Google’s Android One program is getting a major new participant today in Xiaomi.
The new Xiaomi Mi A1 is a new Android One phone that was announced in India today. It’s Xiaomi’s first crack at an Android One device, and as such, it runs a vanilla build of Android Nougat rather than the customized MIUI user interface that most other Xiaomi phones have.
Xiaomi says that it plans to update the Mi A1 to Android Oreo by the end of 2017 and that the phone will be one of the first to get Android P.
On the hardware side, the Xiaomi Mi A1 features a 5.5-inch 1920x1080 display, octa-core Snapdragon 625 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and a microSD slot. Also included is a dual rear camera setup with two 12-megapixel sensors, one wide angle and one with a 2x optical zoom telephoto lens, as well as a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.
Rounding out the Mi A1’s spec sheet is a rear fingerprint reader, USB Type-C port, 3.5mm headphone jack, IR blaster, and 3,080mAh battery. All of these features are wrapped in a full metal body.
The Xiaomi Mi A1 will be available in a number of countries across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas. Sales will begin on September 12th at a price of Rs. 14,999 ($234 USD).
Xiaomi’s Mi A1 looks to be an Android One version of the Mi 5X that launched earlier this year. The two phones share similar spec lists, but the Mi A1 is running vanilla Android while the Mi 5X has Xiaomi’s custom MIUI software.
The Mi A1 looks like a great addition to Google’s Android One program. It’s one of the most high-end Android One phones that we’ve seen to date, which is good for folks that want a more powerful device and are willing to pay for it. Plus, Xiaomi is a major name in the mobile market and a big addition to Android One.
