Xiaomi Mi A2 review - the best middle class smartphone?

Foreword: Xiaomi Mi A2

The Xiaomi Mi A2 is a new mid-range smartphone based on the Chinese Xiaomi Mi 6X. The main hardware features are a 5.99 inch display, a powerful Snapdragon 660 system-on-chip and a dual main camera.

Compared to the Chinese model, the Mi A2 supports further molecular radio frequencies and bands, including the LTE band 20, which is frequently used in this country. The smartphone is not delivered with MIUI, but with bloatware-free Stock Android. As an Android One certified device, users receive a 2-year guarantee on system updates and a 3-year guarantee on security patches.

Design, workmanship and delivery

Visually, the Xiaomi Mi A2 is strong at the  Xiaomi Note 5 Redmire  ajar. The dimensions of the unibody metal case are 158.7 x 75.4 x 7.3 mm, the weight is a pleasant 168g. Due to the housing design, which is flat on the sides and at the same time rounded, the smartphone looks significantly slimmer than comparable models. The smartphone is available in blue, gold and black.

 The Xiaomi Mi A2 is constructed as follows: 

 The 5.99 inch display is on the front. Depending on the choice of color, this is outlined in black or white. The rounded display edges, which contribute to the rounded look, are striking. The narrow receiver is located in the middle above the display. To the left of it, Xiaomi has placed the 20 megapixel front camera and the proximity sensor. To the right of the handset are the LED flash and the notification LED, which, however, only glow white.

Due to the unibody design, the housing frame and the back form a unit. The particularly narrow housing frame, which is rounded towards the rear, is equipped with a volume rocker and power button on the right. The dual SIM slot is on the opposite side. The top of the frame includes one of the two microphones and an infrared transmitter. The USB-C socket is located in the middle of the underside of the frame. There is another microphone to the left of the USB-C socket and a mono speaker to the right of the socket. There is no 3.5 mm headphone jack!

The back of the smartphone is equipped with the dual main camera in the upper third. With regard to this, the design of the Mi A2 is to be criticized. The camera protrudes considerably from the housing, so that the smartphone lies on its back, on top of the camera. There is also a circular fingerprint scanner in the middle in the upper third of the back. The plastic antenna strips are discreetly embedded in the rear of the housing.

The processing quality is unproblematic. The smartphone is flawless and neatly processed. The control buttons sit in the case without play. In addition to the Mi A2, the scope of delivery includes a flexible protective cover, a SIM needle, a power supply unit with EU plug (5V 2A), a USB-C cable, a USB-C to 3.5 mm jack adapter and a user manual.

Scope of delivery of the Xiaomi Mi A2

Display

The display of the Mi A2 has a diagonal of 5.99 inches with 2160 x 1080 pixels. This results in an aspect ratio of 18: 9 and a razor-sharp point density of 403 PPI. Although it is not a tri-bezel-less smartphone, the screen-to-body ratio is 77%.

display measurement

Display measurements showed a maximum luminance of the display of about 381 cd / m². The measured black value is 0.224 cd / m². This results in a static contrast ratio of 1: 1700.

The luminance deviation distributed over the display is a maximum of 25 cd / m². The color and grayscale display differ with an average DeltaE of 5.2. The color temperature is rather cool because of the increased blue component.

Display in everyday life

In everyday life, the display impresses with its razor-sharp presentation and strong color rendering. The display also excels in terms of its viewing angle stability. Particularly flat viewing angles do not lead to any color falsifications or to no impairment of the color contrast. The maximum display brightness is not at the top level, but it is sufficient to be able to read the display even in the sunshine. The slightly reflective display glass affects the legibility slightly.

Display settings and functions

In addition to the brightness adjustment, there are no setting options for the display. There is also a lack of color customization options. The display functions amount to a night mode, which filters the blue component according to a schedule, as well as an adaptive brightness adjustment, after which the display brightness is automatically adjusted according to the ambient light.

Touchscreen

The touchscreen recognizes a maximum of 10 simultaneous inputs (multi-touch). Inputs are recognized precisely. Unintentional ghost touches were not noticeable in the test. The display and touchscreen are protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5, a particularly scratch-resistant protective glass. After three weeks of use without a protective film, even microscratches have not appeared. A special coating on the protective glass increases the gliding ability on the touchscreen.

