The Xiaomi Mi A3 is the latest smartphone from Xiaomi, under Google’s Android One program this July 2019. It was released a year after Mi A2 was released and comes with a lot of improved features albeit at a higher price point.
The Android One program is intended to offer smartphones that have a minimalist interface, do not come with bloatware, are secure, up-to-date and easy to use. Mi A3 would be the 4th smartphone (when counting A2 Lite) that Xiaomi has released under this program.
Cameras
Contents
The Xiaomi Mi A3 comes with improved camera capacity. It has an AI (Artificial Intelligence) triple camera (48MP, 8MP & 2 MP) that promises a flagship-level performance.
The primary camera has a Sony 48 Mega Pixels sensor, 6 pcs lens and an f/1.79 aperture.
The 2nd camera is a 118* ultra-wide-angle lends and promised an edge distortion correction.
The last camera is intended as a depth sensor for snapping portrait photos.
The selfie camera is a 32 MP camera that has AI and intended to help with taking better selfies.
Processor
The Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 665 AIE processor promises a lower power consumption thus leading to longer battery life.
Another major upgrade to the Xiaomi Mi series is an in-screen fingerprint sensor as well as a higher-capacity battery. The new battery supports 18W fast charge and promises a standby time of 20 days, 30 hours of call time plus 13 hours of gaming.
Comparison of Mi A3 with Mi A2
The most obvious difference is the price point. The Mi A3 comes at an initial launch price of 250 Euros while the A2 was 190 Euros.
Connectivity
While the LTE bands are mostly the same, the Mi A3 supports the band 28 (700 Mhz) and supports simultaneous LTE on both SIMs. The modem network speed on the A3 seems to be lower at 450/50 Mbps when compared to the A2’s 600/150 Mbps.
The Mi A3 is slightly smaller in length and height but slightly thicker. It also carries more weight at 173.8g when compared to the Mi A2’s 166g.
An FM radio feature has returned to the Mi A3 and so has the 3.5mm headphones jack.
Screen
Mi A3, however, comes with a Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen at an 80.3% screen-to-body ratio when compared to the Mi A2’s LCD screen that has a 77.4% screen-to-body ratio.
The resolution on the A3 is however lower, at 720 x 1560 pixels while the A2 has a 1080 x 2160 pixel screen.
The Mi A3 is protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on its back and an aluminium frame.
Other differences
Although the Mi A2 was launched with Android 8.1 (Oreo), it is upgradable to Android 9.0 (Pie). The A3 was launched with Android 9.0.
The Chipset, CPU and GPU on the Mi A3 are slightly newer and beefier.
A MicroSD slot that supports memory cards up to 256 GB has returned to the Mi A3 although it is shared with the 2nd SIM slot.
