Xiaomi Redmi A3 Review

The Xiaomi Redmi A3 is a budget smartphone that was released in February 2024. It is part of the Android One program, which means it runs on a stock version of Android 14 with guaranteed updates for at least two years. The Redmi A3 aims to offer a decent performance, a large battery, and a dual camera setup for a low price.

However, the Redmi A3 also has some drawbacks, such as a low-resolution display, a mediocre processor, and a plastic build. In this review, we will examine the pros and cons of the Redmi A3 and see how it compares to other similar devices in the market.

The Xiaomi Redmi A3 has a simple and minimalist design, with a glass front and a plastic back. The back panel comes in three colors: Midnight Black, Olive Green, and Lake Blue. The back also has a dual camera module and a LED flash. The phone has a waterdrop notch on the front, which houses the selfie camera.

The phone measures 168.3 x 76.3 x 8.3 mm and weighs 199 g, which makes it fairly large and heavy. The phone has a USB Type-C port, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and a speaker grille at the bottom. The phone also has an infrared port on the top, which can be used to control compatible devices. The phone has a dedicated microSD card slot, which can expand the storage up to 1 TB.

The phone has a flat frame, which is made of plastic and has a matte finish. The frame has a power button and a volume rocker on the right side, and a SIM tray on the left side. The power button also doubles as a fingerprint scanner, which is fast and accurate. The volume rocker is easy to reach and has a good tactile feedback. The SIM tray can accommodate two nano-SIM cards and a microSD card.

The phone has a glass front, which is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The front has a waterdrop notch, which is small and unobtrusive. The notch has a 5 MP selfie camera, a proximity sensor, and an earpiece. The front also has thin bezels on the sides and the top, and a slightly thicker chin at the bottom. The phone does not have a notification LED, but it supports always-on display.

The phone has a plastic back, which has two variants: a glass-like one and a leather-like one. The glass-like one has a glossy and smooth surface, which reflects light and creates a gradient effect. The leather-like one has a textured and soft surface, which feels comfortable and prevents fingerprints. The back has a circular camera module, which is slightly raised and has a metal ring around it. The camera module has an 8 MP main camera and a 0.08 MP auxiliary lens. The back also has a Redmi logo at the bottom.

The Xiaomi Redmi A3 has a 6.71-inch IPS LCD display, with a resolution of 720 x 1650 pixels and a pixel density of 268 ppi. The display has a 20:9 aspect ratio and a 90 Hz refresh rate, which makes it smooth and responsive. The display also has Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, which can prevent scratches and cracks.

However, the display is also one of the weakest points of the Redmi A3, as it has a low resolution and a low brightness. The display looks dull and pixelated, especially when compared to other phones with higher resolutions and OLED panels. The display also has poor viewing angles and contrast, which makes it hard to see in bright sunlight or dark environments.

The Xiaomi Redmi A3 has a dual camera setup on the back, which consists of an 8 MP main camera and a 0.08 MP auxiliary lens. The main camera has an f/2.0 aperture, phase detection autofocus, and HDR. The auxiliary lens is used for enhancing the image quality and providing additional features. The phone also has a LED flash, which can improve the low-light performance.

The camera performance of the Xiaomi Redmi A3 is average, as it can take decent photos in good lighting conditions, but struggles in low light or challenging scenarios. The photos lack detail, sharpness, and dynamic range, and often have noise, blur, and distortion. The colors are also muted and inaccurate, and the white balance is inconsistent.

The Xiaomi Redmi A3 can record videos up to 1080p at 30 fps, but the quality is not impressive. The videos are shaky, noisy, and lack stabilization. The audio is also poor, as it picks up a lot of background noise and has low volume.

The Xiaomi Redmi A3 has a 5 MP selfie camera on the front, with an f/2.2 aperture and a fixed focus. The selfie camera can take acceptable selfies in daylight, but suffers from the same issues as the rear camera in low light or indoors. The selfies are soft, grainy, and washed out, and the skin tones are unnatural.

The Xiaomi Redmi A3 is powered by the MediaTek Helio G36 chipset, which is a 12 nm octa-core processor with four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 2.2 GHz and four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.6 GHz. The phone also has a PowerVR GE8320 GPU, which can handle casual gaming and graphics-intensive tasks.

The phone comes in three variants: 64 GB of storage and 3 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage and 4 GB of RAM, or 128 GB of storage and 6 GB of RAM. The storage is of the eMMC 5.1 type, which is slower than the UFS type. The RAM is of the LPDDR4X type, which is faster than the LPDDR3 type.

The hardware performance of the Xiaomi Redmi A3 is decent, as it can run most apps and games smoothly and without lag. However, the phone is not suitable for heavy multitasking or high-end gaming, as it can experience slowdowns, stutters, and crashes. The phone also tends to heat up and drain the battery quickly when under stress.

The Xiaomi Redmi A3 runs on Android 14 (Go edition), which is a stripped-down version of Android designed for low-end devices. The phone is part of the Android One program, which means it has a stock Android interface, without any bloatware or customizations. The phone also has guaranteed security and software updates for at least two years.

The software experience of the Xiaomi Redmi A3 is smooth and clean, as it has a simple and intuitive user interface, with minimal apps and features. The phone also has some useful features, such as Dark Mode, Digital Wellbeing, Google Assistant, and Google Lens. However, the phone also has some limitations, such as fewer app options, lower app quality, and less functionality.

The Xiaomi Redmi A3 has a mediocre performance, as it can handle basic tasks and functions, but struggles with more demanding ones. The phone has a low benchmark score, as it scored 155,360 on AnTuTu, 232 on Geekbench 6 single-core, and 845 on Geekbench 6 multi-core. These scores are lower than most of its competitors, such as the Xiaomi Redmi 12, the Samsung Galaxy A05s, and the Xiaomi Poco C65.

The phone also has a poor gaming performance, as it can only run low-end games smoothly, but not high-end games. The phone has a low frame rate, a low graphics quality, and a high temperature when playing games. The phone also has a low speaker quality, a low microphone quality, and a low network quality when playing games.

The Xiaomi Redmi A3 has a large battery, as it has a 5000 mAh capacity, which can last for a long time. The phone has a decent battery life, as it can last for about 10 hours of screen-on time, or about two days of moderate usage. The phone also has a low power consumption, as it has a low-resolution display, a low-end processor, and a power-efficient operating system.

However, the phone also has a slow charging speed, as it only supports 10W wired charging, which can take about 2 hours and 40 minutes to fully charge the phone. The phone does not support wireless charging or reverse charging, which are common features in other phones.

The Xiaomi Redmi A3 is a budget smartphone that offers a decent performance, a large battery, and a dual camera setup for a low price. However, the phone also has some drawbacks, such as a low-resolution display, a mediocre processor, and a plastic build. The phone is suitable for users who want a simple and reliable device, but not for users who want a high-quality and powerful device.

Pros

• - Large battery with decent battery life
• - Dual camera setup with HDR and flash
• - Stock Android interface with Android One program
• - Fingerprint scanner embedded in the power button
• - Dedicated microSD card slot and infrared port

Cons

• - Low-resolution display with low brightness and contrast
• - Mediocre processor with low benchmark score and gaming performance
• - Plastic build with glass-like or leather-like variants
• - Slow charging speed with no wireless or reverse charging
• - Average camera performance with low detail, sharpness, and dynamic range

The Xiaomi Redmi A3 gets a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on the following criteria:

• Design: 3/5
• Display: 2/5
• Camera: 3/5
• Hardware: 3/5
• Software: 4/5
• Performance: 3/5
• Battery: 4/5