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gadgetsboy · 2 years

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Nokia X30: Competent Enough?

When it comes to mid-range smartphones, there’s no shortage of entries from Nokia. The Finnish telecommunications giant has focused on launching more affordable budget and mid-range Android phones in the past few years, and this year’s entries feature some of the best budget hardware that Nokia has to offer. Launched earlier this year, the Nokia X30 comes with a price that puts it against the likes of the Google Pixel 6a and Nothing Phone 1, and a ton of other mid-range Android phones. Maybe you’re after a phone within this price range from a well-known brand, and with that in mind, it seems that the X30 is a sure win. But what exactly do you get with this phone? Let’s take a look. Display & Design One of the first things that you’ll notice about the Nokia X30 is the display. The phone comes with a 6.43-inch AMOLED display, with a rather impressive 90Hz refresh rate. It also features Gorilla Glass Victus protection, which adds a bit of toughness (although we’d still recommend getting a screen protector). The display is nice and responsive, and it’s also fitted with an in-display fingerprint scanner, which works nicely and even seems faster than the sensor on the Pixel 6a. With that said, it’s not an awfully-bright screen, topping at 700 nits of maximum brightness. There are also considerably-sized bezels on the top and bottom, which stand out more if you’re used to handsets with smaller borders around the display. In terms of design, the Nokia X30 comes with a pleasant-feeling matte plastic back, surrounded by a chamfered aluminium frame around the edges of the device. The phone comes in either blue or white, and while it would have been nice to see more colour options, the two variants look clean either way. It’s not too heavy, and overall is pretty easy to handle. There are some things missing, however - for one, the phone does not come with expandable storage, meaning that you are stuck with either 128 or 256GB of RAM, depending on which memory option you go for. There’s also a lack of 3.5 on the handset, and the single loudspeaker isn’t the best-sounding out there (particularly in low volumes), so this is definitely something to take into consideration. Performance The phone runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G chipset, paired with either 6 or 8GB of RAM. Given that competing phones like the Pixel 6a and Nothing Phone 1 are equipped with arguably more powerful chipsets, it seems that you’ll really have to want the Nokia X30 if you’re alright with less-impressive performance. That’s not to say that the phone is unusable, though. Daily tasks like communication apps, social media, and web-browsing for example will be a breeze for the smartphone, and the 90Hz display does help in providing a somewhat smooth user experience in general. If you plan on playing games on this device, it’s best to stick to more casual titles, as attempting to run something like Genshin Impact on the 695 will inevitably lead to less-than-stellar results. As for software, the phone comes with a very clean version of Android 12. It’s part of the “Android One” program, a software-hardware initiative spearheaded by Google alongside several partners (including Nokia) that provides users a bloat-free version of Android with regular software updates. Even the user interface is very similar to what you’d see on a Google Pixel phone, with elements like Material You design taking center stage. Aside from a couple of proprietary Nokia apps, there's very little getting in the way of the user and an unadulterated version of Android. Camera As for camera hardware the X30 comes with a 50-megapixel main camera, 13-megapixel ultrawide camera, and a 16-megapixel front camera. There are no macro or depth sensors on here, and while that makes it sound like it’s “losing out” on imaging capabilities, the story is far from the truth. The Nokia X30 can get you great shots, and aside from a little oversaturation, they look generally better than what you’d get on most cheap Android phones. There is decent dynamic range, and close-up shots look pretty impressive. In particular, the phone surprisingly excels with low-light shots and night photos, a feat which isn’t easily done with “budget” hardware - there's a good amount of exposure, something that other phones in this price range tend to miss out on. However, video quality is where the phone’s imaging shows its weakness. The Nokia X30 can record video which maxes out at a maximum of 1080p at 30fps, with lackluster video stabilization. Put side by side next to something filmed on a Pixel 6a for example, and the X30 is blown out of the water. It's best to stick with still photography on this one. Battery On one hand, battery performance is where the X30 manages to excel. While the phone doesn’t come with a 5,000 mAh capacity unit - instead opting for a 4,200 power cell - it’s rather capable for day-to-day usage, and most moderate users shouldn’t have any trouble getting their phone to last a day. There’s also 33W fast-charging which isn’t painfully slow, but not as impressive as what you’d see on offerings from Xiaomi and OnePlus, for example. It's a dependable device which can get you through an entire day of usage, and I didn't experience any "mysterious" battery drain, something that can be common among entry-level smartphones. One point of consideration though is the lack of wireless charging, but again the phone's cost comes to mind here. Closing Thoughts On its own, the Nokia X30 is a capable smartphone - its solid build quality, improved design (compared to recent Nokia Android phones) good-looking display, and decent camera performance are some of its main highlights. While performance and video quality could be better, one could argue that its status as an affordable smartphone calls for these kinds of limitations. Now this would be fine, except that phones like the Nothing Phone 1 and Google Pixel 6a show that even mid-range Android handsets are capable of giving you near-flagship experiences when it comes to overall performance and camera quality, which are things that the Nokia X30 could use more of. For folks unattached to the Nokia brand, the X30 might require a bit of thinking, in which case you might opt for something from competing OEMs instead. But if you truly “must” have a Nokia phone, then the Nokia X30 is the best midranger that you can get from the company right now, and it’s still a step in the right direction for the Finnish brand. Read the full article

