The Xiaomi Mi A1 is expected to debut in early September and will be a collaborative effort between the Chinese smartphone manufacturer and Google.
You may or may not have heard about Xiaomi and Google’s little partnership, which is expected to culminate in a new device specifically for the Chinese market. It’s a smart move for Google, especially since the market has remained largely untapped by the search giant. The company is expected to launch a device which will slot into the ‘One’ series, Google’s cost effective lineup for emerging markets. While we don’t know much about it so far, a few details have popped up on Chinese social media website Weibo which detail a little more about what to expect.
A keen eyed user spotted a listing for a new handset on the Xiaomi website dubbed Mi A1, which will run on pure Android. This is a big departure from previous Xiaomi devices as they have always used the MIUI. Hardware is expected to be very mid-range, with a Snapdragon 625 processor. The screen is of particular interest, as it’s rumoured to be a bezel-less display similar to the Samsung Galaxy S8. Screen resolution will be a lot less at full-HD, however it’s impressive to see such a high-end feature trickling down to cheaper handsets. A reportedly leaked image of the device has already done the rounds on Weibo and guess what, it looks suspiciously identical to the Samsung Galaxy S8. Whether or not this is a legitimate image remains to be seen.
The Xiaomi Mi A1 is expected to debut sometime in early September but with zero confirmation from both parties, it’s difficult to see that happening currently.
