Mi A3 unboxing: Xiaomi’s latest Android One smartphone has one major downgrade

The Xiaomi Mi A3 is finally official and this is their 3rd attempt at making a pure Android smartphone powered by Android One. The device was announced in Spain today but we managed to get an early unit to unbox thanks to Mobile2Go. Read on to find out what’s inside the box.

The Mi A3 unit which we have here is a “Kind of Grey” version that appears to be dark grey. It comes with a soft jelly case, the phone itself, a USB-C cable and a standard 10W charger.

The Mi A3 is based on the Xiaomi CC9e device that was launched in China. It comes with a 6.088″ AMOLED display that has a tiny notch to house a 32MP selfie camera and it also features an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Unfortunately, the Mi A3 uses a 720p display that pushes a lower resolution of 1560×720 pixels. As a comparison, the Mi A1 has a 5.5″ Full HD (1920×1080) display while the Mi A2 comes with a 5.99″ Full HD+ (2160×1080) panel.

Powering the device is an 11nm based Snapdragon 665 processor and it is mated to 4GB of RAM. Since it is an Android One device, you’re getting a clean Android interface instead of MIUI. Xiaomi also promises that the device will receive regular updates and security patches to keep your phone safe.

For taking pictures, it features a triple-camera setup that’s assisted by AI. It has a 48MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle shooter and a 2MP camera for depth effects. Powering the Mi A3 is a larger 4,030mAh battery which is 34% larger in capacity than the Mi A2.

It supports 18W fast charging via USB-C, but do note that you’re getting a standard 10W charger in the box. If you are still sticking to your existing headphones, you’ll be happy to know that it still comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack. Also included is an IR blaster which you can use as a universal remote.

Another nice inclusion is microSD card expansion via a hybrid dual-SIM slot. This means you can either put two nano-SIM cards or one nano-SIM plus one microSD card.

The Mi A3 has been announced officially in Spain with a retail price of €249 (about RM1,150) for the 4GB RAM + 64GB storage model and €279 (about RM1,288) for the 4GB RAM + 128GB storage version. The devices will be available in Spain starting 24th July 2019.

If you’re interested to get a unit in Malaysia, Mobile2Go is currently offering an import set for RM1,098. This is for the 4GB RAM + 64GB storage model and it is covered by Mobile2Go’s 2-year in-house warranty.

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