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mgaragesneha · 2 years

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5 Best Smartphone Cameras for Your Next Holiday

A very important aspect of any vacation is great pictures. And great pictures require a great camera. If you are planning your next trip soon and are also looking to buy some fabulous smartphones with excellent cameras, here is a list of 5 best smartphone cameras:

Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro: With its huge megapixel count, the Redmi Note 10 Pro is unlike many other phones. With a 108MP camera, the Note 10 captures mighty beautiful pictures and also captures great videos in 4K. Coming with an additional 8MP ultra-wide camera and a 5MP sharpshooter camera, the imaging credentials are top-notch. Apart from all these brilliant features, it has a beautiful 6.67-inch AMOLED screen which is mostly found on a higher-priced camera phone.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G: Nord CE 2 5G from One-Plus has one of the best photos yielding cameras. It comes with a powerful 64MP camera, the image quality is amazing and most importantly it is so affordable. With a superb AMOLED screen and a powerful processor, the Nord CE 2 can stand out amongst many other budget camera phones on a market shelf and outshine them all.

Google Pixel 6a: The Google Pixel 6a from Google is not so attractive on the outside but it has got some alluring features inside. It comes with a better battery than previous Pixel iterations; the 5a adds better protection from dust and water, which can put many users at ease. Because of Google’s camera software, the pictures appear to be so balanced and every shot is as close to perfection as possible. While the camera lacks the zoom feature and if that isn’t a problem for you, then the Pixel 5a might be a great option.

OnePlus Nord 2: OnePlus Nord 2 is a trendy phone. It has a wonderful 50MP main camera, and while the ultra-wide and monochrome lenses are nothing to write home about, the main camera is a marvelous option for low-light and night photography. It can help you capture great photos at night that are highly detailed. All these unique features send this phone to the list- of the 5 best smartphone cameras.

Realme 9 Pro Plus: Another best option for low-light or night photography is Realme 9 Pro Plus. Its main camera is 50MP, with a big sensor. Apart from a great camera, it has many other exciting features such as it can change color in sun, monitors heart rate, and also has a fingerprint scanner. The Realme 9 Pro Plus is a well-rounded phone that comes at a great price.

Now, to make your vacation extra special you may consider buying a phone from the above list of 5 best smartphone cameras. Moreover, today you can even buy extremely affordable refurbished phones with superb cameras from platforms like MobiGarage. They offer a huge variety of smartphones that have great features.

#second hand mobile #second hand iphone #best refurbished phones #refurbished iphones in india #refurbished mobile

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gggbylia · 2 years

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🍿NEW VID is live! ▶️ https://youtu.be/sDbP7Y0UGcM Pixel 6A VS Pixel 6 | Which One Is The Best Mid-Range Smartphone? 10 Days Later Detailed Review In this video I've compared the #pixel6a VS #pixel6 Expect to see: - Specs & Features - Camera comparisons + Pictures and 4K 60FPS Video samples - Gaming - 4K Streaming - Battery, Audio, Antutu, Geekbench, Speed Tests - & Review ➡️ Inc. Pros & Cons + Time Stamps 📹 Shot on #iphone12promax Like, Comment, Share / RT🙏 #googlepixel6a #teampixel #5g #googlereview#googlepixel #googlepixel6 #Tensor #android #5GTechnology #tests #review #smartphone #smartphones #cameras #comparison #shotonpixel #antutu #speed #speaker #streaming #netflix #4kultrahd #bestsmartphones #youtube #youtubevideo #shotoniphone12promax #iphonevideo (at London, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgjc44rM4IX/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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magzoso-tech · 5 years

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New Post has been published on https://magzoso.com/tech/redmi-8a-review/

Redmi 8A Review

There is no doubt that the Redmi series from Xiaomi is very popular in India. This series catered only to the low end of the market when it was introduced, but has now expanded wide enough to encompass high-end devices at aggressive prices. While it now includes phones like the Redmi K20 Pro (Review), it still caters to budget-conscious buyers as well.

