Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite vs Mi A2: What's Different Between the New Xiaomi Phones

At its global event in Spain on Tuesday, Xiaomi finally launched the anticipated Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite Android One smartphones. The Xiaomi Mi A2 and and its Lite variant have some considerable differences in design, pricing and the specification segments. The Lite model is considerably cheaper than the Mi A2, and sports a display notch, while the latter has bezels on top and bottom of the display. In fact, the Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite see differences in many specifications like the display size, processor, camera, battery, and more.

Broadly speaking, the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite is heavier than its bigger sibling, sports a notch display, and has a larger 4000mAh battery that promises up to two-days of battery life. On the flipside, the former sees a downgrade in camera, storage, and the processor department. Both smartphones will go on sale from August 10 in Spain via Mi.com, authorised Mi Stores, and channel partners such as Amazon.es and AliExpress. It will become available slightly earlier in France (July 27) and Italy (August 8). Both Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite will be available in Black, Blue, and Gold colour options. As per the company's announced availability for the two smartphones, the Mi A2 India launch is on August 8, while the Mi A2 Lite will not be released in the country.

We pit the Xiaomi Mi A2 against the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite to see all the departments in which the two smartphones differ, and to give you an idea of which one suits your needs better.

Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite vs Mi A2 price

Xiaomi has decided to price the Mi A2 at EUR 249 (roughly Rs. 20,100) for the 4GB RAM/ 32GB storage model, EUR 279 (roughly Rs. 22,500) for the 4GB RAM/ 64GB storage model, and EUR 349 (roughly Rs. 28,100) for the 6GB RAM/ 128GB storage model.

The Mi A2 Lite, on the other hand, is cheaper with prices starting at EUR 179 (roughly Rs. 14,400) for the 3GB RAM/ 32GB storage model, and EUR 229 (roughly Rs. 18,400) for the 4GB RAM/ 64GB storage model.

Xiaomi Mi A2 vs Mi A2 Lite design
The most visible difference is that the Mi A2 Lite sports a display notch, while the Mi A2 has considerable bezel on the top and bottom of the display. The antenna bands are visible on the rear end of the Lite variant, while the Mi A2 has the bands running around the edges. Both the smartphones sport a rear fingerprint sensor, and a vertical dual camera setup design aesthetic. The power and volume buttons are situated on the right edge of both the devices. The Mi A2 Lite sports a 3.5mm audio jack on the top edge.

Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite vs Mi A2 specifications

The dual-SIM (Nano) new Xiaomi Mi A2 has a 5.99-inch display with 18:9 aspect ratio and 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass for protection. It runs on pure Android 8.1 Oreo, and is powered by the octa-core Snapdragon 660 SoC (four 2.2GHz Kyro 260 cores + four 1.8GHz Kyro 260 cores) paired with Adreno 512 GPU, 4GB and 6GB LPDDR4x dual channel RAM options, and 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB internal storage options.

The Mi A2 "AI Selfie Camera" has a 20-megapixel Sony IMX376 sensor with f/1.75 aperture, fixed focal length, and soft-LED flash. On the back is a "AI Dual Camera" setup with 12-megapixel primary Sony IMX486 sensor with f/1.75 aperture and 1.25-micron pixels, and a 20-megapixel secondary Sony IMX376 sensor with the same aperture but 2-micron 4-in-1 Super Pixel size. The rear camera setup is accompanied by phase-detection autofocus and dual-tone LED flash.

On both the back and front, there is AI Scene Recognition for better colours in the photos, as well as AI Portrait Mode on both front and rear cameras. Other AI-based features in the phone include AI Background Bokeh, and AI Smart Beauty 4.0. The handset also supports Face Unlock functionality, along with the fingerprint sensor on the back.

Battery capacity of the handset is 3010mAh, with support for QuickCharge 3.0 that allows it to go from nil to 50 percent in 30 minutes. Connectivity options on the Mi A2 are 4G LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, Miracast, Bluetooth 5.0, IR emitter, USB Type-C port. Sensors on board include accelerometer, ambient light sensor, gyroscope, proximity sensor. The smartphone measures 158.7x75.4x7.3mm in thickness and weighs 168 grams.

The dual-SIM (Nano) Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite, in comparison, sports a 5.84-inch full-HD+ (1080x2280 pixels) display with 493pppi pixel density, a 19:9 aspect ratio and a notch. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC, paired with Adreno 506 GPU, 3GB or 4GB of RAM option. It features only 32GB or 64GB of onboard storage that is expandable via a dedicated microSD card (up to 256GB).

In terms of optics, the smartphone bears a dual rear camera setup with a 12-megapixel primary sensor (1.25-micron pixels), complete with PDAF, and a 5-megapixel secondary camera with f/2.2 aperture. At the front, the Mi A2 Lite sports only a 5-megapixel sensor with f/2.0 aperture. The company is also touting AI Portrait Mode for both front and rear cameras, as well as AI Scene Recognition features. It is powered by a large 4000mAh battery that claims to offer two-days of battery life. Connectivity options such as 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS/ A-GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack, and Micro-USB. It bears a rear fingerprint sensor, and other on board sensors include accelerometer, ambient light sensor, digital compass, gyroscope, infrared, and proximity sensor. The handset is thicker than the Mi A2 with dimensions at 149.33x71.68x8.75mm, and is also heavier at 178 grams.