Xiaomi might have outrightly refused to confirm whether it will launch a phone bearing the Mi A2 name, but in May, a company representative had told Digit that the company will make more Android One phones. Almost two months after, there is still not official statement from the Chinese conglomerate on the phone, but a leak seems to have confirmed that Xiaomi is working on the development of the much-awaited successor to the Mi A1.
An image of the ‘About Phone’ screen was leaked online which shows a smartphone that looks exactly like the recently-launched Mi 6X, but bears a model name ‘Mi A2’ with the May 2018 security patch installed. Noteworthy is that Xiaomi first launched the Mi 5X in China and brought the same phone to India as the Mi A1 under the Android One programme. The phone ran stock Android 7.1.2 Nougat and later received timely security and OS updates. On the basis of this trend and given the success of the company’s first Android One device, it is expected that Xiaomi will bring the Mi 6X (First Impressions) as the Mi A2 to Indian shores.
Earlier, several leaks and reports have pointed out the existence of the smartphone. It briefly appeared on YouTube in a hands-on video but was later taken down. A Swiss retailer Digitec even listed the Xiaomi Mi A2 for preorder. Judging by the specifications of the listed device, it was found that the phone is the same as the Mi 6X, except it ran Android instead of MIUI.
To recap, the Mi 6X sports a 5.99-inch FHD+ display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC. The smartphone sports a USB Type-C port, is 7.6mm thick and is backed by a 3010mAh battery. The 4GB RAM/64GB storage variant is priced at CNY 1599 (approx Rs 16,900), the 6GB RAM/64GB storage variant is priced at CNY 1799 (approx Rs 19,900). The top-of-the-line variant with 6GB RAM/128GB storage is priced at CNY 1999 (approx Rs 21,100).
In the camera department, the device has a dual-camera setup with 12MP+20MP sensors stacked vertically at the back. The 12MP Sony IMX486 rear camera sports a f/1.75 aperture lens with 1.25μm pixels, while the second is a Sony IMX376 sensor. At the front is also a 20MP Sony IMX376 camera. The Xiaomi Mi 6X runs on MIUI 9.5.