Dubbed the “smart desh ka smartphone” the Redmi 7A (Review) had a lot of expectations to shoulder when it was launched three months ago at its rather low Rs. 5,999 price point. Surprisingly, Xiaomi has brought out an update to this smartphone a mere three months after its launch, and has aptly called this new model the Redmi 8A. The new Redmi 8A sports a USB Type-C port and packs in a big 5,000mAh battery. Will these impressive specs translate to a high-quality usage experience? We put the new Redmi 8A through its paces to find out.

Redmi 8A design

One glance at the Redmi 8A and it is hard to believe that this is such an affordable smartphone. Xiaomi has done a good job of designing this device, which is priced below Rs. 7,000. The front of the Redmi 8A has a big 6.22-inch display with a waterdrop notch at the top. This is much bigger than the 5.45-inch display on the Redmi 7A. Xiaomi has pushed the earpiece towards the frame of the device. The Redmi 8A has noticeable bezels on all sides. The chin is quite thick and Xiaomi has put a Redmi logo here.

The Redmi 8A is well-built and has a wave design on the back panel

Xiaomi has curved the sides of the Redmi 8A, which makes it comfortable to hold. The power and volume buttons are to the right and are easy to reach. Xiaomi has positioned the SIM tray on the left which is otherwise bare. The top and bottom of the phone are flat and you can see a secondary microphone at the top. At the bottom, the Redmi 8A sports a USB Type-C port, which is great to see on a smartphone in this price bracket. The 3.5mm headphone jack, the primary microphone, and the loudspeaker are also on the bottom.

The back of the Redmi 8A only has a single camera with an LED flash. There is no fingerprint sensor on this device, something we can potentially excuse given its price.

Redmi 8A specifications and software

Xiaomi has opted for an HD+ display with a resolution of 720×1440 pixels and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for protection. The Redmi 8A sports the same Snapdragon 439 SoC as the Redmi 7A. This is an octa-core processor with eight ARM Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 2GHz. The smartphone is available in two variants; one with 2GB of RAM with 32GB of storage priced at Rs. 6,499, and the other with 3GB of RAM with 32GB of storage priced at Rs. 6,999. We had the base variant in for this review.

Xiaomi has slowly been bumping up the battery capacities of phones in this series. The Redmi 6A (Review) shipped with a 3,000mAh unit, and now the Redmi 8A packs in a significantly bigger 5,000mAh battery. The Redmi 8A also supports 18W fast charging, but Xiaomi ships only a 10W charger in the box.

A USB Type-C port on a sub Rs. 7,000 smartphone

The Redmi 8A has two Nano-SIM slots and a dedicated microSD slot for storage expansion. There is support for 4G as well as VoLTE on both SIMs as well as Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, and four satellite navigation systems. The Redmi 8A also has wireless FM functionality, so you won’t have to plug a headset in to listen to FM radio.

In terms of software, the Xiaomi Redmi 8A runs MIUI 10 on top of Android 9 Pie. Our unit was running the August security patch. The interface is similar to what we have seen on other Xiaomi phones. There is no app drawer, and all app icons are placed on the home screens. There is a fair amount of bloatware pre-installed, including Mi Community, Paytm, Mi Credit, Mi Store, Amazon, Facebook, WPS Office, Dailyhunt, Gaana, and Opera Mini. This phone also has games called Ludo Master, Block Puzzle Guardian, Pop Shooter Blast, and Dust Settle pre-installed. There’s even an app store called GetApps which can be used as an alternative to the Google Play Store.

The Redmi 8A is plagued by the same spammy notifications as other Xiaomi devices. We saw ads while installing new applications and also found that stock apps including Mi Music and Mi Video constantly generated spammy notifications. On the other hand, MIUI has a few useful features such as Dual Apps which lets you run two instances of supported apps. Google’s Digital Wellbeing feature lets you monitor how you spend time on your smartphone, and you can also set up parental controls using Google’s Family Link.

