Review | Xiaomi Mi A3 full review: good for Android fans on a tight budget, but better options are out there
- Hardware compromises mean the six-inch OLED screen has a resolution of just 720p, and it runs on an old processor, with only 4GB of RAM
- On the plus side, battery life is good and video stabilisation when shooting in 1080p is impressive; still, in Europe at least, this phone is overpriced
Considering that Xiaomi has built a successful ecosystem of smart products all connected via the company’s MIUI software, it is surprising the Beijing-headquartered company chose to participate in Google’s Android One initiative.
Android One is an initiative designed to convince phone brands to stop slapping their software on top of Android (these UI overlays are known as “Android skins”) and revert to “stock Android” – in other words an unaltered, “clean” version of the software.
Perhaps Xiaomi understood that not many phone enthusiasts in the West like Android skins, and that a stock Android Xiaomi phone would help its appeal in Europe, one of its target markets. Whatever the case, Xiaomi’s Android One line, the Mi A series, runs on software that differs drastically from that of other Xiaomi handsets.
This used to be good news as recently as 2016, when MIUI looked garish and did not run smoothly. But Xiaomi has improved MIUI significantly since version 10, released in 2018 – so much that, after a week of using the Xiaomi Mi A3 with stock Android, I think I prefer other Xiaomi phones running MIUI.
Design and hardware
Priced in Hong Kong at just HK$1,679 (in Europe, it’s marked up significantly to €250), the Mi A3 is clearly a budget phone with some hardware compromises, but Xiaomi’s decisions here are a bit baffling in my opinion.