Bringing more feature-packed hardware in a tight-budget smartphone is the speciality of Chinese mobile vendor Xiaomi. True to its word, the company has launched its entry-level smartphone, Redmi 5A in India.
On a quick glance, the ‘Make in India’ Redmi 5A features bigger battery, larger display, 13-megapixel fast-focusing camera, dedicated micro-SD card slot, Snapdragon SoC and 4G VoLTE support.
The Redmi 5A will retail at a price tag of Rs 5,999 for the 2GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage variant. Whereas, there is another higher memory variant with 3GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage which will retail for Rs 6,999. The mobile will be available exclusively via Flipkart, Mi online store and Mi Home stores starting 7th December 2017. Eventually, it will be available at offline retail stores across India.
For a limited time, Xiaomi is offering a flat Rs 1000 discount on its base variant of Redmi 5A. This means the first 5 million users can purchase the smartphone at an effective discounted price of Rs 4,999.
Design and Performance
Redmi 5A is a smartphone designed especially for the Indian market. It features a metal-like sheen and incredibly lightweight. For colour choices, you get to choose from Gold, Dark Grey and Rose Gold options. The mobile flaunts a large 5-inch HD 1280 x 720 display with Night display and Reading mode support.
Under the hood, the Redmi 5A is powered by a 1.4GHz Snapdragon 425 quad-core processor paired with either 2GB or 3GB of RAM and Adreno 308 500MHz GPU. For storage, you get to choose from 16GB or 32GB of internal storage variant. There is also a dedicated card slot for further expanding the storage up to 128 GB. The device runs on Android Nougat OS with the latest MIUI 9 skin over the top.
Photography and Connectivity
There has been a major upgrade on the camera modules for Redmi 5A when compared to the out-going Redmi 4A. The mobile is equipped with a 13-megapixel camera at the back. It features f/2.2 aperture, PDAF, HDR and offers real-time filters. For selfie addicts, the mobile boasts a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with f/2.0 large aperture and 36 smart beauty profiles.
Coming to connectivity, the Redmi 5A has a 2+1 hybrid SIM tray. These means you get the option to add two Nano SIM and one microSD card. However, when using two SIM cards, one will support 4G while the other will only support 3G/2G network. The device supports 4G LTE that will work with every Indian telco 4G band in India. You also get 4G VoLTE support for making HD voice and video calls. Other connectivity options include 3G and 2G network support, Wi-Fi 801.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.1.
An extra feature you could find in the Redmi 5A is the support for IR Blaster. This allows you to control your appliances like Television, AC and others. Finally, the device comes with a 3000mAh battery that can easily last for two-days of usage.