Gesture navigation is an option, and you can use this instead of the traditional three-button navigation layout. App Lock is built in, and you can lock down apps with a passcode or face recognition. There is also a Game Speed Booster app which claims to carry out performance optimisations and give more bandwidth to the app running in the foreground. You can also disable auto-brightness and the notifications shade swipe gesture while gaming.

Redmi 8A performance and battery life

The Redmi 8A has decent enough hardware to deliver a usable experience. We rarely observed slowdowns while using the smartphone, but heavy apps took longer to load. We had the base 2GB RAM variant for our review, and it could not keep many apps running in the background, which meant they had to be restarted each time we tried using them. There is no fingerprint sensor but face recognition is quick enough to unlock the smartphone conveniently.

Two nano SIM slots and a dedicated microSD card slot

The display on the Redmi 8A has decent viewing angles, and the speaker gets loud enough to enjoy content on. However, sunlight legibility could have been better, as we found ourselves shielding the phone quite often to see what was on the display when outdoors.

We already have a good idea of how the Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 SoC performs, thanks to our experiences with the Redmi 7A (Review). The Redmi 8A isn’t significantly different. We had issues running our standard set of benchmarks, which is most likely a restriction on early units to prevent performance-related information from leaking.

The Redmi 8A could run AnTuTu Benchmark and posted a score of 76,509, and also managed 4,594 in PCMark Work 2.0. These scores are in the same range as those of the Xiaomi Redmi 7A. The Snapdragon 439 SoC’s scores were higher than those posted by phones using the MediaTek Helio P22 SoC, such as the Realme C2 (Review). We could not run any graphics benchmarks on the Redmi 8A.

We were looking forward to putting the big 5000mAh battery in the Redmi 8A to the test. In our usage, which consisted of an active WhatsApp account, taking a few camera samples, using Google Maps for navigation for two hours, and running a few benchmarks, we were able to get through a full day and we still had a little over 50 percent left in the tank. The phone managed to keep idle drain low, which helped the battery deliver excellent performance. In our HD video loop test, the Redmi 8A lasted for 16 hours and 31 minutes.

With the supplied 10W charger, the phone charged up to 25 percent in 30 minutes and 46 percent in an hour. It took around 2 hours and 30 minutes to charge the phone completely. The Redmi 8A supports 18W fast charging, and Xiaomi sells an 18W charger for Rs. 449. We think you should invest in one of these if you are buying this smartphone.

Redmi 8A cameras

The Redmi 8A has a single camera at the back, based on the Sony IMX363 sensor. This is a 12-megapixel sensor and has been used in the likes of the Google Pixel 3 (Review) as well as the Poco F1 (Review). This camera has an f/1.8 aperture, a 1.4-micron pixel size, and dual-pixel autofocus. At the front, the Redmi 8A has an 8-megapixel selfie shooter with an f/2.0 aperture and 1.12-micron pixels. Xiaomi has used the same camera app as always, and you get shooting modes such as Portrait, Pro, and Short Video apart from the usual photo and video modes. There is HDR as well as AI scene detection.

We found the Redmi 8A to be quick to focus during the day, but the speed dropped in low light. In favourable light, the Redmi 8A delivered some good shots, details were lacking when we zoomed in to the sample shots. HDR kicks in automatically when shooting in bright environments, but we did notice ghosting in a few shots taken during the day.

Tap to see full-size Redmi 8A camera samples

For close-ups, we noticed that the camera managed to create a decent natural depth of field. The AI in the camera app is quick to detect what it is pointed towards, which helps choose the ideal settings. Photos had decent amounts of detail for a phone at this price, but we would have loved images to have been a little sharper.

Portraits shot with the Redmi 8A had average edge detection but some of our samples had overexposed backgrounds. In low light, there is a noticeable drop in the level of detail and a slight watercolour-like effect. The Redmi 8A managed to keep noise down but sacrificed sharpness in low light. While shooting bright backlit objects at night, we noticed that the device could not capture colours correctly.

Selfies taken during the day had good detail and you can apply beautification filters before taking a shot. In low light, there was a noticeable drop in quality as shots looked grainy on zooming in. Video recording maxes out at 1080p for the primary shooter but lacks stabilisation, so you won’t get smooth videos straight off the device.

Verdict

The Xiaomi Redmi 8A has been launched mere months after the Redmi 7A (Review). While the Qualcomm Snapdragon 439SoC remains the same, many other bits of hardware have been improved upon. The Redmi 8A packs in a bigger display and has improved cameras. Xiaomi has definitely taken a couple of steps in the right direction by opting for a USB Type-C port and packing in a big 5,000mAh battery.

