Redmi, the subsidiary of Xiaomi, today announced a handful of new smartphones, but one, in particular, stands out, and it is not because it is the best, but because of its software which is not not the brand’s well-known MIUI. Xiaomi phones and those launched under its Redmi and POCO brands come with a custom Android skin called MIUI. The latest version is MIUI 13, and it comes with lots of extra customizations and features that make it different from other Android skins.
However, Xiaomi also launched phones that did not come with its MIUI skin. Instead, they ran what is commonly referred to as stock Android. It was once part of the Android One program, which had phones pre-installed with a clean version of Android without a custom skin. Some of these phones are Xiaomi Mi A1, Mi A2, Mi A2 Lite and Mi A3.
The new smartphone is the Redmi A1, the first Redmi smartphone in three years to launch with a clean version of Android, following the Redmi Go announced in January 2019. However, while the Redmi Go came pre-installed with Android Oreo (Go Edition ), the Redmi A1 runs Android 12 out of the box, as does the Nokia G60 5G. Xiaomi describes it as a “A clean Android experiencedevoid of its heavily customized MIUI skin. However, the software isn’t the only exciting part of the phone. Redmi’s new phone has some great specs balanced with an affordable price.
The Redmi A1 costs around $80
The Redmi A1 has a 6.52-inch HD+ display with a 60Hz refresh rate and 120Hz touch sampling rate. It doesn’t have Gorilla Glass, but the spec sheet says the screen is scratch resistant. It also has a brightness level of up to 400 nits. A MediaTek Helio A22 chipset powers the phone with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. Luckily, there’s a dedicated MicroSD card slot for up to 512GB of additional storage. Gracing the back of the phone, which is plastic but has a leather finish, are two cameras – an 8MP main camera and a 2MP depth sensor. There is also a 5MP front camera.
In addition, the Redmi A1 has an audio jack, a single speaker, four GNSS satellites, Bluetooth 5.0, dual-band Wi-Fi and dual SIM 4G support. There’s a 5000mAh battery inside the phone with support for 10W charging through a disappointing MicroUSB port. Redmi also includes an AC adapter in the box. Available in light green, light blue, and black, the Redmi A1 is priced at ₹6,4999, which works out to around $80. Unfortunately, the phone seems to be exclusive to India at the moment.
Source: Redmi