Xiaomi, the brand that has already made its way to the Nepali smartphone market and has not only managed to find a place in many of our pockets but also has made its place in our hearts already. With all the overwhelming love and support from the fans, Xiaomi has officially joined in the list of companies, as a company, has officially arrived in Nepal. In fact, both of the devices are now available for pre-booking in Nepal.
As a brand which has been constantly pushing the limits of smartphones in terms of price to performance ratio, with this official arrival, there is going to be a lot of changes in the Xiaomi products list, especially with regards to latest smartphone launches and availability in Nepal. And this is a matter of fact that this arrival of Xiaomi will bring about changes in their smartphones’ pricing as well in all positive way.
With their arrival, they released four new smartphones to start with viz. Redmi 6, Redmi 6A, Mi A2 and Mi A2 lite. And as Mr. Sanket Agarwal, Head of Overseas Expansion and Indian sub-continent for Xiaomi quoted in his speech, “At Xiaomi, we always thrive to push our boundaries and make higher level innovation accessible to all our users at honest pricing.” The prices at which the phones have been launched refer to the same.
Among the four smartphones, the Redmi 6A and the Redmi 6 are entry-level smartphones and the Mi A2, Mi A2 lite are budget offerings from Xiaomi. All these devices will be going on sale from the 30th of September across the country through 600+ Mi offline stores currently in Nepal. So you don’t have to wait for long. Let’s talk about favorites from the four, the Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite.
Xiaomi Mi A2
Mi A2 is one of the much-awaited phones in Nepal, after the huge success of the Mi A1. A2 has to be the much-awaited phone enrolled in the Android One program that makes this device future proof and ensures its aging pretty well via regular software updates.
This device boasts a 5.99-inch IPS LCD panel with a resolution of 2160×1080 or FHD+. This is full-screen display with an 18:9 aspect ratio provided with 403ppi pixel density.
The Mi A2 comes with the Snapdragon 660 on board powering this baby up. This is an octa-core chipset with four powerful Cortex-A73 cores clocked at 2.2 GHz and four power-efficient A53 cores clocked at 1.8GHz, each which translates to better performance and endurance over its predecessor.
After the appreciation that the Mi A1 received for its cameras, the A2 has followed the trail to improve it even further and rocks a Sony optics trio. On the rear, this guy houses a 12MP+20MP dual camera setup with an f/1.75 aperture on both the lenses and a 20MP IMX 376 sensor at the front with the support for AI portrait, AI Beautify 4.0 and HDR, which when combined with a 4500K selfie flash will result in some great looking selfies even under low light.
Needless to say that this setup will bring along a significant improvement in low-light and macro photography with the pixel pinning technology on board. The device is slim at 7.3mm and feels premium with the uni-body aluminum back that’s curved. But this slim device costs the presence of a 3.5mm headphone jack and that actually hurts audiophiles like me.
The device costs NRs. 30,999 for the 4GB+64GB variant (this is the only variant sold in Nepal) and comes in three colors: Black, gold and blue.
Xiaomi Mi A2 Specs Highlight
- Display: 5.99″ Full-HD+ IPS LCD display with 403ppi pixel density
- Rear Cameras: 12MP, f/1.8, 1/2.9″, 1.25µm + 20MP, f/1.8, 1/2.8″, 1.0µm, PDAF
- Front Camera: 20MP, f/2.2, 1/2.8″, 1.0µm
- OS/Software: Android 8.1 Oreo, Android One
- CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 660; Octa-core (4×2.2 GHz Kryo 260 & 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 260)
- GPU: Adreno 512
- Memory: 4GB RAM/ 64GB internal storage
- Battery: 3,000mAh
- Price in Nepal: Rs. 30,999
Mi A2 Lite
With the Mi A1 being the highest selling smartphone with Android One Program, the Mi A2 Lite is a more budget-friendly successor to the A1.
This device, being a part of the Android One program, comes with close to stock Android UI and Android 8.1 out of the box with promise for regular software and security patch updates (for two years). The A2 Lite is powered by the much preferred Snapdragon 625 chipset. This is a tried and trusted octa-core chipset and is known to handle pretty much everything thrown at it with ease.
The A2 Lite boasts a 5.84-inch IPS LCD display with FHD+ resolution and a 19:9 aspect ratio. This display houses a notch and is possibly the first Android One phone to come with it. The notch is practical and gives this device the ability to feel small and compact in hand. In spite of packing in a 4000 mAh battery that can easily last you more than a day of heavy usage, the device manages to feel ergonomic.
This one has a 12+5MP dual setup for the rear cameras and comes with a 5MP front camera with support for AI portrait. This will result in some great quality images with bokeh effect via both the front and rear cameras.
The device will be available in three colors: Black, Gold and Blue and starts at a price of NRs. 20,999 for the 3GB+32GB variant going up to NRs. 24,999 for the 4GB+64GB variant.
Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite Specs Highlight
- Display: 5.84″ Full-HD+ IPS LCD display with 403ppi pixel density; 19:9 aspect ratio
- Rear Cameras: 12MP, f/2.2, 1.25 μm, PDAF + 5MP, f/2.2, 1.12 μm, depth sensor
- Front Camera: 5MP, f/2.0
- OS/Software: Android 8.1 Oreo, Android One
- CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 625; Octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53
- GPU: Adreno 506
- Memory: 3GB RAM/ 32GB internal storage or 4GB RAM / 64GB internal storage
- Battery: 4,000mAh
- Price in Nepal: Rs. 20,999 for the 3GB variant and Rs. 24,999 for the 4GB variant.
With the pricing this aggressive and the phones this amazing, Xiaomi Nepal has already put a base for a bright market.
What do you think about the smartphones and which one do you actually prefer to buy, do let us know.
