Xiaomi Mi A2 long-term review

19 November 2018
Second time’s the charm, right? That’s certainly what Xiaomi would have you believe. The second coming of its Android One line is here, but is it any good? You still might not be very used to the concept of pairing Xiaomi hardware with unadulterated Google software - after all, the company’s MIUI is one of the heaviest Android skins you can find. But there’s no trace of that in the Mi A2, and this device is definitely as intriguing as its predecessor, which was Xiaomi’s debut album in the Android One collection.

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Hi,
Bought this phone for my son for his 21nd birthday this year.
Later, he bought another phone for himself as he needed the option to pay using the phone (NFC), but this phone doesn't support this option.
Later, this phone returned back to me.
Unfortunately, after the first three months of usage, the phone's USB charger interface was broken.
If you put it on charge, and the cable is moved just a millimeter, then it doesn't charge. Every night I had to fix up the phone and the charging cable, otherwise my phone is not charged at all in the morning. Pretty frustrating to start a morning with a dead phone.
But it's not the most frustrating.
I travel to multiple sites all across Sydney, and always used my phone to connect to my car via Android Auto, and to share the map.
Unfortunately, the connection is so unstable that in the middle of the way the phone suddenly disconnects!
And it's not the only trouble with the USB-C port.
Before I used my phone to put educational YouTube videos to listen on the way. Unfortunately, this time YTmusic had much bigger priority. YouTube music application was making the sound via the car's audio system, and phone calls as well. But as for YouTube - when I put it, the phone used its own speaker.
Only several times, when I tried to do it, it worked. Tried to connect via Bluetooth to the car, tried to reload the app, to reload the phone, to choose output as my car's audio system - it was just wasting of time.

Battery time is enough for about 4-5 hours, should be charged all the time, and as my USB-C interface doesn't hold the cable property, it came out that the phone didn't charge at all

Overall good and fast, but I had pretty frustrating and devastating experience with this phone, I really hated it so much!

    • K
    • Kamal
    • SHP
    • 13 May 2019

    Which model was used for this review? The 4/64? Did you face any read/write lags? Referrign to the infamous eMMc storage.

      • r
      • rob
      • nBZ
      • 25 Jan 2019

      Anonymous, 21 Nov 2018The proximity sersor issue is impossible to live with. A ne... moreabout the proximity sensor: perhaps this issue is solved at android one 9.0 i have tested this after reading this posts, the proximitysensor activates at about 10cm/4inch distance from your face where the screen goes off. in my experience this works well enough.

        • C
        • Chintan
        • 7kf
        • 14 Dec 2018

        Not to good battery...2 time charging one day...and running switch off to phone only starting to charging..and Android update slow phone speed

          • P
          • PhoneAddict
          • xtS
          • 30 Nov 2018

          I own a Samsung s8+, Nokia 3.1 and an IPhone 7 plus and have compared both to the Xiaomi mi a2. To be honest its not a bad phone and performs as expected. Its a budget phone and still meets my personal demands. I use all these phones for virtually same stuffs and the mi A2 has never disappointed. You can never tell the truth from the reviews until you have personally experienced it firsthand.

            • Q
            • Qidamin
            • RBb
            • 28 Nov 2018

            Anonymous, 22 Nov 2018I owned the A1 it also had the same issue with the proximit... moreThe problem isn't coming from the Smart Cover or Pocket mode enabled? just a thought.

              • N
              • Nick
              • m2D
              • 27 Nov 2018

              I had so many expectations regarding A2.
              I expected Pixel-like fluid performance first of all. SD660 should run aprox. as fast as SD820 in Pixel 1.
              So frustrated... Interesting, other midrange Android One project phones (Like Nokia 7.1) are not optimized either?

              Real want low price pixel, like Nexus 5 was.

                'We've seen slightly better camera performance from phones such as the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 AI Dual Camera and Redmi Note 6 Pro.'