It looks like Xiaomi is repeating history here; it launched the Redmi Note 7S (Review) quickly after the Redmi Note 7 (Review), and has now done the same thing with the Redmi 8A. Yes, this new model is priced marginally higher at Rs. 6,499 than the launch price of the Redmi 7A which was Rs. 5,999. Buyers of the Redmi 7A could feel disappointed considering that the Redmi 8A does everything better for only a slight increase in price. That aside, if you want a budget smartphone or a low-cost secondary device, the Redmi 8A is a solid phone to buy for less than Rs. 7,000.

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mrhotmaster · 4 years

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Oppo A92, Oppo A52 Listing With Android 10 & More: Read Now

Oppo A92, Oppo A52 Tips With Android 10, Snapdragon 665 SoC, Listed In Google Play Console & More Expected

Oppo A92 has 8 GB RAM and Oppo A52 has 6 GB of RAM in the catalog.

Oppo is by all accounts taking a shot at two new An arrangement cell phones called the Oppo A92 and the Oppo A52. Presently, the two telephones have been seen in Google Play Console postings that show a portion of the determinations that might be available in these up and coming telephones. The postings show the two telephones are fueled by the Snapdragon 665 SoC and run Android 10. They additionally notice the RAM for the two telephones yet it is hazy if there will be different variations too. A portion of different subtleties partook in the postings incorporate the CPU design, GPU, show goals, and that's only the tip of the iceberg.

The postings were first spotted by 91Mobiles and show key determinations of both the Oppo A92 and the Oppo A52. The two telephones run Android 10 and are fueled by the octa-center Snapdragon 665 SoC that has four Kyro 260 centers timed at 2.01GHz and four Kyro 260 centers timed at 1.8GHz.

The up and coming Oppo telephones are additionally recorded with similar screen goals - 1,080x2,400 pixels. The pixel thickness is likewise 480ppi for both the Oppo A92 and the Oppo A52. The main distinction in the postings is the measure of RAM with the Oppo A92 demonstrating 8GB of RAM and the Oppo A52 is indicating 6GB of RAM.

While this is the first run through the Oppo A52 has surfaced on the web, 91Mobiles cases that the Oppo A92 was recently spotted on Singapore administrative body IMDA's site. We had the option to check this posting which expresses the Oppo A92 will have LTE, WI-FI, Bluetooth, and GPS. It additionally shows the model number for the telephone as CPH2059 and the advertising name 'A92'. The telephone was spotted on Thailand's administrative body NBTC's site also.

There is no official word from Oppo on the two telephones yet taking a gander at the various postings for the Oppo A92, the telephone may dispatch soon. Regardless of whether it comes to India, it is not yet clear.

KEY SPECIFICATIONS (UNCONFIRMED)

RAM

8GB

REAR CAMERA

Yes

FRONT CAMERA

Yes

RESOLUTION

1080x2400p

PROCESSOR

Snapdragon 665

Android 10

ALSO

SEE

amazon.in

Oppo A83 3GB/32GB Champagne Gold – Click to go to the sale page

amazon.in

Samsung 18.5 Inches LED Monitor – HD Ready, AH-IPS Panel VGA Port LS19F350HNWXXL - Click to go to the sale page

amazon.in

Xiaomi Redmi 6A 16GB Black - Click to go to the sale page

KEY SPECIFICATIONS (UNCONFIRMED)

RAM

6GB

REAR CAMERA

Yes

FRONT CAMERA

Yes

RESOLUTION

1080x2400p

PROCESSOR

Snapdragon 665

Android 10

ALSO

SEE

amazon.in

Oppo A83 3GB/32GB Champagne Gold – Click to go to the sale page

amazon.in

Samsung 18.5 Inches LED Monitor – HD Ready, AH-IPS Panel VGA Port LS19F350HNWXXL - Click to go to the sale page

amazon.in

Xiaomi Redmi 6A 16GB Black - Click to go to the sale page

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#a52 #a92 #news #oppo #oppo 92 leaks #oppo a52 #oppo a52 2020 #oppo a52 price #oppo a52 price in ind