Performance

Qualcomm Snapdragon 660

The system-on-chip of the Xiaomi Mi A2 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660. This mid-range processor, manufactured using the 14 nm process, consists of a total of 8 Kryo 260 cores. The cores are in turn divided into two clusters, 4 of which clock with a maximum of 2.2 GHz and 4 with 1.8 GHz. The graphics unit of the system-on-chip is an Adreno 512 GPU. Compared to last year Xiaomi Mi A1 the Mi A2 is faster, especially with regard to graphical applications. Hardwareseitig demanding games such as PUBG Mobile are fluently playable.

The memory configuration amounts to an optional 4GB or 6GB RAM (LPDDR4X) and an optional 32GB, 64GB or 128GB flash memory. Despite compatibility, Xiaomi did not opt ​​for fast UFS storage for data storage, but for eMMC5.1 storage. A memory expansion using a microSD memory card is not intended! 

Benchmark

With 131.128 points achieved in the AnTuTu benchmark test, the Mi A2 lives up to expectations. The smartphone also performs well in several 3DMark test runs, which mainly stress the Adreno 512 GPU. It turns out to be disappointing in the memory test. The internal eMMC5.1 storage in particular is well below expectations. A read speed of around 165 MB / s and a write speed of 107 MB / s are clearly too slow. Even with different measurement methods, a higher storage speed could not be achieved. The speed of the RAM is still acceptable at around 7150 MB / s.

Performance in everyday life

In everyday life, the Snapdragon 660 delivers enough power to ensure a smooth user experience. Apps are opened without delay and multiple apps that are open at the same time do not slow down the smartphone noticeably. The user interface reacts quickly and animations are displayed smoothly. The previously criticized storage speeds do not affect everyday use.

Gaming

In the test, the Xiaomi Mi A2 was able to face the demanding gaming title "PUBG". The mobile game can be played smoothly on high graphics settings. A delayed loading of the textures does not occur. After a 30-minute session, the temperature measured at the hottest point is just under 40 ° C.

user interface

Depending on whether you choose the Xiaomi Mi A2 or the identical Xiaomi Mi 6X, the smartphone will be delivered with Stock Android 8.1 or Xiaomi's own MIUI 10, based on Android 8.1. In the following I will go into more detail about the Stock Android user interface of the Mi A2.

As an Android One smartphone, the Mi A2 has a number of advantages to offer. By working directly with Google, updates and security patches are distributed to users even faster. In addition, users of an Android One device receive a 2-year guarantee on system updates and a 3-year guarantee on security patches.

The user interface works without annoying bloatware. With the exception of a few Xiaomi apps, only the classic Google apps, including Google Play Services, are preinstalled on the smartphone. If you don't want Google apps, you can easily uninstall them using the app manager.

The user interface is controlled via virtual onscreen buttons. Unfortunately, the arrangement of the buttons cannot be determined individually. It is annoying that the back button is not on the right, as on most smartphones, but on the left. It is not possible to hide the buttons completely and to control the smartphone using gestures.

 In practical use, the user interface proved to be extremely stable. The structure is clear and unexpected system crashes did not occur. If you like to stream films and series (Netflix), you have to do without HD resolution. Although it is a certified Google mobile device, Widevine DRM is only supported with L3!

Camera

A lot has also happened in terms of camera equipment. The dual main camera of the Xiaomi Mi A2 consists of a 12 megapixel Sony IMX486 image sensor with f / 1.75 aperture and 1.25μm pixel size and a 20 megapixel Sony IMX376 image sensor, also with f / 1.75 aperture and 2.0μm pixel size. The secondary sensor in the main camera should deliver excellent results, especially in poor lighting conditions. At least in theory. The front camera also uses the 20 megapixel Sony IMX376 image sensor, but with an f / 2.2 aperture.

Practical test of the main camera

Photo mode

In practice, the pictures taken during the day are definitely on a decent mid-range level. Above all, the color coordination of the photos is impressive. As is so often the case, the dynamic range is limited, but does not reach a level that makes recordings unusable. Overall, the level of detail in the recordings is good. Noise does not occur. The distribution of sharpness, which is retained over the entire image area, was also convincing. For the most part, the autofocus works precisely and quickly. The trigger time for taking pictures is short.

 All full-resolution test shots can be found under this one Link 

Zoom

 In contrast to Xiaomi Mi A1 there is no optical zoom. Zooming is possible with up to 8x magnification. With 2x magnification, a loss of detail is already evident and photos appear increasingly muddy.

