Redmi 8A review: Going top class on a budget

For the past several years, Redmi A series has been besting selling phones for Xiaomi and has helped the company maintain a healthy lead over the rivals in terms of market share.

Now, the company has come up with the new Redmi 8A and it boasts truckload of upgrades over the popular Redmi 7A and costs under Rs 7,000.

We got the opportunity to try out the Xiaomi’s new budget mobile and here are our thoughts about it.

Design, display and build quality:

Though Redmi 8A is one of the cheapest smartphones in the market, Xiaomi looks really good. The ergonomic Aura Wave design is not only visually appealing but also the shell’s texture, which resembles a finger’s friction ridges, offer a solid grip. Thanks to the colour choice, there is less chance of sweaty fingerprint smudges. 

The material used on the rear-side offers good solid and premium hand-feel. It can survive accidental falls from small heights. The Redmi 8A boasts P2i nano-coating, which protects the device from water splashes or rain.

On the front, it sports a 6.1-inch HD+ dot-notch display with a 19:9 aspect ratio. I did not face any trouble watching multimedia content, browsing the web and never had to squint my eyes to read messages on the screen.

Performance:

Xiaomi Redmi 8A houses a 2.0GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 octa-core chipset backed by Android Pie-based MIUI 10 OS, 2GB/3GB RAM and 32GB storage, which can be expanded up to 512GB via microSD card.

The device fares well in terms of performing day-to-day tasks such as calling, messaging, web browsing, viewing videos on the web, switch between multiple apps and so on. You can play generic games such as Candy Crush, Temple Run and Angry Birds, but it is unlikely to show the same robustness when playing graphics-rich games such as PUBG or Asphalt gaming titles.

Recently, Redmi 8A received the latest MIUI 11 software update with the latest November Google security patch. It makes the phone perform fast and brings lots of new theme packs in terms of wallpapers, ringtones and more.

Though, the MIUI is one of the best third-party Android UI for mobiles in the industry, the annoying ads from the pre-loaded company’s proprietary apps are a bit jarring

Camera:

Xiaomi Redmi 8A sports a 12MP primary sensor with Sony IMX363 sensor, f/1.8 aperture and LED flash on the back. It takes really good pictures under natural light conditions. The images taken in portrait mode and HDR are top class. Even in the night, the camera captures really rich details of the subject.

On the front, the Redmi 8A comes with an 8MP camera.  It also boasts Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based Portrait mode, beautifies app and other selfie-centric filters. 

During the tests, it took pretty decent selfies and the pictures with the Bokeh effect are really good compared to the rivals in the sub Rs 8,000 categories.

Battery:

Xiaomi’s Redmi 8A comes with a massive 5,000mAh battery and supports Type C-based 10W charger. No other rival offers these latest USB ports in its class.

As far as battery life concerned, Xiaomi Redmi 8A can easily last a full day with extreme usage including binge-watching videos, browse social media apps for hours, extended gameplay, take photos and videos. If used more conservatively, the phone can serve you for two days.

Final thoughts:

Given the cost constraints, most of the OEMs cut corners to assemble a budget phone. But, Xiaomi has for long bucked the trend and its stupendous success in India is proof for everyone to see. 

Now, with the Redmi 8A, Xiaomi has once again set a new benchmark in the sub Rs 7,000 category. It boasts Type C USB port, 5,000mAh battery, sturdy build quality, top-notch primary camera (with IMX363 sensor, f/1.8 aperture), nano-coating for water splash resistant and can be bought at affordable price.

If you are in the market looking for a cost-effective budget phone, go for the Redmi 8A.