Xiaomi unveils Mi A1 Android One smartphone priced at Rs 14,999

Xiaomi unveiled its first smartphone with Android One- Mi A1 at a launch event in New Delhi today. Google has partnered Xioami to revive its Android One smartphone program in India, as it aims at codifying the Android experience for the low-end smartphone.

Dubbed Xiaomi Mi A1, its hardware is identical to the Xiaomi Mi 5X but on the software front, Mi A1 offers stock Android experience and has been optimised for Google services.  The Xiaomi Mi A1 will be available via Flipkart, Mi.com, and the company's Mi Home stores from 12 pm IST on September 12.

The device has a 5.5-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) display with Corning Gorilla Glass, a metal body, and a dual-camera system that includes a secondary telephoto lens for 2x zooming and portraits with shallow depth of field. The Mi A1 features a Snapdragon 625 chipset, built on the 14 nm process, coupled with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage.

#MiA1 is similar to a DSLR that fits in your pocket with both 12MP Telephoto lens + 12MP Wide Angle lens that is similar to iPhone 7 Plus! pic.twitter.com/r8xQZfDkm4

— Mi (@xiaomi) September 5, 2017

The device packs a 3800 mAH battery, charged through USB-C. Other features include a rear fingerprint sensor, a 3.5mm headphone jack, dual-SIM configuration, a dedicated headphone amplifier and a USB Type-C port. Sensors on-board include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, gyroscope, infrared, magnetometer, and proximity sensor.The phone will be available in three color variants - black, gold and rose gold.

The Xiaomi Mi A1 is priced at Rs 14,999. It is going to be available in 37 countries across the globe and sales are starting on September 12 in various online and offline stores. Mi A1 will get Android Oreo by the end of the year.

Android One

As we noted above, the biggest USP of Mi A1 is that it is part of the Android One initiative. Launched in India at the end of 2014, Android One aimed at getting cheap, affordable phones in circulation sporting the latest features and software, a persistent weakness when compared with Apple iPhones. But early partners, particularly in India, couldn’t sell enough of the devices and interest waned.

The company hopes to reverse this with Xiaomi Mi A1. The Xiaomi Mi A1 will offer a "pure Android experience with a clean design and a small, carefully curated set of pre-installed apps," Google said in a statement. "As phone manufacturers continue to innovate by delivering high quality devices at accessible price points, keeping the inside of one's phone innovative, fresh and secure is critical to a great experience. We're extending our commitment to Android One by working with more partners to build phones that run a software experience designed by Google."