Xiaomi Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite announced: High-end camera hardware for Android One

Less than a year ago, Xiaomi launched the Mi A1 — the first phone from the company to support Google’s Android One platform. Today, Xiaomi revealed not one, but two successors to the Mi A1: the Mi A2 (above) and the Mi A2 Lite.

Xiaomi expands its Android One lineup

Like the Mi A1, the two new Mi A2 phones will support Android One, which means that they will use a pure Android OS experience, rather than Xiaomi’s MIUI skin. Both phones will launch with Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box and will be supported with monthly security updates. They will also support Google’s Project Treble, which should allow the Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite to receive new Android feature updates faster.

• Xiaomi Mi A2 hands-on

Impressive camera hardware

The Xiaomi Mi A2’s biggest hardware and software improvements are found in its cameras, starting with its dual rear cameras. One of them is a 20MP sensor with a ƒ/1.75 aperture and support for Super Pixel technology. That means that when you take a picture with this camera, it will combine information from four pixels to form one large 2.0µm pixel — said to offer clear and sharp images even in low-light. The second rear sensor comes in at 12MP, with 1.25µm pixel size and ƒ/1.75 aperture.

The Mi A2 will come with a 20MP front-facing camera with an ƒ/2.2 aperture and support for Super Pixel technology. Software features like AI Portrait, AI Beautify 4.0, and HDR should let you create excellent selfies. The phone has a 4500K front-facing selfie-light too.

While the cameras on the Mi A2 Lite are not quite as powerful as the ones on the main Mi A2, they still sound pretty good for its price range. The Lite version will also have two rear cameras — the main one is a 12MP sensor, while the second is a 5MP camera to help create bokeh-effect images. The front-facing camera has a 5MP sensor.

The Mi A2 Lite will be sold in two versions: one with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, and the other with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

Both have solid spec sheets

The Xiaomi Mi A2 will have a 5.99-inch Full HD+ 18:9 display, and inside there will be a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor, along with a 3,000mAh battery. The phone will be sold with 4GB of RAM and either 32GB or 64GB of onboard storage or with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.

More: The full list of Xiaomi Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite specs

The Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite is slightly smaller than its big brother. It has a 5.84-inch display with a 19:9 aspect ratio (it’s also Full HD+). However, the Lite model actually has some features that beat those in the regular Mi A2, such as a larger 4,000mAh battery, which the company claims should offer up to two days of life with regular use.

Launching in July starting at 179 euros

The Xiaomi Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite will launch first in Spain in late July and will expand to 40 worldwide markets over the coming weeks and months. In Spain, the Mi A2 will cost 249 euros for the 4GB RAM/32GB storage model, followed by 279 euros for the 4GB/64GB version, and 349 euros for the 6GB/128GB version. The Mi A2 Lite will cost 179 euros for the 3GB/32GB model and 229 euros for the 4GB/64GB version. For more info, check out our Xiaomi Mi A2 pricing and availability roundup.

Are you planning on buying either of these phones? Let us know what you think in the comments.