A new Xiaomi phone with stock Android could debut alongside the Mi A2
More Xiaomi phones under the Android One program
Xiaomi is working on two new Android One smartphones. One of them could be the Mi A1 successor and the other one is still a mystery.
XDA Developers have discovered two new Xiaomi phones with their firmware files obtained by @funkyHuawei suggesting Android One availability on both phones. The first phone is said to be a successor to the Mi A1, which also shares a lot of elements with the recently launched Mi 6X.
The phone is codenamed “jasmine_sprout” where the word “sprout” signifies it’s part of the Android One program. Although XDA could not access the complete device firmware, they did get their hands on some of its files— build.prop, system applications, and permission files.
As per these files, the phone is from Xiaomi, but without MIUI and labeled as “sprout” to signify Android One. The Android OS framework, SystemUI and rest applications are stock Android, which is not the case with MIUI apps. Some of the files pointed towards support for seamless software updates, which is available only on the Mi A1 among all Xiaomi phones.
There’s no name specified except for the codename, but folks at XDA went on to dig out some more hardware details of the phone. A comment in the build.prop file lists ‘sdm660’, which makes it evident that the phone has a Snapdragon 660.
Not just the chipset, camera-related framework also hints at its similarities with the Mi 6X. The Shared EXIF model, and the front camera properties like the sensor model and resolution also matches the Mi 6X.
The fact that the Mi 5X was a re-branded Mi A1, and these clues are tidy enough to expect a Mi A2 based on the Mi 6X. But, we would still suggest you to take this information with a pinch of salt.
Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.
Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.
While the Mi A2 wasn’t hard to guess, the second Android One certified device looks like a new entrant in the league. To recall, the CEO, Lei Jun also made a statement about it last week.
Yes, we plan to have more Android One devices. Some of our users in India seem to like stock Android, and we are willing to bring in more devices with Android One including the Redmi series,” said Jun.
The second phone comes with slightly inferior hardware codenamed “daisy_sprout”. The firmware files of the phone reveal that the phone will feature a ‘msm8953’ chipset, popularly known as the Snapdragon 625. This could mean Xiaomi is working on an Android One phone that’s cheaper than the Mi A1. Media is relating it to the rumoured Redmi S2 that’s been making rounds in the news lately.
Sure, the Mi A1 was a successful device for Xiaomi, and it’s possible that they could extend their line-up to serve more stock Android enthusiasts in a country like India. Still, there’s a limited information about both the phones and it's too early to come to a conclusion, but we’ll be keeping a close check on more news about them.
Sudhanshu Singh have been working in tech journalism as a reporter, writer, editor, and reviewer for over 5 years. He has reviewed hundreds of products ranging across categories and have also written opinions, guides, feature articles, news, and analysis. Ditching the norm of armchair journalism in tech media, Sudhanshu dug deep into how emerging products and services affect actual users, and what marks they leave on our cultural landscape. His areas of expertise along with writing and editing include content strategy, daily operations, product and team management.