Xiaomi Mi A3 vs the competition: The best Android One budget smartphone?

tech2 News Staff • August 21, 2019, 15:52:27 IST

The Xiaomi Mi A3 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 and it starts at a price of Rs 12,999

Xiaomi Mi A3 vs the competition: The best Android One budget smartphone?

Xiaomi has finally unveiled the Mi A3 . This is the third edition of the company’s Android One-powered Mi A series. It has a starting price of Rs 12,999 and it will go on sale on 23 August.

The Mi A3 has a triple-camera setup with a 48 MP Sony IMX586 primary sensor. It’s powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665. There are two RAM + storage variants including 4 GB + 64 GB and 6 GB + 128 GB.

In the budget segment of smartphones, the Mi A3 does manage to find its place comfortably with the choice of the hardware and pricing. Hence, we compared the device with other smartphones in this segment including the Realme 5 Pro , Vivo Z1 Pro , Redmi Note 7 Pro and Nokia 7.1 .

Smartphone	Xiaomi Mi A3	Realme 5 Pro	Vivo Z1 Pro	Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro	Nokia 7.1
Display Size (inch)	6.01	6.3	6.53	6.3	5.84
Resolution (pixels)	720 x 1560	1080 x 2340	1080 x 2340	1080 x 2340	1080 x 2280
Display Type	Super AMOLED	IPS LCD	IPS LCD	IPS LCD	IPS LCD
Dual SIM	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
SIM Type	Nano-SIM	Nano-SIM	Nano-SIM	Nano-SIM	Nano-SIM
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 665	Qualcomm Snapdragon 712	Qualcomm Snapdragon 712	Qualcomm Snapdragon 675	Qualcomm Snapdragon 636
RAM	4/6 GB	4/6/8 GB	4/6 GB	4/6 GB	3/4 GB
Internal storage	64/128 GB	64/128 GB	64/128 GB	64/128 GB	32/64 GB
Expandable Memory	Yes, up to 256 GB (SIM shared)	Yes, up to 256 GB (SIM shared)	Yes, Up to 256 GB (dedicated)	Yes, Up to 256 GB	Yes, Up to 400 GB
IP rating	P2i	Splash resistant	No	No	No
Primary camera	48 MP f/1.8 (primary), 8 MP f/2.2 (ultra-wide), 2 MP f/2.4 (depth)	48 MP f/1.8 (primary), 8 MP f/2.2 (ultra-wide), 2 MP f/2.4 (ultra-macro), 2 MP f/2.4 (depth)	16 MP f/1.8 (primary), 8 MP f/2.2 (ultra-wide), 2 MP f/2.4 (depth)	48 MP f/1.8 (primary), 5 MP f/2.4 (depth)	12 MP f/1.8 (primary), 5 MP f/2.4 (depth)
Camera Array	Triple	Quad	Triple	Dual	Dual
Secondary Camera	32 MP f/2.0	16 MP f/2.0	32 MP f/2.0	13 MP	8 MP f/2.0
Flash	Single LED	Single LED	Single LED	Dual-LED	Dual-LED
OS Version	Android 9.0 Pie (Android One)	Android 9.0 Pie (ColorOS 6)	Android 9.0 Pie (Funtouch 9)	Android 9.0 Pie (MIUI 10)	Android 8.1 Oreo (Android One)
Fingerprint Scanner	In-display	Rear-mounted	Rear-mounted	Rear-mounted	Rear-mounted
3.5mm jack	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Battery (mAh)	4,030 mAh	4,035 mAh	5,000 mAh	4,000 mAh	3,060 mAh
Fast charging	Quick Charge 3 (18 W)	VOOC 3.0 (20 W)	Yes (18 W)	Quick Charge 4 (18 W)	Yes (18 W)
Colours	Not Just Blue, More Than White, Kind of Grey	Crystal Green, Sparkling Blue	Sonic Blue, Sonic Black, Mirror Black	Nebula Red, Neptune Blue, Space Black, Astro White	Gloss Midnight Blue, Gloss Steel
Prices in India	Starting at Rs 12,999	Starting at Rs 13,999	Starting at Rs 14,990	Starting at Rs 13,999	Starting at Rs 15,999

Conclusion

On paper, things look quite neck and neck for the Mi A3 and Realme 5 Pro. While the Mi A3 comes with a 720 x 1560 resolution display it comes with a Super AMOLED panel that none of the devices in this comparison offer. On the other hand, the Realme 5 Pro has a resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels, it has an IPS LCD panel. Where one lacks, the other seems to offer something better and this is the case on both sides.

In terms of raw power, the Realme 5 Pro does have an upper hand by packing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 chipset. Both the devices have the same 48 MP primary camera sensor where Realme has an additional 2 MP ultra-macro sensor. This will only offer a different camera mode but whether the Realme 5 Pro does a better job of using all the camera sensors can only be found after a proper camera comparison.

Looking at only the specifications, it seems like the Realme 5 Pro certainly has a few advantages over the Mi A3. However, we can only determine which device performs the best after a full review and performance comparison of these devices.