I had a Nexus 6P for over 3 years. I didn’t want to part with the thing because it was stock Android and had a camera that today is still on par with even the Pixel 3. But the Snapdragon 810 was garbage, the updates were over, and the phone had a slew of issues.
I spent so much time trying to decide on which flagship to go with. Anything over $500 seemed crazy IMO because in terms of phone evolution I wasn’t seeing the appeal. My 6P had a big AMOLED screen, a fingerprint reader, and a great camera. So for close to $1000 for a Pixel 3 XL I’d be getting just the same phone but the CPU was updated. I know I’m simplifying it but that’s what it seemed like.
When I saw the Mi A2 on sale for $150 on Amazon and found out what Android One was I thought why the heck not? It’ll at least hold me over till I finally accept I’m gonna drop $800+ for the newest and best pure Android phone.
This thing has surprised me! Coming from a 3+ year old 6P it feels flagship fast. The screen is great, fingerprint reader is great, and I’ve taken some nice shots with the camera. Plus it’s pure Android with timely updates. I was concerned because it was an international model that cell service would be an issue, but so far in Florida on T-Mobile it’s performed just as my 6P did, 4G 99% of the time.
I don’t know if there will be a Mi A3 or Mi A4 but I’d certainly be a longtime customer of Xiaomi is there is.
I was very happy with the A1 and I paid about 150€ for it. My wife is using it while I upgraded my phone a few times. I wanted to buy the A2, but a few things kept me away like the average battery time, no headphone jack and no sd card support. But for the price the A2 is very attractive.
if you’re from the US , they are refunding upto 400 dollars for the nexus 6p’s , you can file a claim on this site [https://kccsecure.com/Nexus6PSettlement/Claimant](https://kccsecure.com/Nexus6PSettlement/Claimant)
Same here! The bigger battery is definitely worth it, I’m back home with about 50-60% battery left.
I was going to order the A2 for my mother as her last phone was damaged, and is using my old one now.
But Amazon Canada just stopped selling it. Hoping it comes back soon as it seems to be a positive all around unit.
For what it’s worth, I contacted a seller 2 weeks ago and he replied “all Xiaomi phones are under review”. He has them in stock but aren’t able to sell them at the moment.
I was lucky since I just purchased a Mi 8 Lite 2 days prior to the mass disappearance of Xiaomi’s on Amazon.ca.
If anyone knows more detail it would be interesting to know the reason.
I wonder if its related to the Chinese phones are compromised stuff that the government has been on about.
Kind of sucks. My coworker was able to get the A2 just a week before they were removed.
they’re 100% flagship quality.
With phones like the realme X and the K20-not-pro I’m really wondering if its even worth buying a flagship anymore.
I bought my Mix 3 because att it was the only phone like it, but those two I mentioned have all-screen design with hidden camera, OLED and underscreen FP sensor, why buy a flagship then? the top-tier SoC? most apps are designed to run with mid-tier chips anyway and you dont see any real improvements, in fact I think stock ROMs are being kept artificially slow in mid-end models since when you install lineage on one and on a flagship both run normal apps at the same speed, is only when heavy apps like 3D games are used that flagships get an advantage but even then its not that big.
Right now the only thing I use my Mix 3 for that would melt op’s A2 is Dolphin, I don’t even care about fortnite. Outside that I could do with the base K20 or the RealmeX.
Get it from AE
Yeah I won’t be looking at flagships anymore. The A2 feels more premium than the Pixel 3a I held last week at Best Buy. I’m fairly confident they both perform about the same, yet the 3a XL is $479 vs $150. RAM management on the A2 has been proven to be better than the Pixel 3. There is a YouTube video that does a side by side. The Pixel 3 can launch apps a tad faster but the A2 kept them running in the background when re-opened, vs the Pixel 3 had to restart them.
They only thing it lags behind in is the camera. It’s not crap, but it’s not Pixel quality. But it’s certainly nice enough for everyday point and shoot so I’m not worried about it.
Got my dad a Mi A2 Lite after reading reviews and watching videos on it, with the addition of the headphone jack (was necessary for my dad) and Android One… it is a really solid device. I set it up for him and answered a few questions, didn’t want to give it back! I’m sold on Xiaomi devices (as long as it doesn’t have MIUI)
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Get havoc os it’s just amazing
It’s a great phone. Concerns on battery and lack of headphone jack were overblown. I constantly get 6-8hr SOT, and find no noticeable difference in quality using type C headphones (though I understand users’ need for the choice to use the jack)
I switched to BT headphones years ago so don’t miss the headphone jack.
