Xiaomi, the Chinese electronics company is now officially available in Nepal. Xiaomi is the fourth-largest smartphone vendor in the world. They also have other range of smart devices (IoT) and wearables (like watches, fitness bands e.t.c.) having a strong market presence. Along with the official entry, Xiaomi (Mi) also announced the launch of 4 new smartphones at a very affordable rate. Redmi 6, Redmi 6A, Mi A2, Mi A2 Lite phones are announced amidst a program in Soaltee Hotel. Find the specs, price, and availability of these Mi and Redmi phones in Nepal below.
Previously, Xiaomi devices were also available in Nepal. But they used to come from China and Xiaomi HQ officially didn’t have any control over the products to launch and the price. Now, Xiaomi will itself launch the different products in Nepal along with their pricing. This time all the Xiaomi products are brought from India, with Xiaomi India taking over for all launch and promotion.
Xiaomi has also launched Mi official website for Nepal at mi.com/np. The new website will now showcase all the new smartphones from now on.
As the Nepali smartphone market has witnessed tremendous growth over the year, they look forward to extending their share to the local phone market here. Sanket Agarwal, head of overseas business Xiaomi India also said that they hope to build a beautiful story of Xiaomi in the market, with the love of millions of Mi Fans in Nepal. Lets drill down more on the first 4 devices launched.
Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite
Among the 4 Devices launched, two are Mi A2 and Mi A2 both being Android one devices. That means they provide pure Android experience and a fast update to the newer OS version. Mi A2 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor with an AI engine and runs on Android 8.1 Oreo (Android one) OS. It has a 5.99-inch 18:9 FHD LCD screen, protected by Gorilla Glass 5.
Talking about Camera, the dual rear camera on the phone (20 MP + 12 MP, f/1.75) takes impressive photos, even in low light conditions. The portraits mode in Mi A2 allows taking beautiful bokeh effects. One of the exciting features in Mi A2 is that it can select one of the two rear lenses in the manual mode. The 20 MP front camera also features Super Pixel technology. Which works with 2.0 micro pixels to create better picture quality in low light conditions. Other features in the camera area AI portrait, AI beautify 4.0, and HDR.
Similarly, Mi A2 Lite is powered by Snapdragon 625 processor with an impressive 4000 mAH battery, that lasts for 2 days. It has a 5.84-inch FHD+ full screen (with notch) display, housed in a relatively compact body, making it comfortable for one-hand use.
Mi A2 lite sports a dual 12MP + 5 MP rear camera, with 12 MP primary sensor featuring large 1.25 micro m pixels and PDAG for fast and accurate autofocus. The front camera is of 5 MP which supports AI portrait mode, taking photos with bokeh without a dual camera.
Know more of the specs about Mi A2 and Mi A2 lite here.
Redmi 6 and Redmi 6A
Mi also launched two of the latest affordable Redmi phones in Nepal. Redmi 6, the successor to Redmi 5, sports the latest Helio P22 octa-core SOC, having an ultra-efficient 12nm processor. It consumes 48 % lesser power than comparable 28 nm chipsets. Redmi 6 has a 5.45 inch 18:9 Full-screen display with an HD+ resolution. The polycarbonate back panel looks like a brushed metal surface, and the arc design tapered in the edge provides comfy for a hand.
Redmi 6 has a dual 12 MP + 5 Mp AI rear camera, with the main sensor of 1.25 micro m large pixel, PDAF, and EIS. Larger pixel takes in more light in the sensor, which improves the photo quality and reduces the noise, in low light conditions. The front camera of 5 MP supports AI portrait mode, providing a realistic bokeh effect with a single lens.
Another feature that will be available soon with an update in Redmi 6 is AI face unlock, that allows fast unlocking. The phone also supports full-screen gestures with MIUI 9.6 skin which will soon upgrade to MIUI 10.
Redmi 6A, the successor to Redmi 5A, which is the best selling Android phone globally in Q1 2018, is powered by Helio A22 SOC, having 12nm fabrication. It has a 5.35 inch 18:9 Full-screen display with HD resolution. They also term the phone as “Desh ko Naya Smartphone”, considering its very affordable price tag.
Regarding the camera of Redmi 6A, the rear camera is of 13 MP featuring PDAF, EIS. The front 5 MP camera can take a portrait photo with Xiaomi’s AI portrait mode. Redmi 6A runs on MIUI 9.6 over Android O which optimizes the phone to reduce memory usage by 30%.
Other features in the Redmi 6A phone are AI face unlock, dedicated Micro SD slot and dual 4G capability. The phone also will upgrade to MIUI 10 in the coming months.
Pricing and Availability of Mi A2 and Redmi 6 in Nepal
Mi A2 is available in 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of ROM, in Black, Gold, and Blue in Nepal.
- The price of 4GB Mi A2 is NRs. 30,999.
Mi A2 lite has two RAM versions, 3 GB +32 GB and 4 GB+ 64 GB.
- The price of Mi A2 lite for 3 GB is Rs 20,999 and for 4 GB its Rs 24,999
Redmi 6 is available in 3 GB + 32 GB version and 3 GB+ 64 GB variants, in Gold, Blue, and Black colors.
- The price of Redmi 6 for 3 GB + 32 GB is Rs 16,499 and for 3 GB + 64 GB is Rs 18,499.
Similarly, Redmi 6A is also available in three colors, namely Gold, black and blue and has only 2GB +16 GB variant.
- The price of Redmi 6A (2GB RAM + 16 GB storage) is Rs 12,999.
As known, all of the 4 smartphones will be available in Nepal nationwide from September 30, 2018. The current distributor for Xiaomi Vatsal Impex and Teletalk will be the distributor for all of the phones. As usual, Vatsal will take over the Kathmandu market whereas Teletalk will look after outside Kathmandu market.
With such an affordable price tag, we can expect Xiaomi to be more popular for the coming days in Nepal. One more thing, they need to bring more devices as soon as the international launch happens.
