After rolling out the stable Android 9 Pie to the Mi A2 smartphone, Xiaomi is now seeding the beta version of Android P to its first Android One smartphone- the Xiaomi Mi A1. Launched back in September 2017, the Mi A2 arrived with Android 7.1.2 out of the box, and at the start of 2018, it received Android 8.0 Oreo update. Earlier this year in July, Xiaomi pushed the Android 8.1 Oreo update smartphone to the Mi A1, and now, it's testing the latest iteration of Android on the handset. The Xiaomi Mi A1 users who are already on the beta programme started receiving the update weighing 1074.9MB in size. The update brings a host of new features including revamped interface, gesture navigation and FM Radio as well.
Xiaomi Mi A1 Gets Android 9 Pie Beta Update: What's New?
As noted, the update weighs around 1.1GB in size and it's currently being rolled out to users who're on the Mi A2 beta programme. We don't have any information regarding the beta programme enrolment, but last year, Xiaomi recruited some people for testing the pre-release software. Maybe, those are the users receiving this update now. As you might be aware of, the Mi A1 is an Android One handset, meaning it runs a clean version of Android. That said, this beta update from Xiaomi includes all the Android 9 Pie features introduced by Google such as gesture navigation, App Actions, App Slices, revamped notification panel & quick settings menu, redesigned Settings app, and adaptive battery & brightness features.
Furthermore, the update also adds FM Radio app to the smartphone. This is something very interesting as the Mi A1 didn't have an FM Radio app in the past, which irked many users. But Xiaomi is adding it with the Android 9 Pie update. Having said that, it's a beta update and will be rolled out to select users who're on the programme right now.
The stable Android 9 Pie update for the Mi A1 might be rolled out in the next few weeks or by the end of December. To recall, Xiaomi rolled out the Android 8.0 Oreo update to the Mi A1 on December 31, 2017, and it might get the Android 9 Pie update by the end of 2018.
Xiaomi Mi A2 Already Updated to Android 9 Pie
The Mi A1 successor, the Xiaomi Mi A2 already received the Android 9 Pie update in India a couple of weeks ago, making it one of the few smartphones to boot the latest iteration of Android under Rs 20,000. Xiaomi disappointed many users by delaying software updates to the Mi A1, but this year, it's making sure that their Android One handsets will be the first in the line to get Android Pie. Notably, the Mi A1 is the only Snapdragon 625 SoC to run Android 9 Pie at the moment, even though it's a beta build.
No Project Treble Support With Android 9 Pie for Mi A1
With Android Oreo update, it was said that the Mi A1 would get Project Treble support which will enable faster updates. But that didn't happen as Treble support can be easily added to smartphones which came with Android Oreo out of the box, but the Mi A1 arrived with Android Nougat. The support can be added to Mi A1 as various developers on XDA Forums worked on the same and brought the Treble compatibility to the A1. However, it's a tedious process and Xiaomi is ignoring it. The Android 9 Pie Beta update doesn't bring Project Treble support either.
