Xiaomi just introduced its crazy concept phone, the Mi Alpha, coming with a display that wraps all around to the back of the device, but of course, the company also keeps working on its bread and butter mid-range and entry-level phones. Thus, Xiaomi has just launched the Redmi 8A in India, pairing a USB-C 18W fast-charging 5,000mAh battery with a Snapdragon 439, which could allow for quite long browsing and video-watching sessions.

The phone comes in three colors: red, blue, and black. A single-camera module sporting a 12MP Sony sensor and a flash is sitting almost flush in the housing, further highlighted by a bar drawn from it to the bottom of the back in an accentuated hue. While the left side of the Redmi 8A only features a dual-SIM slot with additional space for a microSD card, the right side has the usual power and volume buttons. On the bottom, the USB-C port is joined by a headphone jack. The 6.22-inch 19:9 HD+ display on the front is interrupted by a teardrop notch with an 8MP front camera and has a bottom bezel large enough for a Redmi branding.

On the inside, a 12nm Snapdragon 439 with up to 2.0GHz is joined by either 2 or 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The 5,000mAh battery should last plenty with this configuration and charges fast at 18W. The device has an "AI face unlock" feature, but since there are no additional sensors joining the front camera, we can assume that it's pretty easy to fool. Sadly, a fingerprint reader is missing, so if you want to stay safe, you'll probably see yourself typing in a PIN code over and over.

SPECS

Display

15.8cm (6.22”) 19:9 HD+ Dot Notch display

Rear camera

12MP Sony IMX363 with 6P lens

Front camera

8MP with AI Portrait mode

Processor

Octa-core 2.0GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 439

SIM

Dual SIM

Battery

5000mAh, 18W charging

Security

AI Face unlock

Miscellaneous

FM radio, headphone jack, splash-resistant nano-coating

Measurements

156.48 × 75.41 × 9.4mm

Colors

Midnight Black, Sunset Red, Ocean Blue

RAM and Storage

2GB+32GB and 3GB+32GB variants, both with microSD slot (expandable up to 512GB)

Price

INR 6,500 (~$90) and INR 7,000 (~$100)

Additionally, nano-coating is supposed to help the device battle moisture and water, though it doesn't have an IP rating. People listening to FM radio might be happy to learn that they won't need to plug in headphones serving as the antenna to receive broadcast – the device has one built in.

The Redmi 8A will be available in two variants only differing in the amount of RAM: A 2GB version will be sold for INR 6,500 (~$90), while a 3GB variant will go for INR 7,000 (~$100). You can buy them on Xiaomi's website and Flipkart starting September 30, with availability expanding to other retailers later on. For now, India is the only country to officially get the phone.

Source: Xiaomi