Redmi A1 and Redmi A1+

The Redmi A1 and the Redmi A1+ are two new entry-level devices from Xiaomi. These phones are designed to give them some foothold back in the lower-end market.

Xiaomi has of late, paid lip service to the lower-end markets and has chosen to focus on the midrange segment. This should be a welcome development for their fans who cannot afford pricey midrange phones.

Xiaomi used to have some weird phones like the Mi Play, Redmi Go, or the A (for Google) series. More recently though, they have seemingly put all these behind them to fully focus on the main sellers, which by the way is not bad at all.

So, seeing the Redmi A1, I was like cool. We’re back to seeing these weird phones again.

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Redmi A1 and Redmi A1+ specs

As always, the first thing I did was go straight to the spec sheet. The spec sheet never disappoints.

• Body: plastic, 192g
• SoC: MediaTek Helio A22
• GPU: PowerVR GE8320
• Software: Android 12 Go
• RAM: LPDDR4x
• Storage: eMMC 5.1 + microSD card
• Display: 6.52″ 720p (HD) IPS-LCD screen, 269ppi, 400nit
• Camera: 8MP (f/2.0)
• Selfie: 5MP (f/2.2)
• Video: 1080p@30fps
• Battery: 5,000mAh (10W charge)
• Connectivity: 3G, 4G LTE, Dual SIM, Bluetooth 5.0, Wifi 5, USB 2.0, 3.5mm audio jack
• Sensors: proximity, light, accelerometer
• Price: N56,900 (NGN)

Body

The phones are made of plastic. This means that both the frame and cover are plastic and it weighs 192g. Not too hefty. There’s no splash protection or anything. Play with it near water at your own risk.

Performance

There’s a MediaTek Helio A22 on board. The GPU of choice is the Power VR GE8320. The Helio A22 is an entry-level Quad-core SoC. Performance-wise, it is ranked 152 over 180 SoCs that I have compiled on my site.

So merely looking at the Helio A22, one would know that this device is for calls, social media, and light use. No serious gaming here.

When you look further, you’ll see that the phone runs Android 12 Go. The Android 12 Go is the lite version of Android. This lite version is heavily stripped of features so it can run better on weak SoCs.

The phone uses an LPDDR4x RAM and supports eMMC 5.1 storage. This storage is expandable with a microSD card slot.

Display

It houses a 6.52″ IPS-LCD display that has a 720p (or HD) resolution. The Pixel density is 269ppi and the brightness is 400nits. This phone is going to be unusable in sunlight.

Cameras

There are two cameras on the back. The main one is an 8MP main camera which is generic. The second is a QVGA. A QVGA!  A 0.3MP QVGA is uncalled for. They should have just kept the one main camera. 😂😂😂

Okay but on a more serious note, that’s how a lot of entry-level OEMs sell phones. I have seen people turn down a better device with a Snapdragon 425 and an 8MP camera to pick a Unisoc SC7731e device with dual cameras, one of which is a QVGA. So I guess they know their target audience.

This phone records videos of 1080p resolution at 30fps. I am very surprised because I was honestly expecting 720p videos LOL. The selfie is a 5MP camera and it also does 1080p@30fps videos.

Battery

As usual with these entry-level phones, there is a 5,000mAh battery here. It uses a standard 10W charge so it may take a while to charge up to 100%.

Price

The Redmi A1 and Redmi A1+ cost around 56,900 NGN ($130) which is kind of fair considering inflation.

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Personal thoughts

Looking at this phone guys, I just knew that this is the spiritual successor to the Redmi Go so I already knew what to expect and possibly who to recommend it to.

The Helio A22, 8MP camera, 720p LCD and Android 12 Go point to the fact that this device is not for serious people who do videos, play games, or work with their phones.

It’s as clear as day.

But from the reports reaching me, some people have bought this phone and are complaining bitterly. The phone does exactly what it is supposed to do, it’s people who have failed to read the specifications.

Funnily enough, it’s a lot of these same people who’ll say that specs do not matter even when they so clearly do.

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Redmi A1+

There’s also another phone called the Redmi A1+. It’s supposed to be an upgrade on the Redmi A1, but please take note. It is the same phone as the Redmi A1. What they did was that they increased the RAM from 2GB to 3 GB.

Otherwise, it is the very same device.

The Redmi A1 and A1+ are entry-level phones that are even lower in performance than the Redmi 9A and Redmi 10A.

The only phone this one is better than is the old Redmi Go.

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