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newtechnology01 · 5 years

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Smartphones are the users’ multi utility equipment. The entire activities now totally depends on its uses. Features like selfie shots with bokeh effect, operating process, RAM, memory sizes etc have always been a matter of discussion while purchasing any phone. A user has to get satisfied with the features of a phone, that he buys. Buying mobile is not important, but the features owned by these gadgets have to be attractive. Based on the users’ demand, we introduce the 5 best phones, which will certainly make you feel tempted. Best Camera Mobiles Price & Details 5. Nokia 9 - https://amzn.to/2VrL16Q 4. Apple iPhone Xs Max (64GB) - https://amzn.to/2VxsDJE 3. Samsung Galaxy S10+ - https://amzn.to/2XTK3xQ 2. Google Pixel 3 XL - https://amzn.to/2GRWlkI 1. Huawei P 30 Pro - https://amzn.to/2XQSfi7 Buy New Smartphones ➡ https://amzn.to/2JX2CyS ➡https://ift.tt/32fuMtW Best Smartphone Price & Details Redmi Note 7 Pro 6GB RAM 128GB ROM ➡ https://ift.tt/2NEBhU1 4GB RAM 64GB ROM ➡ https://amzn.to/2WUJ27Z Oppo F11 Pro 6G+64GB➡ https://amzn.to/2WD13aY Realme 3 Pro (NEW)➡https://amzn.to/2uWSRWY OnePlus 6T➡ https://amzn.to/2Ur5iZC Xiaomi Poco F1➡ https://amzn.to/2FQSkMP (21999 Rs.) Redmi Note 7 3GB RAM 32GB ROM ➡ https://ift.tt/32fR52U 4GB RAM 64GB ROM ➡ https://amzn.to/2uRlQeY Honor 8X ➡ https://ift.tt/2NytNlh Redmi 6 Pro➡ https://ift.tt/32aj2Jk Vivo V15 Pro ➡ https://amzn.to/2ONklaI Samsung Galaxy A30/A50➡ https://amzn.to/2WGZ99b Realme 3➡ https://amzn.to/2OA8wor Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1/M2➡ https://amzn.to/2WARzwP Samsung Galaxy M20➡ https://amzn.to/2JVojiQ Redmi 6A ➡ https://ift.tt/2NytO8P Moto X4 (Super Black, 32GB)➡ https://amzn.to/2UnZWyb #BestCamera ##best_smartphone_2019 #CameraPhone2019 Subscribe Here "New technology" : https://goo.gl/8KfhiB Share This Video please - https://youtu.be/u_BsI5YLVe4 😀 Follow Us Socially 😀 🌐 Facebook page: https://goo.gl/NFWd51 🌐 Twitter : https://goo.gl/SEiVV2 🌐 Google+ : https://goo.gl/Y1bVLv 🌐 Reddit : https://goo.gl/yrqSez Music : ------------ Youtube Free Music ------------------------------------- Subscribe for more Videos ! -------------------------------------- The video comes under 'Fair Use' according to Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976. All the visual-content belongs to their respective owners. -------------------------------------- 🔊 LIKE ➡ SHARE ➡ SUBSCRIBE

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ravikherva · 6 years

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Xiaomi's Redmi phones have pretty much established themselves as the de-facto choices at nearly every price point in the budget space. The Chinese brand, once considered a tiny upstart, has consistently launched smartphones that deliver tremendous value for money and make their competitors look overpriced. We've repeatedly wondered how far Xiaomi can push this formula, and whether any other company will be able to come in and steal its thunder.

That has happened to some extent at the upper end of the low-cost market this year, with players including Asus, Oppo (and now its spin-off Realme), and Infinix launching disruptive models that have earned praise from us. The bottom end, though, is still where Xiaomi dominates. The brand new Redmi 6 models have been launched specifically to reinforce that position, and the Redmi 6A is the very lowest priced model of them all.

Starting at just Rs. 5,999 — though this is an "introductory price" — the Redmi 6A neatly replaces the Redmi 5A (Review) and brings just enough updates and new features to fend off newer competitors. Let's see what's new, and whether this phone is still the best choice for people on a shoe-string budget.

Xiaomi Redmi 6A design

The first thing you'll notice about this phone is that Xiaomi has brought a fashionable 18:9 screen to the very bottom of its price ladder. The front of this phone is simple and plain, and when it's off, the front camera and earpiece are the only things that will indicate which way is up. The screen has very slightly rounded corners, which is a nice touch. You don't get a bezel-free look at this price and there's quite a bit of space to the top, bottom and sides of the screen, but the overall look is still fairly slick.

