Xiaomi Mi A1 review

Benchmark tests

The Snapdragon 625 chipset we saw on the Redmi Note 4 and Mi 5X also powers the Mi A1. This particular SoC is somewhat a favorite for the midrange class because of its power-efficiency and balanced performance. The S625 packs an octa-core Cortex-A53 processor clocked at 2.0GHz and Adreno 506 GPU. There are 4 gigs of RAM, more than enough for the class.

As usual we start with GeekBench and the Mi A1 processor did great, beaten only by the A72 core inside the Snapdragon 652 chip (Oppo F3 Plus).

GeekBench 4.1 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Oppo F3 Plus
  1438
• Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
  901
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  877
• Xiaomi Mi 5X
  868
• Moto G5S Plus
  843
• Huawei P10 lite
  834
• Xiaomi Mi Max 2
  824
• Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
  731
• Nokia 5
  672
• Nokia 6 (Global version)
  665
• Nokia 3
  551

The multi-core performance is superb for the midrange class as was to be expected from an octa-core CPU.

GeekBench 4.1 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Oppo F3 Plus
  4695
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  4292
• Xiaomi Mi 5X
  4225
• Moto G5S Plus
  4193
• Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
  3783
• Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
  3667
• Huawei P10 lite
  3344
• Nokia 5
  2851
• Nokia 6 (Global version)
  2841
• Xiaomi Mi Max 2
  2445
• Nokia 3
  1529

Moving on to graphics - the Mi A1's Adreno 506 GPU is perfectly capable of handling the Full HD screen resolution. The more recent mid-range Mali combos (Sony Xperia XA1 Plus, Redmi Note 4) are somewhat faster, though.

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Oppo F3 Plus
  11
• Nokia 5
  10
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
  9.4
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
  9
• Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
  7.4
• Moto G5S Plus
  6.8
• Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
  6.7
• Xiaomi Mi Max 2
  6.4
• Xiaomi Mi 5X
  6.3
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  6.3
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  6.2
• Huawei P10 lite
  5
• Nokia 6 (Global version)
  4.5
• Nokia 3
  3.2

GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Oppo F3 Plus
  6
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
  5.4
• Nokia 5
  5.2
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
  5.2
• Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
  4
• Moto G5S Plus
  3.8
• Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
  3.8
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  3.5
• Xiaomi Mi Max 2
  3.5
• Xiaomi Mi 5X
  3.5
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  3.4
• Huawei P10 lite
  3
• Nokia 6 (Global version)
  2.5

The BaseMark X test perfectly demonstrates the balanced performance of the Adreno 506. It's in line with all recent smartphones from the same class.

Basemark X

Higher is better

• Oppo F3 Plus
  16695
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
  13666
• Moto G5S Plus
  10488
• Xiaomi Mi Max 2
  10482
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  10472
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  10446
• Xiaomi Mi 5X
  10403
• Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
  9543
• Huawei P10 lite
  7588
• Nokia 6 (Global version)
  7516
• Nokia 5
  7316
• Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
  5258
• Nokia 3
  2210

Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
  287
• Oppo F3 Plus
  261
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
  259
• Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
  191
• Huawei P10 lite
  145
• Xiaomi Mi 5X
  138
• Xiaomi Mi Max 2
  138
• Moto G5S Plus
  137
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  136
• Nokia 6 (Global version)
  100
• Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
  93

The compound tests AnTuTu and BaseMark confirm the Mi A1 produced two more solid scores - not quite good enough to get you bragging rights, but sufficient to handle everyday tasks with ease.

AnTuTu 6

Higher is better

• Oppo F3 Plus
  91458
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
  85162
• Moto G5S Plus
  64554
• Xiaomi Mi 5X
  63548
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  61762
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  61616
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
  61020
• Huawei P10 lite
  60895
• Xiaomi Mi Max 2
  57902
• Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
  55657
• Nokia 6 (Global version)
  47495
• Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
  46400
• Nokia 5
  43392
• Nokia 3
  28441

Basemark OS 2.0

Higher is better

• Oppo F3 Plus
  1890
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
  1728
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
  1417
• Huawei P10 lite
  1284
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  1262
• Xiaomi Mi 5X
  1246
• Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
  1198
• Moto G5S Plus
  1176
• Xiaomi Mi Max 2
  1107
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  1050
• Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
  1038
• Nokia 5
  982
• Nokia 3
  568

The Xiaomi Mi A1 is well equipped to handle Android and its apps. Sure, the Snapdragon 625 may not be the most powerful midrange chipset, but it offers very balanced performance and lightweight processing thanks to the efficient 14nm manufacturing process. Everything on the Mi A1 runs very cool even under peak load. You bet the vanilla Android runs buttery-smooth and lag-free, and so were the games we tried.