The Xiaomi Mi A1 smartphone has been the responsible of supporting the Android One programme, which Google itself couldn´t develop properly but companies like Xiaomi has come to the rescue of the system.
This smartphone offers a design that, as other Xiaomi handsets, looks a lot similar to an iPhone, but it is something that most smartphones look for nowadays to be totally honest.
The main characteristic of this device is the 5.5 inch, full HD LCD screen. The camera and the and earpiece are located at the bezel of the top and the bottom bezel features three illuminated capacitive buttons for the Menu, Home and Back as mostly Android smartphones normally shown. The bodywork, as the iPhone one, is made of metal only interrupted at the top and bottom by the antenna lines. At the back, there is also located the fingerprint scanner – a very reliable and super-fast one, as well as a dual 12 megapixel camera setup with a LED flash located almost at the edge of the phone. On the left side, the user can find a nano-SIM tray for toe SIMS or one SIM and a microSD card. There is also a USB port at the bottom of the device. As a user, there should be extra careful since the smartphone is not waterproof.
Its operating system is Android 7.1.2 with a Snapdragon 625 chipset processor, having a 4GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. Also, it has a 1080p display which is practically bright but it looks slightly washed out in comparison with other LCD display screen. With a poor contrast and not so fine legibility in direct sunlight, the screen is one of the weaken points of this device.
Besides that, the OS allows the smartphone a fast response similar to high tech similar devices, with certain limitations in gaming and video reproduction, but nothing that will diminish the performance of the cellphone. Another minor misfire is that the device is not provide with a stereo speaker, but a single one at the bottom; but with a good set of headphones, the product offers you a good level of audio with a decent level of bass and audio quality.
The cameras provide a good quality pictures in good illuminating environment and with a 12 megapixel units and a wide-angle view and a teleport snapper, the user can get great pictures for a smartphone of this range. It also offers the possibility of 4K recording at 30fps, with a go appearance for a device like this one, but HD video is also limited to the same frame per second ratio and this is a minor setback from the device, as well as the audio recording lies down in a very poor quality.
Another misfire of this device is the Battery Life; the user needs to charge the phone on a daily basis with a standard usage. But it would last long enough to give time for the owner to arrive home and charge it.
Besides the fact that the Android One Initiative hasn’t started all well, the efforts made by smartphones such as this device head this system in the right direction.