Xiaomi Mi A2 gets cheaper in India: Should you wait for Mi A3?

Xiaomi is offering its Mi A2 smartphone for under ₹10,000 as part of its ongoing Mi Anniversary sale. Xiaomi's second-gen Android One smartphone had launched in India last year at a starting price of ₹16,999. With Xiaomi Mi A3 already launched globally, does it make sense to buy the 2018 model? Here's what the latest model brings to the table.

Better design

Xiaomi Mi A3 offers a better design with glass back panel and better 19:9 aspect ratio on the front. The latest Xiaomi smartphone has a 6.08-inch HD+ display with 19:5:9 aspect ratio and Gorilla Glass 5 protection. It also has a dot notch on the front. The screen also supports in-screen fingerprint sensor. Xiaomi Mi A2 has a dated design with 5.99-inch full HD+ screen with 18:9 aspect ratio.

Improvements

Xiaomi Mi A3 comes with 3.5mm headphone jack, a key feature missing in Mi A2. Xiaomi Mi A3 has an expandable storage support which was also not available on Mi A2. Also, Xiaomi has increased the battery capacity to 4,000mAh as seen on phones like Redmi Note 7 Pro and Redmi K20. Both Mi A3 and Mi A2 support USB Type-C support.

Camera

Xiaomi Mi A3 comes with three rear cameras - 48-megapixel primary camera, 8-megapixel wide-angle lens, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. It offers a 32-megapixel front-facing camera, same as Xiaomi Redmi Y3. Xiaomi Mi A2 features 12-megapixel and 20-megapixel dual rear cameras. The phone has a 20-megapixel front-facing camera.

Performance

Xiaomi Mi A3 doesn't offer a big upgrade in terms of performance. From Mi A2's Snapdragon 660 AIE, it has been upgraded to Snapdragon 665 SoC. Mi A3 comes in 4GB RAM and 64GB storage and 4GB and 128GB storage variants whereas Mi A2 is available in 4GB RAM and 64GB storage and 6GB and 128GB storage variants.

Bottomline

Overall, Xiaomi Mi A3 seems to be a much better deal than Mi A2. With 3.5mm headphone jack and better camera features, Mi A3 is also on par with other competing mid-range smartphones such as Realme X, Redmi K20 and Vivo Z1 Pro. Note that Mi A3 specs in India may vary a little from the global variant.