“With attractive pricing, two-year warranty, a respectable set of specs and splash-proof build, the Redmi 7A is a solid offering in the entry-level. We go hands on”

Xiaomi has been on a roll in 2019, and it doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. While we’re awaiting the launch of the high-end Redmi K20 and K20 Pro smartphones, the brand has introduced the Redmi 7A in India today. The successor to the Redmi 6A (review) takes the best parts from the handset and adds some major upgrades. And with a starting price tag of Rs 5,799 (Rs 200 discount for those who buy the phone in July), the phone has been priced quite attractively too. We recently got it in our premises and decided to take it through our unboxing and hands-on treatment.

The Redmi 7A comes packed in a standard retail package. You’ll find the phone’s visual on top of the box and as soon as you open it, the handset will greet you. Below that, you’ll find some documentation and a SIM-ejection tool. Lastly, there’s a wall adapter and a micro-USB cable.

Xiaomi’s Redmi 7A is among the most compact smartphones that you can get in the market right now. That’s because it features a 5.45-inch screen which ensures that you could use it with a single hand with ease. What’s strange though is that the brand hasn’t opted for the notch trend, and hence you’ll find thick bezels above and below the screen. As far as the display quality is concerned, the HD+ resolution offers good sharpness and colour reproduction. I didn’t face any issues with brightness levels or viewing angles either.

In terms of the build quality, the Redmi 7A isn’t much different from its predecessor. The device features unibody construction, and even though it’s made out of polycarbonate, the metal finish makes it quite solid to hold. The device certainly weighs on the higher side, but that also works in its favour as it evokes more confidence about its robustness. The phone is also durable as it comes with a splash-proof coating. While I’m particularly biased towards the blue colourway that I received, the 7A can also be purchased in black and gold hues.

The brand has been teasing the camera capabilities of its latest offering, and not without good reason. The smartphone comes with Sony’s IMX486 sensor. The 12-megapixel camera has an aperture of f/1.7 and phase detection autofocus tech to lock the focus on the subject quickly. For selfies, the device makes use of a 5MP shooter. The camera app is quite minimal, though the inclusion of the Pro mode is welcome. Xiaomi is also promising that it’ll be rolling out AI-based scene detection capabilities to the 7A

For the very first time, the Redmi A series phone sport an octa-core processor in the form of the Snapdragon 439 chip. The SoC offers eight Cortex-A53 running at 2GHz, which should deliver smooth usage in day-to-day tasks as well as casual games. What’s quite interesting is that Xiaomi is only offering the Redmi 7A in one RAM variant of 2GB. In terms of storage however, the handset is available with 16GB or 32GB built-in memory, which is expandable further up to 256GB with the use of a microSD card. You wouldn’t need to compromise on the dual-SIM functionality either as the device comes with three slots.

On the software side of things, the Redmi 7A ships with the latest Android 9.0 Pie, which is layered with MIUI 10. The custom skin comes with quite a few useful features such as all-in-one Security app, and theme store, among other things. But the phone also comes with a lot of bloatware, including Facebook, Dailyhunt, Paytm and more, although they can be uninstalled. 

Powering the show on the Redmi 7A is a capacious 4,000mAh battery, which should last a day of use comfortably as the phone will also benefit from Snapdragon 439’s power-efficient 12nm fabrication process. While connectivity options are usual, what’s worth pointing out is that the phone offers Wireless FM Radio, letting one enjoy radio stations without the need of plugging an earphone.

The Redmi 7A will be going on sale from July 11th on Amazon.in and Mi.com. The base variant is priced at Rs 5,999, but what’s more interesting is that you could get double the storage (32GB) by just shelling out Rs 200 more. Making the deal sweeter is the fact that the company is offering a two-year warranty on the handset. Furthermore, Xiaomi has placed the 7A quite strategically between the Redmi Go (review) and Redmi 7 (review), while maintaining a fine line of difference between them. In terms of the competition, Xiaomi’s newest device goes directly against the Realme C2 (review), wherein the latter does bring dual rear cameras and a modern dewdrop notch-toting display. If you are wondering whether the Redmi 7A is a better buy or not, then stay tuned for our review.

Photos by Raj Rout