HDR

The HDR mode makes recordings worse. On the one hand, photos appear even sharper and image highlights come into their own better, while the significantly darker shadows make the photos appear much more unnatural.

Bad lighting conditions

According to Xiaomi, the 20 megapixel "low-light sensor" should particularly score under poor lighting conditions. If you switch to manual recording mode, you can easily switch between the main and secondary sensor (low light). The photos taken with the second sensor are more colorful and brighter than those of the main sensor, but do not offer a significant increase in quality due to their strong image noise.

The best result is achieved by the 12 Megapixel main sensor in automatic recording mode. The shots shot with it are much less noisy and find a pleasant mix between the two manual sensor modes.

Bokeh

The Mi A2's bokeh mode works reliably for the most part. Especially people are extracted cleanly. However, objects do not always give a satisfactory result. The more fine-edged the object, the more likely extraction errors are to occur.

video mode

The Xiaomi Mi A2 is one of the few Xiaomi smartphones that record at 1080p at 60 frames per second. The maximum supported video resolution is 4k at 30 frames per second. What has been said about photo recording quality can also be transferred to video recording quality. In good lighting conditions, the recording quality is not objectionable. With increasingly poor lighting conditions, the recording quality also decreases accordingly. A clear picture noise is noticeable and the autofocus begins to pulsate.

Electronic image stabilization is available. However, only recordings up to 1080p @ 60 are stabilized. Small to medium-weight image wobbles are neatly stabilized. Again, the sound recording quality has to be criticized. With a bit rate of only 94 kbit / s, the sound sounds slightly tinny.

Practical test of the front camera

 Those who like to take selfies will enjoy the Mi A2's front camera. The photo and video recording quality is impressive both during the day and at night. The colors look natural and the level of detail is high. A front LED flash improves the recording quality in poor lighting conditions.

The functions around the front camera are generous. In addition to various beauty modes, there is an auto HDR mode and a portrait or bokeh mode. Portrait shots succeed very well in spite of the purely software-based calculation.

connectivity

Telephony

The Xiaomi Mi A2 offers a dual SIM slot (2x Nano) and supports the cellular frequencies and bands commonly used in Germany. However, the smartphone is not designed for global use. Here is an overview of the bands: 

• GSM: B2 / B3 / B5 / B8
• WCDMA：B1/B2/B4/B5/B8
• LTE FDD：B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B20
• LTE TDD: B38 / B40

Telephony and mobile surfing work smoothly with the Mi A2. The smartphone shows itself to be extremely receptive. The voice quality is just as impressive. Speech is transmitted in both directions without interference. Noise is filtered out by using two microphones.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

The smartphone supports dual-band AC WiFi (802.11 a / b / g / n / ac) and Bluetooth 5.0. The reception range and the data throughput are decent in both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks. The same applies to the Bluetooth module, which establishes and maintains connections without errors.

GPS and sensors

To determine the position, the smartphone communicates with GPS, AGPS, GLONASS and Beidou. A GPS fix is ​​found quickly and the location is determined to within a few meters. Regardless of whether urban or rural navigation, a deviating position determination did not occur with several test routes. An e-compass is available.

The further sensor equipment amounts to a proximity sensor, an ambient light sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope, a G-sensor and a Hall sensor. An infrared transmitter allows you to control televisions and other devices with infrared receivers with the appropriate app, such as the pre-installed Mi Remote app.

Fingerprint scanner

The rear fingerprint scanner of the Mi A2 impresses with its high recognition rate. However, the unlocking time is comparatively long. Secure face recognition is not implemented.

Audio

The mono speaker delivers a good sound, provided the volume is not set too high. At the highest volume level, the loudspeaker sounds shrill and tends to overdrive.

If you want to connect headphones or external speakers to your smartphone, you have to use Bluetooth or the included USB-C to 3.5 mm jack audio adapter. As already mentioned, there is no 3.5 mm headphone jack! The sound via Bluetooth and the adapter is not objectionable.

Battery

The capacity of the non-replaceable battery is 3010 mAh. Getting through the day on a single charge is difficult, even with moderate use. The average screen-on-time achieved with medium display brightness was just under 5 hours. Above all, the use of the location services drains the battery quickly and clearly requires optimization.

The smartphone is charged via USB-C. Wireless Qi charging is not possible. A quick charge function is not listed in the specifications, but the smartphone charges much faster with a Quick Charge 3.0 quick charger. The supplied charger charges the battery in 2 hours. A QC 3.0 charger charges the battery in just 80 minutes.