Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite Pros & Cons: Worth Considering Or Just An Ignorable Addition To The Segment?

Earlier this month, 8th of August to be precise, we were expecting to see the Mi A2 Lite being announced by Xiaomi for the Indian market. The Chinese phone giant announced the Mi A2, which was a good thing to do by all means, but then it did just that. The company didn’t utter a word regarding the Mi A2 Lite. I won’t say it was disappointing to not get the Lite, especially as a consumer, but I guess we were a little shocked because we were almost certain of its announcement.

Nevertheless, that didn’t stop Gadget2Buy from reviewing the Mi A2 Lite and now, we have compiled a thorough list of the handset’s good and the bad points to make decision making easier for our viewers, for whenever the phone eventually makes its way to our market.

PROS

Trendy Notch Display At Extremely Affordable Price (Expectedly):

The Mi A2 Lite is yet to be launched in India and so, its Indian price naturally does not exist. Still, we believe that when this phone will land in India, it will likely be priced around Rs 11,000 mark. That will make it the cheapest phone with a notch display. Currently, that title resides proudly with the Honor 9N which is priced at Rs 11,999. But Xiaomi has a chance to take that away.

Irrespective of what you feel about the notch, there’s no doubt that it is the biggest trend presently and lends a stylish appeal to the handset. It will be a good choice for people who want a phone with a notch but want to spend less.

Solid Build And Fit-N-Finish:

Right from the Redmi 5, Xiaomi has churned out a number of handsets that look impressively built. The Mi A2 Lite feels solid to hold, although a little slippery, and the fit-n-finish leaves virtually nothing to complain about, especially considering the category it belongs to. Even the wide plastic antenna that double as body panels at the top and the bottom don’t look much out of the place.

Good Display:

Mi A2 Lite has a well balanced display which delivers neutral white balance thereby helping in producing realistic looking imagery. Colors are also nice, well-saturated and with good level of vibrancy. Although, sharpness could use some improvement. Overall, we have had little to complain about the Mi A2 Lite’s display.

 

CONS

The points below are not really the Cons, but rather they are the aspects that are nothing special at all and neither are they better than their competitors’.

Okay-ish Performance:

With Snapdragon 625 onboard with 3 GB of RAM, the Mi A2 Lite delivers mostly uninspiring performance. By that we do not necessarily mean bad, it’s just that there’s nothing positively standout about it. For example, the Redmi Note 5 Pro and Zenfone Max Pro M1 with Snapdragon 636 processor and 4 GB of RAM feel snappier in responsiveness and are smoother to operate. They stutter much less in comparison. In terms of gaming, like playing one of the latest car racing games Asphalt 9, we observed that the Mi A2 Lite is on par with its rivals, but it takes longer to load a level by 3 to 4 seconds.

Camera Can Be Better:

We have compared the Mi A2 Lite with the Lenovo Z5, Redmi Note 5 Pro and the Honor 9N, and its camera is comparable to all these handsets, at best. It isn’t really better. If we have declared the Mi A2 Lite’s camera better, then it is by a hair-thin margin and that can easily change in different conditions. This is how close the cameras in these phones are.

Competitive Battery Life, But Againt, Nothing Better:

With a 4,000 mAh battery, expectations are bound to be good. However, the battery life is only as the Redmi Note 5 Pro, for instance, as it also has the battery with similar specification. The runtime is around 1 and a half days tops, but we believe that when it comes to heavy usage, the Redmi Note 5 Pro takes the lead.

 

CONCLUSION

The Mi A2 Lite can be termed a decent smartphone at best. In our experience, the only standout feature in this phone is the notch, which is kind of sad. Every other aspect is only competent enough against its rivals. Of course, the Mi A2 Lite is better than the Redmi 5 and we would term it better than the Redmi Note 5 as well. But here’s the thing, the Mi A2 Lite is basically the Redmi 6 Pro in China, and that logically puts it above the Redmi 5 handsets. Then again, it is not yet launched in India and a lot will depend on its price. If it is anything closer to the Redmi Note 5 Pro, we would say it has lost the battle.