November isn’t off to a great start, following the devastating effects of the Typhoon and news that Philippine inflation has accelerated to its fastest pace in nearly 14 years—and is expected to likely rise further—there’s still some good news though especially for those who are planning their budget for the upcoming holidays.
Xiaomi had always been a brand that was synonymous to value. Constantly challenging the norm by releasing phones that should cost way, way more for it’s specs and features. It had such a major influence in the entry-level segment other brands had no choice but to launch their own budget lineup to keep up.
Thanks to Xiaomi setting the standard the entry-level segment has become just as exciting as the mid-range battle royales and the flagship free-for-alls.
For those looking to get a new smartphone and are on a really tight budget, Xiaomi has released its latest entry-level offering—the Redmi A1 priced at just Php3,999.
Does it live up to its “A1” name to set a new benchmark for budget smartphones?
We tried out the Redmi A1 for the past week and in this review, we are going to give the good bits an UP and the not-so-good ones a DOWN.
But first the REDMI A1 SPECS:
Size: 76.75mm x 164.9mm x 9.09mm
Weight: 192g
Processor: MediaTek Helio A22 (Up to 2GHz) / IMG PowerVR
RAM: 2GB LPDDR4X
Internal Memory: 32GB
Display: 6.52″ HD+ Scratch resistant display
Audio: Single speaker, 3.5mm Headphone Jack
Camera: Rear: 8MP Dual AI Camera (f/2.0) + QVGA Depth Sensor
Front: 5MP (f/2.2)
4G, LTE WiFi, Bluetooth 5.1
Battery: 5000mAh with 10W fast charger in-box
Android 12 (Go Edition)
What’s in the box?
The Redmi A1 comes in a white box that has a flap opening instead of two separate pieces.
Inside you’ll find the Redmi A1 unit, Quick Start Guide, Warranty Card, a 10W fast charger Adapter, USB Cable and SIM Eject Tool.
Exploring the buttons and ports, on the ride side, you’ll find the volume rocker along with the power key.
Located on the left is the SIM tray.
The micro USB port and the 3.5mm headphone jack are housed at the bottom of the phone while the speaker grille is placed at the top of the phone.
REDMI A1 UPS and DOWNS
DESIGN: The Redmi A1 sports a simple yet stylish design with a flat frame and an all-plastic body. The rear panel has a textured leather-like design that looks best with the Black color variant. There’s also a Light Green and Light Blue option for those who want more fun colors. I do like the textured design which is why I am giving it an UP. Its still prone to fingerprints, though, especially if you have sweaty hands but it’s good that you can easily wipe it away.
It’s also not scratch resistant but it looks like it will be able to withstand a few scuffs and bums from daily use. There is no jelly case included in the package as in the case of most budget phones, but I do hope Xiaomi does make a case available to make it more resilient against daily wear and tear.
I also like the rear camera module as it reminds me of the Mi11 with the two-camera setup. The rest of the back is clean as it doesn’t have a fingerprint sensor.
The Redmi A1 is quite a big phone measuring 164.9 x 76.8 x 9.1 mm, matching many midrangers in size. The good thing though is that even if it’s quite light for its size, it doesn’t feel cheap and the build quality is actually very good.
DISPLAY: Next UP goes to its Display. The Redmi A1 boasts a 6.52-inch HD+ IPS LCD display with a resolution of 700 x 1600p. For those upgrading from a feature phone, a big screen is one of the most important factors.
The Redmi A1’s display is clear, colors are vibrant and the brightness levels are okay for indoor use. Its enough for watching videos, browsing, checking your feed and other usual stuff. Nothing too special, but its great for the price.
The same goes for its single-firing speaker. The positioning on top is a bit odd but the volume level does get loud. Overall sound quality is generally ok, though I wouldn’t max out the volume as the quality can get too tinny. There’s a headphone jack if you do want a better audio experience.
CAMERAS: Other entry-level devices usually have a single rear camera so Redmi A1 instantly gets an UP just for its dual camera setup. It has an 8-megapixel main camera and a QVGA depth sensor. The second camera is for capturing depth information and this is one instance where we’d take any kind of secondary lens. You also get dual-LED flash and a 5MP selfie camera in the waterdrop notch on the display.
The Redmi A1 also gets an UP for photo quality. I’m quite surprised that it can take decent shots with just enough details in good lighting conditions.
Check out these test photos:
The pictures I took outside in natural daylight came out pretty well with vibrant colors, and as long as your subject isn’t too far, its still able to capture the essential details. However, pictures of subjects taken in direct sunlight often came out a bit overexposed and you can’t make out the sky in the background at all.
Low-light shooting resulted in soft images but with a bit of editing they are still usable for social media posting.
As for selfies, the Redmi A1 has a basic 5-megapixel front camera. Again selfies turn out okay and using portrait mode gives you that background blur. The Redmi A1 can also record 1080p videos at 30fps from the rear as well as the front camera. Other modes include time-lapse and short video. Short videos last for 15-seconds which makes it great for shooting reels or those stories in one take.
PERFORMANCE AND BATTERY: Now here’s where it gets a bit tricky. The Redmi A1 device takes power from the MediaTek Helio A22 chipset. It also has 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage expandable up to 256GB via a MicroSD card.
This processor delivers a decent performance when it comes to basic tasks like browsing the internet, making video calls, using navigation, and more. To compensate for its humble internals, Xiaomi used Android 12 Go Edition on the Redmi A1, giving it a lightweight and stock version of android. I do like the large icons which is good for those who have bad eyesight and navigating the phone is easy enough for those who are using a smartphone for the first time.
But because of the limitations of the RAM, and the quad core processor, the Redmi A1 feels sluggish when you have to multitask. With several windows and a few apps open, the slowdown is quite considerable and there’s a one or two-second delay when opening an app. When it comes to games, you can play most casual games on this device without problem, just be sure to note your remaining storage. Its internals are perhaps its weakest point that’s why unfortunately, we have to give this bit a DOWN.
Moving on, the Redmi A1 again gets an UP for its 5,000 mAh battery. Because of its hardware and OS this means it can easily last a couple of days on moderate use and mobile internet on and off intermittently. I used it for taking pictures, watching a lot of YouTube videos and listening to Spotify. Ifyou are just using it for its phone functions I bet it could even last longer. Fully charging the Redmi A1 with the 10W charger takes about 3 hours.
FINAL WORD: The Redmi A1 is a pretty good budget phone and we enjoyed our time using it as our backup phone. The display is huge for consuming content, cameras are okay and the battery lasts quite a while. If you are planning to give this as a gift to someone who is moving up from a feature phone or for your elders who want a device to keep them connected its got all the essentials covered to make it an ideal buy this holiday season.
The Redmi A1 has an official price of Php 4,499 but if you get it until November 13, you can get it at a promotional price of in Php 3,999. You can also score a Bluetooth speaker for free (until supplies last.)
