phones.
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Charging is done over USB Type-C (5V @ 2A though, no USB PD or Quick Charge), which is about the only port you’ll find on the phone. Thankfully, Xiaomi has included a USB-C to 3.5mm audio adapter in the box so there’s no need to ditch your wired headphones just yet.
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The Xiaomi Mi A2 smartphone supports dual-SIM and this is very important for a country like Singapore where users often travel overseas or simply hold more than one phone line to manage work and personal needs.
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The front-facing camera uses Sony’s 20-megapixel IMX 376 sensor, which does 4-to-1 pixel-binning to get a large 2µm pixel size for improved low-light captures. Along with a blend of AI and software algorithms, the camera is able to pull off some interesting and useful camera tricks, including a portrait mode that mimics a shallow depth of field for the subject to stand out, a beautify mode and detail-enhancing HDR selfies.
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The rear shooter is a 12MP + 20MP (Sony IMX 486 + IMX 376) config. The main 12MP camera has a 1.25µm pixel size and uses an F1.75 aperture lens, while the secondary 20MP camera is the same module used by the front camera, which means it can also do pixel-binning to increase low-light sensitivity. AI again plays a heavy role here, helping the camera to detect common scene types and apply optimized settings automatically.
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All the aforementioned portrait mode niceties on the front selfie camera are also available here, of course. Last but not least, the Mi A2 can shoot 4K/30p videos and 120fps slo-mo videos at 720p.
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The rear camera bump is similar to that on the iPhone X, which should be manageable as long as you have the right case cover to protect the rear camera from getting scratched when placed on a table.
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Xiaomi did a lot of photo comparisons between the Mi A2's cameras and the Samsung A8's. We'll find out if the camera is really as good as it's billed to be in our upcoming review.
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The Mi A2 runs a (near) stock version of Android 8.1 Oreo, and it will get an Android P update later this year. So yes, this phone will feature Google Play, Google Assistant and Google Lens.
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Pricing-wise, the Mi A2 starts at 249 Euros (~S$397) for the model with 4GB RAM and 32GB storage. 279 Euros (~S$445) will land you the 4GB / 64GB model, while the top-of-the-series 6GB / 128GB model has a 349 Euros (~S$557) sticker price. There are three shades to choose from: gold, blue, and black.
Xiaomi is bringing the Mi A2 to many international markets, including Singapore. We'll update this page once we've more local info.