                Is this a joke or what? Where is the comparison?

                  • A
                  • Anonym
                  • Lc2
                  • 25 Nov 2018

                  wifi_a2, 25 Nov 2018nobody mention the WiFi performance issues all users of mi ... moreNo issues here... other than with adaptive brightness and crazy behavior while taking a call (because proximity sensor sometimes doesn't work like it's supposed to).

                    • w
                    • wifi_a2
                    • tZj
                    • 25 Nov 2018

                    nobody mention the WiFi performance issues all users of mi a2 are complaining about in various forums ????

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • k2K
                      • 23 Nov 2018

                      VFhellionID, 21 Nov 2018What's the point on having a second review if you haven't u... moreBecause GSMArena lives in the real world. This is the current real situation of the phone. And believing Android 9 will solve problems is a fantasy.

                        • A
                        • Anonym
                        • Mq5
                        • 23 Nov 2018

                        I am very skeptical that the Mi A2 even has a proximity sensor, it does look like they are emulating that feature using the front-camera. The small tests I've done do corroborate that theory.

                          • Z
                          • Zamachi
                          • JF4
                          • 22 Nov 2018

                          Qidamin, 21 Nov 2018Redmi Note 5 pro and Redmi 6 Pro are using Samsung sensors ... moreThey are using Samsung's sensors. The question is, are those sensors (and cameras) inferior compared to Mi A2's. If this is partially true, then what do these sensor lack/perform worse compared to Mi A2's?

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • 3rM
                            • 22 Nov 2018

                            I owned the A1 it also had the same issue with the proximity sensor. After every call I found myself with the flashlight turned on, or the BT turned off, etc... I thought no way Xiaomi makes another phone with this issue so after reading some reviews on the A2 and seeeing no one mentions this problem, I went and bought the A2 just to learn quickly nothing has changed. These reviews are worthless if such a flaw is not discovered. This thing actually makes a differance in everyday life!!! Much more than some meaningless benchmark .

                              Anonymous, 21 Nov 2018The proximity sersor issue is impossible to live with. A ne... moreTo be fair this is also an issue for the redmi series. I have a redmi 3 with the same issue. My friends with the 5th and the sixth. I wonder why there is no change on the proximity sensor placement.

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • 3rM
                                • 21 Nov 2018

                                The proximity sersor issue is impossible to live with. A new surprise occures after every call. GSM Arena this is an issue you should have brought up in the original review!

                                  • K
                                  • Kovac
                                  • 3@j
                                  • 21 Nov 2018

                                  VFhellionID, 21 Nov 2018What's the point on having a second review if you haven't u... morethe best comment, every honor! I completely agree with you, wasting time reading it all the same

                                    Ark1985, 21 Nov 2018Yeah what i can't understand is the battery capacity though... moreThe Pixel is slightly more expensive than this phone. :P

                                    So if you don't like heavily modified UI like MIUI then you don't have much options at this price point. The Mi Max 3 is a pretty huge phone and not for everyone.

                                      Maybe if you update your Mi A2 to Android Pie 9.0 it will have a good battery backup and optimization

                                        Yeah what i can't understand is the battery capacity though. 3000 is not enough at all!

                                        Funny enough, while it is an Android One device, It's update timing and optimisation are not the same with Google's own pixel LOL.

                                        In short words if you prefer stock android, go pixel. But i won't recommend as it is a phone with horrible QC, design, and pricing.

                                        But if you are after features than stock android, MIUI is there for you.

                                        Get a Mi Max 3. Having one and and i enjoy using it so much right now!

                                        Huge battery 5500 mAh (WIN)
                                        Stereo speakers ~
                                        3.5mm jack (WIN)
                                        Spectacular Screen quality!
                                        MIUI is smooth and packed with features!
                                        No NFC might be dealbreaker for some, not for me!
                                        USB type C port (QC 4.0)!
                                        NO NOTCH!

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