In time for the upcoming festival season, Xiaomi has today upgraded its entry-level Redmi A series with the launch of the Redmi 8A. It’s the successor to the Redmi 7A, which launched in India earlier this year, and brings a slew of new features that make it worth every penny. Don’t believe me? Well, let’s check out the specs sheet, shall we?
Redmi 8A: Specs and Features
Being an entry-level smartphone, the Redmi 8A has a polycarbonate build but it feels pretty solid and premium in the hand. The design of the rear panel, I’m not going to lie, feels as if it’s inspired by the Realme C2 (the ridged pattern that’s fun to play with) and recently launched Oppo phones (central brand strip). Xiaomi is calling it the “Aura Wave Grip” design.
On the front, Redmi 8A features a 6.22-inch HD+ IPS LCD display with Xiaomi’s dot notch design. It has a 19:9 aspect ratio, 720×1520 pixel resolution, with Gorilla Glass 5 protection on top. There’s a massive chin at the bottom with the Redmi branding and no fingerprint scanner – either on the front or rear.
Redmi 8A is powered by the octa-core Snapdragon 439 chipset under the hood, paired with up to 3GB RAM and 32GB onboard storage (expandable up to 512GB with a dedicated microSD card slot). It runs Android 9 Pie-based MIUI 10 out-of-the-box.
Though many phone makers are now offering dual-cameras at this price point, Redmi 8A sports only a single 12MP rear and 8MP selfie camera. You’ll get AI Face Unlock, AI portrait mode, and more features baked into the camera app on this smartphone.
The highlight of the Redmi 8A will have to the massive 5,000mAh battery. There’s support for 18W fast-charging via the USB Type-C port, something that’s unexpected at entry-level prices. The device comes with a 10W (5V/2A) in the box, which is good enough. You can watch the launch event, which is a short 15-minute affair, right here:
Price and Availability
Redmi 8A has been priced starting at Rs. 6,499 for the 2GB+32GB base variant. You will have to shell only Rs. 500 more to grab the higher 3GB RAM variant, with 32GB storage.
The smartphone will go on sale starting from September 29, exclusively on Mi.com and Flipkart. Redmi 8A will become available at offline stores, Mi Home, and all other partner stores down the road, so stay tuned. It’s going up against the Realme C2 with these features and price tag, so which would be your pick? Tell us in the comments below.
