From the budget king of smartphones, MI the sub-brand of Xiaomi has blessed us with another feature-packed entry-level smartphone of 2019, the Redmi 7A which is the successor of 2018’s Redmi 6A. This budget smartphone seems too good to be true. Let us find out why on this Redmi 7A review section.
Redmi 7A Review
Key Specifications
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 439
- 5.45-inch 18:9 HD+ screen
- 12-megapixel main camera
- 5-megapixel front camera
- FM radio w/o headphones
- 2GB RAM
- 32GB storage
- 4000mAh battery
Overview
Before you start getting bored, let me start with this phone’s most selling point. How on earth did Mi manage to ship a massive 4000 mAh battery in a phone of this price range? What’s more exhilarating is that the phone supports 10W fast charging but no worries, we get a 5W charger in the box just like in the brand-new iPhone 11. The company claims a long 17 days standby on the device. Even with our mixed usage, we got around 2 days on a single charge and that’s impressive considering the phone has an HD+ 720p IPS LCD display. It takes just over 2 hours to get fully charged. Even though the phone has various modes like sunlight, night and reading mode along with good viewing angles, sometimes the screen gets overexposed due to the front screen reflecting various light sources.
The phone has a round edge with a splash-proof plastic finish on the back and the camera placement and everything is also minimalist. The screen bezels are quite thin on either side but thicker on the top and bottom. Despite being a budget smartphone, it seems to have been built with good quality materials. So, no cost-cutting there. The cost has actually been cut in the absence of a fingerprint sensor. Instead, we get facial unlock that is fast and responsive but I would not depend on it too much for security unlike in the flagship phones.
The phone has volume controls and power button on the right, Dual SIM Slot along with up to 256GB of micro-SD support on the left. Sadly, on the bottom, we have Micro-USB port instead of Type-C which is a bummer. The microphone and a single downward-firing speaker are on the left and right of the USB port. On the top, we also have a headphone jack which is innovative, right? Don’t forget the Wireless FM radio which becomes pretty useful sometimes, especially in Nepal.
Also Read: Mi Nepal Dashain 2076 Offers
Performance
The processor here isn’t something to get excited about. It has the Snapdragon 439 Octa-Core Processor with Adreno 505 GPU. What’s exciting or even shocking is being able to run PUBG mobile smoothly with only 2GB of RAM. The 2GB RAM variant is coupled with 32GB of storage among which about 8-10 GB is occupied by the system apps including some useless ones and bloatware as well due to not so good optimization of the same MIUI 10 found in flagship smartphones of Xiaomi. The OS issue aside, we get to experience Dark Mode just like in iOS 13 which is a bonus, isn’t it?
Camera
We also get to see a 12MP AI Sony IMX486 Sensor and single-tone flash on this budget phone’s rear side. It takes very good pictures in good lighting conditions considering a phone of this price range. In low light, the photos aren’t presentable. It also supports video up to 1080p at 30fps along with HDR, Time-lapse, Burst mode and Pro Mode with ISO and Shutter Speed Control. The front camera is 5MP with AI beautification and AI Background Blur along with the same video resolution as the rear camera.
Camera Samples
Price and Availability
According to the Dashain Offer provided by Mi Nepal, the price of Redmi 7A is Rs. 10999. The color options are Black and Blue and the only variant is 2GB+32GB variant.
Verdict:
The direct competitor to this phone would be the Honor 8S, 8A and Realme C2 but considering its price and that massive battery life, personally, I think this phone wins the entry-level segment in Nepal until now.
