Xiaomi Mi A1 vs Nexus 5X impressions

[porina]

I might or might not do a full user review later, but I just got the Xiaomi Mi A1 as a replacement to the Nexus 5X. To keep it short, I'll just call them the A1 and 5X for now. This is mainly due to the widely reported bootloop problems on the 5X, and as my phone is well over a year old, I thought I'd head it off before it is a problem and replace it. While I considered higher end options, in the end I decided to go budget again, so what did I get?

 

I'll start on the OS, as that is usually a big consideration in choosing a phone. For example, although I like Android, I can't stand Samsung's interpretation of it. So I'm hesitant to pick a phone that doesn't use stock Android. The A1 is part of the Android One scheme, which I had to look up. In short, it is stock Android supported by Google, so it is a kinda 2nd tier Nexus like device. As shipped, the A1 came with 7.1.2 installed, but after a GB class download it updated itself to Oreo 8.0. The 5X, being a Nexus device, gets fast updates to the latest version and was already on Oreo 8.1. The only obvious customisation on the A1 is the inclusion of a remote control tool to make use of the built in IR blaster, and a feedback utility. The camera utilities are also different between them, but I haven't got too deep into that yet.

 

The two phones are near enough the same size class. Unless you put them next to each other, you don't really notice it. Screens are 1080p on both, and look fine. I haven't used both at the same time in sunlight, but I suspect the A1 might be slightly more reflective making it harder to see. Both also have a rear fingerprint sensor, which is my preferred location. I don't like the front ones as much. There are sensors on the lower end of the phone for the usual Android navigation, but they use the older (reversed) order, compared to latest Google phones. I'm already tolerant to this as my work Samsung S6 also has that backward layout.

 

The PCMR in me goes next to the core hardware specs. The A1 has 8 A53 cores at up to 2 GHz, and the 5X has 4 A53 cores at up to 1.4 GHz, and 2 A57 cores at up to 1.8 GHz. How that compares, no idea. I think the A57 is a heavier lifting core. Ram is easily greater on the A1, with 4GB compared to 2GB on the 5X. Likewise storage of the A1 blows away the 5X, at 64GB and 16GB respectively for the model that I own, although the 5X apparently also came in 32GB version, at more cost.

 

My live test was Pokemon Go. I'm not seriously playing that any more, but I now use it as a benchmark for performance. It feels like it loads faster and is more responsive on the A1 than 5X. This might be due to the extra ram. I'm now able to swap to a different app e.g. Facebook, or use the camera, and go back to PoGo without it reloading from scratch. On the 5X, it seems like it doesn't have the ram so force closes whenever you switch to something else. Big win for the A1. In about an hours on and off usage, battery dropped a reported 25%. The 5X I'd rate as having a useful life of 2 hours on PoGo, so the A1 seems to be a winner here too.

 

Camera wise, I'll have to dig out samples later. Impressions of the A1 are, it does ok with the wide angle lens in good light, but the 2x optical zoom looks a bit mushy. Neither are a great performer in lower light. The 5X I think looks better in good light. I think the edge goes to the 5X here, but it'll take more testing.

 

The A1 still has a headphone socket for those that care. For media there is a single speaker on the bottom edge of the phone, which I'm not a big fan of, as it can be blocked if holding the phone in landscape orientation e.g. while gaming. The 5X speakers are on the screen plane so can't easily be blocked. Both make enough of a noise at enough quality for annoying people around you.

 

5X might win on charging speed, as it supports fast charge over USB C. Roughly it seems to do about 1% per minute at the higher end, dunno if it is much faster on the low end as I don't often get that low. I've not used the A1 enough yet to see how fast it is, but it doesn't support fast charging.

 

I think that's about it for now. Most apps, now that I've installed and configured them, behave much the same on both phones.

 

For a higher end budget phone, I think it strikes a good balance of features and performance for the money.

[SquintyG33Rs]

short version of the review is xiaomi is a iphone clone and MiUI is a big big part of that too. while nexus is vanilla android unaltered and functional.

 

do you like the apple way? get the mi A1

 

do you prefer the android way? get nexus

[porina]

Just now, SquintyG33Rs said:

short version of the review is xiaomi is a iphone clone and MiUI is a big big part of that too. while nexus is vanilla android unaltered and functional.

 

do you like the apple way? get the mi A1

 

do you prefer the android way? get nexus

Wrong. The Mi A1 doesn't have MIUI.

[SquintyG33Rs]

3 minutes ago, porina said:

Wrong. The Mi A1 doesn't have MIUI.

my friend has it.... it had it on his. unless it's a slightly different version they called differently

[porina]

2 minutes ago, SquintyG33Rs said:

my friend has it.... it had it on his. unless it's a slightly different version they called differently

The Mi A1 is part of Android One and ships with essentially stock Android. I believe you can flash it to MIUI but if you're going to do that, might as well buy one of the other Xiaomi phones that do include it. Also are you sure on the model? They have a whole bunch of them and they all can look pretty similar. The A1 is the only stock Android model.

[SquintyG33Rs]

3 hours ago, porina said:

The Mi A1 is part of Android One and ships with essentially stock Android. I believe you can flash it to MIUI but if you're going to do that, might as well buy one of the other Xiaomi phones that do include it. Also are you sure on the model? They have a whole bunch of them and they all can look pretty similar. The A1 is the only stock Android model.

like i said not my phone so not sure but they're awfully similar

[kokakolia]

15 hours ago, porina said:

The Mi A1 is part of Android One and ships with essentially stock Android. I believe you can flash it to MIUI but if you're going to do that, might as well buy one of the other Xiaomi phones that do include it. Also are you sure on the model? They have a whole bunch of them and they all can look pretty similar. The A1 is the only stock Android model.

That's not true. You want to get the Mi A1 anyways because it supports a wider ranger of North American bands that other Xiaomi phones can't

[porina]

19 minutes ago, kokakolia said:

That's not true. You want to get the Mi A1 anyways because it supports a wider ranger of North American bands that other Xiaomi phones can't

Which bit?

[kokakolia]

4 minutes ago, porina said:

Which bit?

Well for me, it's the B4 band (1700-2100MHz). Most Chinese phones don't have B4, but the A1 does. You absolutely need B4 if you're in Canada. 

 

Anyways, it's all listed in the specs on Gearbest. 

[porina]

Since over a month has passed, thought I'd check in again now I have more usage time. Impressions are this is a great phone at the price point. It feels more responsive, even if the CPU was more of a side-grade compared to the Nexus 5X, I think the increased ram might be the contributor. Just like desktops, things slow down if you don't have enough, and I think we're looking at beyond 2GB for good performance now.

 

The camera is the only other part I used much. In poor light it is worse than the Nexus 5X, but with care it still gives serviceable photos. I'll have to do a sample gallery later.