The body of the Redmi 6A is all plastic, which shouldn't come as any surprise. This phone is available in four colours — black, blue, gold, and rose gold. Our black review unit looked good, though some smudges did become apparent on the rear over the course of multiple days. There's a camera bump, but thankfully it isn't too noticeable. The body's curves and contours somewhat mask its 8.3mm thickness and make it very easy to live with. This phone weighs just 145g, which helps as well.

The power and volume buttons are on the right, and both are well within reach. On the left, there are two individual trays - one for a single Nano-SIM, and the other for another Nano-SIM and also a separate microSD card. You'll find a 3.5mm audio socket on the top and a Micro-USB port on the bottom, plus microphone pinholes next to both. The speaker is on the lower rear which means that your ringtone and alerts could be muffled when this phone is lying on a bed or other soft surface. There's no fingerprint reader — while we have seen phones with fingerprint readers at around this price level, Xiaomi has chosen other priorities.

Xiaomi Redmi 6A specifications and software

There usually isn't much to get excited about in the budget market, but Xiaomi has found at least one little advantage to give its latest entry-level phone. Rather than the predictable Qualcomm 400-series, Xiaomi has switched to MediaTek's brand new Helio A22 (MT6762) processor. This marks the debut of a new Helio A-series branding scheme for MediaTek's entry-level offerings. The Helio A22 has four ARM Cortex-A53 cores running at up to 2GHz and is manufactured using a power-efficient 12nm process. This could give battery life a significant boost.

The Redmi 6A is available with either 16GB or 32GB of storage, and both variants have 2GB of RAM. Our review unit was the 16GB version, and we found that we had just under 10GB of usable space when setting it up. If you aren't planning to carry a lot of music and videos around with you, this much should be fine, but you'll need a microSD card otherwise, with cards of up to 256GB capacity supported.

The 18:9 screen measures 5.45 inches diagonally and has a resolution of 720x1440 pixels. Xiaomi has packed in a 3000mAh battery. The rear camera has a 13-megapixel sensor, f/2.2 aperture, and PDAF, while the front one has a 5-megapixel sensor. The Redmi 6A can use 4G data on either SIM. VoLTE HD is supported on only one SIM at a time, regardless of which slot it's in. There's also Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, and GPS. Interestingly, you get the standard ambient light and proximity sensors as well as a digital compass.

One of Xiaomi's defining smartphone features is its custom MIUI software, which has a vocal legion of fans. The Redmi 6A runs MIUI 9.6 which is based on Android 8.1. Our unit had already received the August 2018 Android security patch. There's no official word on any release timeframe for an update to Android 9.0 Pie. MIUI hasn't changed much over the years, and with stock Android One gaining popularity, it's beginning to show. We missed common features like the ability to long-press an app icon for quick shortcuts and notifications.

There's a lot of preloaded bloat and redundant apps, for example you have UC Browser, Chrome, and Xiaomi's own default browser. Facebook, Amazon, PhonePe, Netflix, Opera, and a few other third-party apps are preloaded, and several more are "promoted" right within the MIUI interface. The default Facemoji keyboard has a lot going on with emojis, stickers, GIFs, themes, and more. Then there are also Microsoft apps and assorted Mi utilities. The one big thing that immediately jumped out at us was the amount of advertising that's now baked into MIUI.

We saw a few spammy alerts from the Mi Apps store using peer-pressure tactics to try to make us download specific apps. Moreover, there were full-screen interstitial ads whenever we launched the Themes app or used the Storage Cleaner function within the Settings app, and there were ads in the Security app as well. Very few of these apps can be removed. Mi Music and Mi Video are also full of promotional content. There’s even spam in the Gallery app — sporadically, after playing a video clip we had recorded, we saw a screen of suggestions for Hungama videos.

We were extremely disappointed to see how much advertising there was. Much of it only became apparent after a few days of use, so it's possible that there's even more, deeper beneath the surface, waiting to jump out at users. If this is the tradeoff for low-cost phones, we wouldn't be surprised to see even hardcore Xiaomi fans gravitating towards stock Android.

That isn't to say that MIUI is all bad. It still has loads of features including Ui customisation options, the ability to clone apps, fine-grained display colour tone adjustment, useful gestures, and the ability to lock apps. There's face recognition, but Xiaomi warns that it might be defeated by a photo of you.

