Xiaomi Mi A3 Review

Design, build and controls

Xiaomi Mi A3 looks like a smaller and a downgraded version of the Mi 9. The body is a mix of Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for the front (2.5D curved) and back (3D four-side-curved) with a glossy curved plastic frame that's coloured in the body colour. The latter has three versions - Kind of Gray, Not just Blue, and More than White - an evident nod to Google's naming of the Pixel colours. We are reviewing a Kind of Grey version. Depending on how it reflects light, the device may seem either black or grey. The display glass has anti-fingerprint coating but as usual, it does not help much as all glass/plastic smartphones seem prone to attracting fingerprints and smudges. Of course, glass is much easier to clean and polish. Xiaomi Mi A3 is quite compact but very slippery and for sure you must use a case for protection and comfortable grip. Speaking of a compact form factor, the Mi A3 is the narrowest and shortest smartphone among those with a 6-6.1 inch display. The handset is 71.85 mm wide and 153.48 mm tall. Measuring 8.475 mm in depth, it is also one of the thinnest handsets with such a display and a 4000 mAh battery. The weight of 173.8 g is typical for such a device. The front of the device is mostly taken up by the display as it takes up 82.7% of the total front surface of the handset. The bezels from all four sides are thick. The top of the display has a waterdrop notch in its centre for the front-facing camera. The earpiece is an elongated unit tucked between the display and the frame. The standard light and proximity sensors are to its left followed by e LED notification light. There's a 7th generation under-display fingerprint sensor as well as a LED notification light. The navigation is on-screen only. The four-sided curved glass back panel houses a triple camera module in the top left corner. There's a LED flash and a "48MP AI camera" inscription below it as well as the Xiaomi logo. The camera module is quite pronounced. Further certification data is placed at the bottom right area of the back. The top frame is where the 3.5 mm jack, IR blaster and microphone are placed. The bottom frame houses a USB Type-C port, single speaker and a microphone. The hybrid, dual-SIM tray is positioned on the left frame, while the Volume and Power buttons are placed on the right frame. Both provide an excellent tactile experience.