Xiaomi Mi A1 Android Oreo 8.1 Beta Started Rolling Out with June Security Patch; Stable Update Expected Soon

The much-awaited stable Android 8.1 Oreo update for the Mi A1 could finally start rolling out very soon. Xiaomi has reportedly started pushing the 8.1 Oreo beta firmware to users who had signed up for beta testing.

Babu Mohan

Published On: Jun 15, 2018 | Last Updated: Jun 17, 2018

Launched in India in September last year, the Xiaomi Mi A1 is the manufacturer’s first Android One smartphone. While Xiaomi had promised swift OS upgrades and regular security patches for the Mi A1, the company hasn’t quite managed to keep up its promise recently. Xiaomi began rolling out the Android 8.0 Oreo update for the budget Android smartphone in January this year but is yet to release the Android 8.1 Oreo update for the smartphone. However, according to a report from FoneArena, Xiaomi has started rolling out the Oreo 8.1 update to closed Beta users and is expected to begin the stable rollout soon.

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Mi A1: Android 8.1 Oreo Beta Rolling Out With June Security Patch

The Android 8.1 Oreo update is now being rolled out to only to beta testers, so if you haven’t signed up to be a beta tester, you may have to wait a few more weeks for the update to arrive on your device. In addition to bumping the Android version to 8.1, the update includes the June Android security patch as well. Unfortunately, Xiaomi hasn’t added treble support to the Mi A1, which is extremely disappointing given the fact that it is an Android One smartphone.

Mi A1: Price in India

The Xiaomi Mi A1 is priced at Rs.13,999 in India and comes in a single memory configuration with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage. In terms of color options, the handset is available in Black, Gold, Red, and Rose Gold colors. While Xiaomi hasn’t issued an official statement yet, the Mi A1 appears to have been discontinued in the Indian market. It is expected to be replaced by the Mi A2 very soon, which is going to be based on the Mi 6X.

Mi A1: Specifications, Features

The Mi A1 sports a full-metal body with a fingerprint-resistant coating and discrete separation lines. It comes with a 5.5-inch IPS display with 1080 x 1920 Full HD resolution and a pixel density of 403 pixels per inch. It is powered by Qualcomm’s popular Snapdragon 625 octa-core processor clocked at 2.0 GHz with an Adreno 506 GPU. In the memory department, Xiaomi’s Mi A1 is equipped with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. For further expansion, the smartphone comes with a microSD card slot as well.

Apart from being an Android One smartphone, the other major highlight of the Mi A1 is its dual-camera setup. The smartphone features dual 12MP sensors at the rear, enabling 2x optical zoom. While the primary 12MP sensor is coupled with an f/2.2 aperture, the secondary 12MP sensor is paired with an f/2.6 aperture. While many newer Xiaomi smartphones also feature a dual-camera setup on the back, the Mi A1 does have one advantage over them – support for 4K video recording. On the front of the handset is a 5MP resolution snapper with 1.12um pixel size and an f/2.0 aperture. To enhance your selfies, the Mi A1 comes with the Beautify feature with 36 smart beauty profiles.

Connectivity features include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac dual-band, Bluetooth 4.2 Low Energy, GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, 4G VoLTE, USB Type-C port, and an IR blaster. Fueling the internals of the Xiaomi Mi A1 is a 3080mAh capacity non-removable battery with 5V/2A fast charging support. The smartphone also includes a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and comes with a 10V smart power amplifier paired with Dirac HD sound algorithm to provide a powerful audio output both from the speaker as well as the 3.5mm headphone jack. Xiaomi says the independent audio amplifier allows the Mi A1 to support high-impedance headphones up to 600Ω. When it comes to physical size, the smartphone measures 155.4 x 75.8 x 7.3mm and weighs in at 165 grams.