Also thought I’d miss the front facing speakers my 6P had but the A2 is way louder.
Install Google Camera from celsoazevedo.com for even better pictures!
https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/google-camera/dev-suggested/
I use Arnova Advanced 1.5.
The included 3.5mm adapter is crap tho.
The P3a is their budget option, at the price the Mi9T will probably have, but at least not as ridiculous as the “budget” $750 iphone. Google had it right with the Nexus line but it got killed.
do you mean aliexpress? what about gearbest or geekbuying?
True, these little guys provide crazy value if your priority is not gaming.
I want to buy a A2 Lite for my girlfriend. How is the Camara?
Onscreen controls have never been my thing. Smartphones have long had the power to run full fledged titles but with no one committing to gamepad support it just never happened.
Now with xCloud or Stadia in the future, the power of the phone will mean even less. I assume one day I’ll connect my phone to an Xbox gamepad and stream Halo right to my phone.
Well it doesn’t feel put together like a brick like my Nexus 6P. Feels like a slick modern phone. I would assume the 6P is *tougher* when it comes to drops and such, but I have a case and tempered glass on the A2 so it really doesn’t matter about the build quality.
App won’t open after install. Says “Camera keeps stopping”.
Thanks anyways.
Same here, i was just planning to use this phone for only 6 months since i prefer faster processor. But until now i don’t think i’ll be replacing it anytime soon. It runs all apps/games that i use daily.
Sorry I forgot. You need to enabled Camera2 API. My bad.
It can be achieved by either installing a custom ROM like Havoc ROM which have Camera2 API activated, or by enabling it in stock ROM using Magisk (root). Either way you need to have bootloader unlocked (unlocking will wipe the phone).
I’ll likely keep it till there is a Mi A4, or until Google makes a Pixel phone so dang good I just have to have it.
I’ve had my Mi A2 2 months now and absolutely love it but with one exception. Since upgrade to Pie, WiFi will intermittently drop out and reconnect. Real annoying. No issues with other devices on the same WiFi network. Have carried out a factory reset and played around with various wifi related settings to no avail.
Anyone had similar experiences? It’s a shame as otherwise I love the phone.
Camera is trash. Replaced it with a Redmi Note 7.
how come?
This was pleasant to read, and am very glad you to hear you’re enjoying it. I almost bought a Mi A2 Lite a couple months ago used for $110. I ended up buying a Nokia 6.1 Plus 6GB for $177 instead – another Android One phone.
I’m really loving stock Pie, and I also could not be happier with my purchase. I may not have any particular loyalty to Xiaomi or Nokia at this point, but I sure am liking Android One.
Maybe there is pressure by Huawei to take the Xiaomi’s off the market and try to sell off the Huawei phones first? That Honor 8x was about $280 before the ban and now its around $250. Just speculating. I think if you can afford the Mi9T then go for it especially if it has your provider’s 4g bands
The phones themselves are not the “security threat”.
Gearbest, amazon.com, or aliexpress might be your next best option but avoid DHL shipping as I’ve heard they kill you with duties and fees
It’s not trash, it’s actually a good basis for more work done with snapseed.
> just a great all around phone
Except for bluetooth/wifi issues since Pie. I still have no way to enjoy music via bluetooth without dropouts and WiFi speed drops significantly with bluetooth enabled.
Oh this happens to me as well 🙁 I might try the factory reset this week, because I plan to enable the camera2 api and install gcam. Before I do, I’ll check the wifi bug again and let you know.
it is very average, not terrible in daylight, poor at night, a bit unsharp, apart from that the rest of the phone goes like a rocket for the price (compared to my 6p)
I completely agree with you. Personally I bought a OnePlus device because of the same reasons (also previous nexus 6p owner). Today after learning about the Xiaomi A2, which I actually did get for my dad, I would even say the OnePlus devices are too expensive.
The only alternative I would consider is the Pixel 3a which recently came out, mostly because I expect they will have better software support over time.
Somwthing to do with bootloop.
Get it from AliExpress
Amazon.com will ship the Mi A2 to Canada, and includes the customs & taxes for the same price Canadian. I actually did the math on it on Monday. I had recommended the MiA2 to a niece.