Xiaomi Redmi 6A performance, battery life, and cameras

This is an entry-level phone, and we know that it isn't meant to be pushed too hard, but basic usage still needs to be smooth. Thankfully, we can say that the Redmi 6A — for the most part — was not frustrating to use. There was some lag when flipping through the task switcher or exiting from apps back to the home screen, but we could live with that. We also quickly learnt to avoid Xiaomi's Mi apps because the extra steps needed to dismiss ads all the time became too annoying.

On rare occasions, it took a second or two for many apps, including the basic Messaging app, to be usable after loading. You can hide the on-screen Android navigation buttons and use gestures instead, but we found that to be extremely slow. The keyboard was also a bit of a problem, but Google's Gboard is preloaded and ready to go as an alternative. MIUI is strained with with only 2GB of RAM, and we noted anywhere between 650MB and 1.2GB free during use.

The screen is good enough for watching videos and playing games on, and we had no major complaints in terms of vibrancy, colour reproduction, or viewing angles considering the price of this phone. The speaker on the back isn't very clear and music doesn't sound great, but voices in videos come through well enough.

Benchmark tests gave us pretty decent results. We got 61,053 in AnTuTu, and 765 and 2,306 respectively in Geekbench's single-core and multi-core tests. The 20fps score in GFXBench's T-Rex test shows that 3D games won't run all that well, but you should be able to play casual puzzle titles without any trouble. 3DMark's Ice Storm Extreme test gave us a score of 5,451 and the Slingshot test score was 453.

Xiaomi's phones have always surprised us with great performance in our HD video loop battery life test. The Redmi 6A ran for 13 hours, 22 minutes, thanks to its 3000mAh battery, the efficient SoC, and MIUI's optimisations. Our everyday usage consisted of a bit of light gaming and video streaming, and we comfortably made it through a 10-hour working day and the rest of the evening. If you don't use your phone for much more than calls, messages and social media, you should be able to stretch to a day and a half between charges. On the downside, a full charge from zero took us nearly three hours.

Camera quality is typically where low-cost phones struggle the most. The Redmi 6A is obviously not going to be ideal if you need great photos, but it should be enough for people who just want to share their lives through social media and messaging apps. Our sample shots came out looking relatively good with acceptable levels of detail and sharp focus. There are a few shots in which we could see that focus had not locked on the ideal spot, and small bright objects or parts of the frame did get blown out quite badly. Colours were generally bright and vibrant too.

At night, we definitely had to be careful about standing still and not shaking the phone, but shots were still fairly decent as long as there was a light source nearby. Areas in the shadows just came out looking completely black. One problem we found was that no matter what conditions we were shooting in, the Redmi 6A often took a full second or more to save a shot, leaving us waiting before we could take the next one.

Video recording goes up to 1080p but it is shaky and a little jerky with constant minor focus shifts. Video taken in bright sunlight looked a bit artificial and oversharpened. The front camera does a serviceable job but again, this is entry-level quality and nothing beyond that. The camera app has time-lapse and panorama modes. Nice touches include an auto HDR setting, an on-screen level overlay to help you frame shots, a tilt-shift filter, and multiple scene modes. There is a manual mode as well, and buried within the settings panel are a few options for exposure and metering control.

Verdict The Redmi 6A is a fairly good update to the Redmi 5A, which itself was barely any different compared to the Redmi 4A (Review). You now get a tall screen, better processor, and improved polish overall. However, the price has gone up — Rs. 5,999 is still very good, especially considering the recent slide in the Indian Rupee's exchange rate, but it isn't quite as tempting as the Redmi 5A was at Rs. 4,999. This is also just an "introductory" price, and we don't yet know how long it will last or what it will increase to after that.

With this generation, you get 2GB of RAM across the board, rather than 3GB with the 32GB storage variant. If you can spend a little more money and want to step up the ladder, chances are you'll find the 3GB/ 32GB Redmi 6, with its fingerprint sensor and better processor, the better choice. As for the competition, the Redmi 6A delivers a superior experience compared to the equally priced Coolpad Mega 5A (Review) and the more expensive Honor 7S (Review), and even if its price rises by Rs. 1,000, we think it will remain the better option.

MIUI has so far been very well received, and it is one of the most polished non-stock Android UIs we've seen. However, that goodwill can and will evaporate if Xiaomi continues pushing ads and spam like this. The company isn't competing with the likes of Intex and Micromax anymore, but with Android One and Android Go models. We hope that Xiaomi takes note before it's too late.

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