▷Xiaomi Mi A3 review: an Android One with strengths and weaknesses 🥇

Xiaomi Mi A3 it is the latest mid-range smartphone from the Chinese factotum company and represents a great improvement over its predecessor but, unfortunately, something is always missing. Let's find out together.

Xiaomi Mi A3: the technical schedule

To start, let's see the technical characteristics of this smartphone.

Dimensions: 153.48 x 71.85 x 8.47 millimeters
Weight: 173.8 g
Display: 6.08 inch Amoled HD +, 720 × 1560 pixels, 283 ppi
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 665
GPU: Adreno 610
RAM: 4 GB
Memory: 64 GB expandable with micro SD up to 256GB
Network: 4G LTE – Dual SIM
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C 2.0, jack 3.5mm A-GPS/GLONASS/BeiDou/Galileo
Battery: 4030 mAh
Rear camera: 48 + 8 + 2 MP
Front Camera: 32 MP
Videos: posteriore 4K (30fps), anteriore Full HD (30fps)
Operating system: Android 9.0 Pie versione stock

Variants and contents of the package

Xiaomi Mi A3 it is available in three chromatic versions: Kind of Gray (Grey), More than White (Pearl White) e Not just Blue (blue). The packaging is the classic from Xiaomi medium range. It contains only the charger which allows you to reload up to 18W, the USB cable type C/type A and a transparent silicone cover. Colors aside, the only version available in Italy is the one from 64 GB storage and 4 GB of RAM, but fear not: you can increase the capacity thanks to a micro SD card.

At the edge of the phone, steel, we find the volume rocker and power / lock button on the right, double trolley for the SIM / micro SD on the left, mono speaker and USB C socket at the bottom and, listen hear, jack da 3.5 mm for earphones / headphones and sensor infrared at the top.

Display: a “nì” that made you turn up your nose

Compared to its predecessors, We are A2 e Mi A2 lite, there is a decent leap forward. But I prefer to put aside Mi A2 because as a form factor we are more distant, the real "dad" is the Mi A2 lite.

The notch is still present but reduced to a small drop and, this time, it contains a selfie-cam from ben 32 MP. The side edges are quite symmetrical and similar to the top, but at the bottom we find a Chin discreet but exaggerated, however far from the full screen (or almost) to which Xiaomi was accustoming us with the 9 series.

Compared to the panel IPS of the Mi A2 lite now we find a AMOLED, but we lose pixels, going down to a HD + now really not very acceptable. The choice was made so that you can place below the fingerprint detection sensor. This results in a lower quality, also due to the matrix PenTile of the pixels, which lowers the final effective resolution by another 1/3. Fortunately it will certainly not be the first thing we will notice with the naked eye: to notice it you will have to voluntarily compare it to better panels.

The maximum brightness is still high and the screen is clearly visible in sunlight. Maybe a little low but nothing to worry about.

Thanks to the software we then find the "Ambient Display"Which allows us to view notifications (only incoming) and the area relating to the aforementioned fingerprint sensor. However, we cannot activate it via double tap, as happens in the 9 series.

The protection (front and back) is given by Gorilla Glass 5, while the edges, as I mentioned above, are in metal.

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Software and performance

La peculiarities of the A series is the absence of MIUI, the Xiaomi interface, in favor of the stock version of Android. Xiaomi Mi A3 in fact belongs to the program Android One e from MIUI it limits itself to inheriting only a couple of applications and the camera.

Great absence: L 'NFC. Between credit cards and digital banks, by now (more or less) we all use contactless payments on a daily basis. In the only Xiaomi smartphone with Android One, I am not saying that we were sure it would have been there, but almost.

Gaming side, we find the 610 Adreno GPU. Here we meet the former lag, slowdowns and excessive loading times. In short, if you plan to use it for the most recent titles, don't expect record performance.

Autonomy? Super. Perhaps its best selling point: 4030mAh will certainly allow you to arrive in the evening, if not the next day. Consumption is reduced to a minimum thanks also to AI, which means that Mi A3 will never leave you on foot in time of need.

Cameras: the now ubiquitous 48 MP

Among the three rear cameras, we find the main sensor from 48 MP ƒ/1.8. The 48 megapixels, however, by now we have learned to understand that they are not "real", as Xiaomi Mi A3, like many others, automatically snaps to 12 megapixels, interpolating 4 pixels in 1. The result is still excellent and gives us images practically superimposable to those of Mi 9 and Mi 9T.

The presence of the sensor Ultra-Wide Angle and Panoramic selfie-camera from 32MP guarantee us versatility but, to get a little higher quality shots, it is always useful to install the G-Cam. It seems that at the software level the cameras are always a bit "held back", when with the right push you can really do better.

For the video we are always there: good but not very good. The optical stabilization is missing (absent even in the more expensive models of Xiaomi) so steady hand or equip yourself with a gimbal!

Xiaomi Mi A3: be tempted by savings?

If your budget is limited, you can't swallow the MIUI and you want a valid terminal with Android Stock then Xiaomi We are A3 is what is right for you. If what I have listed before is not of your interest and you only have savings in mind by staying at Xiaomi, I recommend that you opt for the Redmi Note 7: you will save further and you will find yourself in front of a very similar terminal in terms of performance.

Mi A3 convinces if we keep the selling price in mind, that is 249,90€. I don't think it deserves something more, indeed, probably at 200 euros it would become a must buy. The low resolution screen, the absence of NFC and the dry vibration and unpleasant are its main ones weaknesses. Daily use will bring them to the surface as the days go by, so think carefully!

Finally, I would like to point out that this week on the Xiaomi website by purchasing Mi A3 you will get one for free Mi Smart Band 4 (from 13:00 on 06/08 to 23:59 on 13/08).