Here's everything that you need to know from this week in one place. One of the highlights was the global launch[1] of the Xiaomi Mi A1[2] at an event in New Delhi. The phone is the result of a joint effort between Xiaomi[3] and Google[4], and the result is a pretty impressive[5] phone with specs similar to the Xiaomi Mi 5X[6], but near-stock Android[7] on the software front, coupled with a few Xiaomi touches such as the Mi Camera, Mi Remote, and Mi Store apps.
As we noted in our review[8] of the Xiaomi Mi A1, the software implementation is really good, and the phone's dual camera approach works well. It's also a good-looking phone, but the battery life is a little disappointing. The Xiaomi Mi A1 comes with a 3080mAh battery that lasted for roughly 15 hours with heavy use; and what's more, on our HD video loop test the phone only lasted for 10 hours and 18 minutes, which is decidedly average.
Android One Is Anything But Dead, Google Reaffirms With Xiaomi Mi A1[9]
The phone is a part of the Android One[10] initiative which Google launched three years ago, but unlike the phones which were launched under that project, this is a fairly powerful phone that will be sold in dozens of countries. "Until now Android One smartphones were only available in lower range of specs. Today we want to confirm and reinforce that Android One is no longer just about low-end smartphones," Jon Gold, global director of Android programs said at the launch of the Xiaomi Mi A1.
The...