Redmi 8A Quick Review: Increadible Value At An Massively Affordable Price

Karamchand Rameshwar - Oct 31, 2019

The Redmi 8A is the latest budget offering from Xiaomi and it seems like the brand still does a great job on this phone. Check out our review to find out.

Redmi 8A is currently available in India with prices starting from Rs. 6,499. Compared to the Redmi 8 with a price tag of Rs. 7,999, the Redmi 8A is cut down in several features and accessories. But whether those will affect the Redmi 8A that much? Check out our review to see whether the Redmi 8A is the right choice in the budget segment and again helps Xiaomi remain a king in the price range.

Unboxing

Firstly, let’s start with the box of Redmi 8A, the front is printed smartphone images with two versions in Blue and Red hues. Inside the box, there are a user manual, a SIM removal tool, a conventional 5V / 2A charger, and a USB-C cable. And there is no phone cover here and this is the first cut in accessories compared to the Redmi 8.

The phone sadly doesn’t come with an 18W fast charger even though it does support the fast charging solution. However, at such a low price, we can’t really ask for more.

Redmi 8a15 800x450 — The version in our review is in Blue color. Of course, its build material is plastic.

Looking at the back, the Redmi 8A has a design language quite similar to the Redmi 8, with the same camera placement, an LED flash, the Redmi logo and the information line stretching along the center of the body. The handset doesn’t have a fingerprint sensor and no second camera, which are losses compared to the Redmi 8.

Redmi 8a48 800x450 — The right side of the Redmi 8A houses a power button and a volume rocker in the same color.

Redmi 8a46 800x450 — The left side is where the SIM tray (2 SIM card slots and one microSD card slot) are located.

Redmi 8a45 800x450 — There are a USB-C port, a recording microphone, an external speaker and a 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom of the phone.

Redmi 8a47 800x450 — The top of the phone has an extra microphone.

Xiaomi Redmi 8a Hands On 5 — The front design of Redmi 8A is almost the same as Redmi 8.

Coming to the front, there is no difference compared to Redmi 8. It still has a 6.22-inch display with HD+ resolution and a water-drop notch on top.

Hardware configuration

The display quality of the Redmi 8A is similar to that of the Redmi 8. It looks good outdoors and gives good viewing angles.

In terms of performance, the phone is powered by a Snapdragon 439 chipset, but it feels a bit on shaky ground, especially with the entry-level variant. The base model only packs 2GB of RAM and that makes the device struggle quite a bit on multitasking or switching apps between one to another. For internal storage, you won't have to worry much since it packs 32GB storage. And if that is not enough, you can expand it with a microSD card.

For photography, the Redmi 8A is equipped with a 12MP camera at the back and an 8MP on the front. Just like most of the entry-level smartphones, there is much to talk about their cameras. The device's 12MP rear camera has HDR, portrait mode, and AI mode. However, the photo quality isn't that good even in daylight conditions. Therefore, if you are looking for a smartphone to take photos for your social media, you should spend a little bit more on a higher-end smartphone.

A big advantage of the device is that it is powered by a massive 5,000 mAh battery that can ensure at least a full-day usage. In addition, the product comes pre-installed with Android 9 Pie and Xiaomi’s MIUI 10 interface.

Verdict

Overall, the Redmi 8A is cut down in several features compared to the Redmi 8 such as no plastic cover. It still offers a wide range of functions that a basic user would need. However, you shouldn’t expect too much from the phone like playing heavy games. What do you think? Do you still want to pay Rs. 7,999 for the Redmi 8 or Rs. 6,499 for the Redmi 8A?