Fans of Android phones have a big leg up on iPhone users when it comes to budget options. If you like high-end smartphones, both Android and iOS have great flagships you can pick up. However, if you’re in the market for a smartphone under $300 and you like iOS, you’re going to be rocking a four-year-old phone at best.
Android, on the other hand, has a wealth of mid-range and budget phones from various manufacturers that still function as great daily-use cell phones. One such phone is the upcoming Xiaomi Mi A3, the newest in Xiaomi’s “A” line of mid-range Android phones. Is the A3 a worthwhile phone at its budget price, or does it leave too much to be desired? Let’s take a look.
The Specs
An important aspect of any smartphone is the technical specifications. The Mi A3 isn’t exactly loaded with top-of-the-line tech, but it’s also only retailing for around $280. The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 665 system on a chip, offers up 4 GB of RAM, and is running an Adreno 610 GPU. The phone has a good number of ports: a 3.5mm headphone jack makes a return, as does the fan-favorite IR blaster (allowing the phone to be used as a universal TV remote).
Unfortunately, the display of the Mi A3 is only 720p, which leaves a lot to be desired. The screen is OLED, which means it offers great blacks and deep contrast, but the lower-resolution display is very unusual. For the price, it would have been nice to see the A3 sporting a 1080p screen. As it stands, the phone likely won’t age well.
User Interface
The A3 also isn’t running Xiaomi’s in-house Android skin, but is running on the stock Android One program. This means that, like the previous “A” models, the A3 will only receive two years of software updates from Google. The Android One program is Google’s way of letting budget phones exist at a lower price by running a bare-bones, minimalist version of Android.
As such, all the inherent strengths of the open Android OS are here, as are all of its rough edges and warts. If you already love Android, there’s nothing here that will make you hate it. Likewise, if you’re ot an Android fan, the bare-bones Android One won’t be convincing you.
US Customers
It’s worth noting that US Customers will need to be wary of the A3’s LTE compatibility. The LTE bands that the phone is compatible with are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, and 40. This means that the phone isn’t completely compatible with any US carriers. However, T-Mobile is the closest to full support for these bands, so consider the A3 if you use T-Mobile, or don’t mind not always having LTE coverage.
Xiaomi isn’t exactly a well-known brand in the US: in fact, most Chinese smartphone manufacturers aren’t. Only diehard Android fans tend to know names like Huawei and Xiaomi, though that’s not to say you can’t get the A3 in the US. Sites like Amazon will sell the phone unlocked, so all you need to do is take it to a carrier and have it activated.
Bottom Line
For around $280, the A3 is a good deal. The design is sleek, the interface is solid and the included headphone jack and IR blaster are nice to have. If you’re a stickler for nice displays, however, the 720p image is likely to turn you off from this phone. Likewise, the bare-bones software and two-year limit to software support might scare off more tech-savvy users, and the lack of full US LTE coverage could cause some customers to pass on this budget Android phone.