The Xiaomi Mi A2 was the Chinese manufacturer’s Android One offering last year after the most successful Mi A1. Now, the Mi A2 comes with a brand new price tag which is also coincidentally the lowest it has been since its launch. However, that begs for the question whether or not buyer should buy the Mi A2 at the affordable price of Rs 11,999 which is a large cut of Rs 5,000 from its original launch price of Rs 16,999. There is no doubt that the Xiaomi Mi A2 is one of its kind offering which checks almost all the boxes for a mid-range phone, however, with the launch of the latest Redmi Note 7 Pro, buyers might have their doubt as to which phone they should choose. If you are one among the crowd wondering which one to go for, wait no further.
What's Good With the Xiaomi Mi A2
Now, when buyers set out to choose between any of the two phones, the one thing which they will hold back against the Xiaomi Mi A2 is its age. However, our suggestion to these buyers will be to keep that aside for a while. Also, we don’t deny the fact that the Redmi Note 7 Pro is a new exceptional offering under the Rs 15,000 price tag as it comes with the 48MP camera and a Snapdragon 675 SoC. On the other hand, the Mi A2 comes with the clean stock Android experience with the promise of all the latest updates from Android and given this, it runs the Android 9 Pie like a breeze and gets you all the latest features.
Although the Redmi Note 7 Pro runs Android 9 Pie out of the box, it's based on MIUI 10, meaning you will get to see a lot of bloatware on the phone. That won’t be the case for Mi A2 as it comes with clean stock Android. You will find yourself installing all the apps you need, the navigation will be intuitive, and the overall UI of the phone will undoubtedly be much cleaner than the one you’ll get to see on the MIUI of Redmi Note 7 Pro. Having said that, it boils down to personal preference as some might like the feature-rich MIUI, while some prefer stock Android.
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Some might also argue that the difference in chipsets between the Snapdragon 675 and Snapdragon 660 will push these phones to show a slight difference in performance. However, we would say that the cleaner and lighter UI of the Mi A2 still gives the phone an upper hand when it comes to day to day usage.
The Redmi Note 7 Pro is a new launch from Xiaomi and the software isn't optimised at the moment. It will require Xiaomi at least a few weeks to optimise MIUI on the Note 7 Pro.
What's Good With the Redmi Note 7 Pro
The Redmi Note 7 Pro being the latest launch comes with some new features. The Note 7 Pro trumps the Mi A2 in the design and display aspects; It's currently the best Xiaomi phone in terms of design and the LTPS panel used on the phone is way better than the one present on the eight-month-old Mi A2. Of course, the Note 7 Pro is thicker than the Mi A2, which is an advantage as the phone sports a massive 4000mAh battery. It also has a 3.5mm headphone jack, unlike the Mi A2 which asks you to rely on the Type-C port.
Xiaomi Mi A2 vs Redmi Note 7 Pro: Equally Matching Features
The Redmi Note 7 Pro wins the hardware department, but the Mi A2 owns the software side of things. What about the cameras? Well, they're on par with each other in this regard. Another difference which arises between the Mi A2 and the Redmi Note 7 Pro as per our experience is between the camera. The Redmi Note 7 Pro packs some impressive shooting prowess and there are no two thoughts about it, but in daylight photography, the Mi A2 supersedes the Redmi Note 7 Pro in some situations, and the latest price difference between the two phones also makes us think that Mi A2 might just be the better choice between these two devices. The Mi A2 sports the 12MP Sony IMX486 sensor and another 20MP Sony IMX376 sensor with both the shooters having an f/1.75 aperture. But the Note 7 Pro has its own pros; Firstly, the 48MP mode on the Note 7 Pro delivers images with exceptional details. Second, the Night Mode on the Note 7 Pro is one of its biggest strengths compared to the Xiaomi Mi A2. Low-light images shot using the Mi A2 also came out slightly better thanks to the larger aperture.
Also, in terms of selfies, the Mi A2 hits right back as the phone has a 20MP shooter on the front, while the Note 7 Pro has a 13MP front-facing camera. Both the phones offer Portrait mode.
Similar is the case with gaming on both the phones. While the Redmi Note 7 Pro gets bogged down a little bit with frame jitters during heavy gameplay like of PUBG Mobile, which is largely due to the unoptimised software, the Mi A2 stands the test for an extended time. Though it is entirely possible that the new MIUI update on the Redmi Note 7 Pro should solve these problems.
Verdict
Given the latest software, impressive camera, and the extremely attractive price tag, the Mi A2 makes for a better buy for some, but the Note 7 Pro has several pros as well. For those who're looking for a stock Android phone under Rs 15,000, the Mi A2 should be a go-to option. The Mi A2 will also receive Android Q and it may also be part of Android Q Beta programme which is expected to go official for non-Google phones in the coming days.
However, the Note 7 Pro offers better features at just Rs 2,000 more; It has a 3.5mm headphone jack, 4000mAh battery, beautiful design and gorgeous display. But the software on Note 7 Pro isn't optimised at the moment, but we believe Xiaomi can improve it with the future updates.
