Xiaomi Mi A3 May Be in Development, MIUI 10 Code Hints

Xiaomi might be working on a successor to the Mi A2, a new report indicates. The Xiaomi Mi A2 is the company's second smartphone under the Android One programme. The Mi A1 was the first product from Xiaomi under this programme which offered powerful hardware along with stock Android. Xiaomi launched the Mi A2 and the Mi A2 Lite internationally but only the Mi A2 made it to our shores. It was quite popular at the time of launch since it was the only smartphone that offered a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC at an aggressive price.

Xiaomi's A series might be getting a new addition soon. XDA member franztesca (known for his work on the XiaoMiTool) has spotted a new device code-named “orchid_sprout” while digging through the latest MIUI 10 firmware on the Xiaomi Mi 8. XDA Developers also confirmed the existence of this device-name by looking into the latest MIUI 10 build for the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3.

The code-name “orchid_sprout” does not reveal much about the upcoming device, but it can be confirmed that the device will be a part of Xiaomi's A series as well as Google's Android One programme. The “_sprout” code-name is present on almost all devices that are a part of the Android One programme. Older Xiaomi devices like the Mi A1, Mi A2 and the Mi A2 Lite have “tissot_sprout”,”jasmine_sprout” and “daisy_sprout” code-names respectively. The Xiaomi Mi A2 and the Mi A2 Lite were also leaked in a similar fashion where the code-names were found in firmware files.

There is no information about the display size, if it will sport a notch or not, the processor and RAM combination or the battery capacity. The upcoming device is expected to support NFC since the firmware files mention a new NFC chip from NXP. If “orchid_sprout” turns out to be the upcoming Xiaomi Mi A3, then it'll be the first smartphone in this series to sport NFC.

Xiaomi could also launch a rebranded variant of this Mi A3 called the Xiaomi Mi 7X since the company has done it in the past with the Mi A2 and the Mi 6X, as well as the Mi A1 and the Mi 5X. We will need to wait for some more time to see what Xiaomi has in store for 2019.