I totally agree with you with this. My very first smartphone is an iPhone and I’ve been on an iPhone since iPhone 3GS. My first Android smartphone is the Mi A2. I came from an iPhone X. I had to switch cause my iPhone was locked to my carrier. I was really hesitant to switch but I’d have to say that I really love the Mi A2. It feels like a flagship although the camera isn’t that great but for its price Id say it’s okay. I’ve been using this phone for two months and I can still say I never regretted switching to the A2.
I totally agree with you with this. My very first smartphone is an iPhone and I’ve been on an iPhone since iPhone 3GS. My first Android smartphone is the Mi A2. I came from an iPhone X. I had to switch cause my iPhone was locked to my carrier. I was really hesitant to switch but I’d have to say that I really love the Mi A2. It feels like a flagship although the camera isn’t that great but for its price Id say it’s okay. I’ve been using this phone for two months and I can still say I never regretted switching to the A2. The screen looks great too that I don’t mind if it doesnt have the notch screen design like most newer phones nowadays
Battery seems solid to me. Plus it charges faster than any device I’ve owned.
Pixel 3a nothing special aside from the camera. At $299 I would consider it a fantastic buy, but @$479 for the XL it’s overpriced.
Pixel vs Android One software updates is something I’m curious about, time will tell.
I want to sell of my iPhone SE for a while, and now thinking about Mi A2 or Mi A2 lite. Which one should I go in case if I sell off my iphone? Lite has bigger battery ,but A2 has better specs.
Lite has a bigger battery and headphone jack (if that’s important to you).
But for me the battery has been adequate and it charges ridiculously fast. I personally would choose the Mi A2 for the faster CPU/GPU.
Lite is just few euros cheaper, and no, not really. Headphone jack is no issue for me.
Odd. I use it at the gym everyday for over an hour (BT and WiFi enabled) and haven’t experienced any dropouts.
In good lighting I’d say it’s quite serviceable. But no doubt it struggles in low light compared to Pixel. I did some side by side shots with my girl’s Note 9 and in most cases they were comparable shots.
I think for everyday use, like pics on the beach or at a birthday party, taking pics of food and such it’s going to do just as well as everyone’s iphone/Pixel/etc. But in challenging conditions it’s not going to produce anything great.
[Here are some shots I’ve taken with the phone so far](https://imgtc.ws/a/WPakla7)
I concede that the camera is the worst part of the phone. But @$150 it’s *good*.
If there is any reason this phone will have a short lifespan for me it will be the camera, however that won’t happen until I’m in a place where I’m noticing my shots just aren’t coming out great and I get frustrated. So far I’ve used the phone to take pics of food, at the beach, and my nephews birthday. All good lighting conditions, all good shots produced.
As soon as I happen to want to take lots of shots in less than ideal conditions and the pics look like crap I’ll be like ok time to find a new phone.
It seems to be an issue with certain BT headsets.
What’s wrong with MIUI? I have my RN4 for 3 years and have no problems with MIUI at all.
Also take in mind that she has a Nokia 3. She isn’t a all a “camera is life” I would say she is more into storage and ram. And here where we live (Mexico) where the price between Mi A2 lite 4/64 and Redmi note 7 4/64 is a pretty penny. But thanks to the ones who reply , it’s very helpful. Good night
I have this phone for 9 months and it definitely is worth considering what it offers and the price.
However, there are some small things that noone talk about on the reviews that I’ve noticed and bother me:
1. The vibration is very weak. If I have my phone on vibration only and someone textes/calls me, and I have it on my pocket, unless I’m in a quiet place and I’m quiet myself, I will most likely not feel it. My previous phone was iPhone 4 and that thing vibrated like hell, I’d never miss a thing if it was on vibration mode.
2. When you plug in headphones, the sound through it is way weaker than the speakers. Sometimes, even in max volume, I struggle to hear whatever I am listening to. (even when using good headphones, Steelseries Siberia V2)
1. Haven’t used vibrate on a phone since my Sanyo Vero on Sprint
2. Only use BT headphones, volume level seems as lout as last phone
These are certainly personal preferences though. Been wireless with my headphones for so long now I could never go back to actually using a wired set. The vibration thing, well again just personal preference but I think it’s annoying as hell. Especially if my phone is on a flat surface. I hate the noise it makes and always perceived it as damaging the internals by vibrating on glass or whatever.
I am ending up going with the Honor 8x for my mom, I never had a Huawei, but the price is less since I can get it through [amazon.ca](https://amazon.ca) quickly, and don’t have import fees.