Xiaomi MI A1 vs. Xiaomi MI 8

Phone Comparison, Reviews and Tests

In depth comparison and review of Xiaomi MI A1 and Xiaomi MI 8. Compare sizes, cameras, batteries, memory, and other important specifications and features to easily choose the right phone for you. Our goal is to help you uncover differences between the products and find the phone that will best fit your needs.

Phone Specifications Comparison

Xiaomi MI A1 vs. Xiaomi MI 8 Comparison Chart
DESIGN AND DIMENSIONS Xiaomi MI A1 Xiaomi MI 8
Product Type Smartphone Smartphone
Form Factor Touch Touch
Height 155.4 mm 154.9 mm Xiaomi MI A1 has greater height than Xiaomi MI 8.
Width 75.8 mm 74.8 mm Xiaomi MI A1 has greater width than Xiaomi MI 8.
Depth 7.3 mm 7.6 mm Xiaomi MI A1 is narrower than Xiaomi MI A1.
Weight 165 g 175 g Xiaomi MI A1 is lighter than Xiaomi MI A1.
Body Colour Black Black | Blue
Body Material Metal Glass, 7000 Series aluminium
Waterproof (Water-resistant) - -
SAR Value 0.76 W/kg (body), 1.75 W/kg (head) 1.662 W/kg (body), 0.701 W/kg (head)
Integrated Components FM radio -
Connector Type USB Type-C - 24 pin USB-C
Headset jack - mini-phone 3.5mm
USB Type-C - 24 pin USB-C
SIM Card Type (Size) Nano SIM Nano SIM
SIM Card Qty Dual-SIM Dual-SIM
SIM Card Configuration Details Nano SIM + nano SIM/microSD -
DISPLAY Xiaomi MI A1 Xiaomi MI 8
Display Type LCD display OLED display
Display Technology LTPS IPS AMOLED
Screen Size (Display Size) 5.5" 6.21" Xiaomi MI 8 has larger screen size than Xiaomi MI A1.
Screen Resolution (Display Resolution) 1920 x 1080 pixels 2248 x 1080 pixels Xiaomi MI 8 has better screen resolution than Xiaomi MI A1.
Display Format Full HD Full HD+
Pixel Density 403 ppi 402 ppi Xiaomi MI A1 has better pixel density than Xiaomi MI 8.
Aspect Ratio - 18.7:9
Max Brightness 450 cd/m² 600 cd/m² Xiaomi MI 8 has better display brightness than Xiaomi MI A1.
Contrast Ratio - 60000:1
Display Enhancement Technology - Sunlight mode
Display Features 2.5D curved glass Always-on display, Reading mode, Colour temperature adjustment, DCI-P3 Wide colour gamut
Display Protection (Screen Protector) Corning Gorilla Glass (scratch resistant glass) -
PROCESSOR Xiaomi MI A1 Xiaomi MI 8
Processor Type (CPU) Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
Clock Speed 2 GHz 2.8 GHz Xiaomi MI 8 has higher clock speed than Xiaomi MI A1.
Processor Core Qty 8-core 8-core Both phones have the same number of phone cores.
64-bit Architecture - Yes Xiaomi MI 8 has 64-bit architecture.
Graphics System (GPU) Qualcomm ADRENO 506 Qualcomm ADRENO 630
MEMORY Xiaomi MI A1 Xiaomi MI 8
RAM 4 GB LPDDR4X SDRAM - 6 GB Xiaomi MI 8 has more RAM than Xiaomi MI A1.
Internal Memory Size (Storage Capacity) 32 GB 64 GB Xiaomi MI 8 has more internal memory than Xiaomi MI A1.
Supported Flash Memory Cards (Expandable Memory) microSDHC, microSDXC - up to 128 GB -
CAMERA Xiaomi MI A1 Xiaomi MI 8
MAIN CAMERA
Number of Main Cameras 2 2
Sensor Resolution 12 Megapixel 12 Megapixel Both phones have the same camera resolution.
Sensor Name - Sony Exmor RS IMX363 sensor
Lens Type Wide-angle lens Wide-angle lens
Lens Aperture F/2.2 F/1.8 Xiaomi MI 8 has better lens aperture than Xiaomi MI A1.
Lens Construction 5-element -
Optical Image Stabiliser (OIS) - 4-axis OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation) Xiaomi MI 8 has optical stabilisation.
Focus Adjustment Automatic Automatic
Optical Zoom 2x -
Digital Zoom 10x -
Special Effects HDR, Beautify 3.0 HDR
Camera Modes Panorama, Continuous shot, low-light shots Burst mode, Panorama, portrait mode, AR Emoji, AI Beautify
Face Recognition (Face ID) Face recognition Face recognition Both phones have face detection.
Light Source Dual LED flash LED flash
Video Resolutions 1920 x 1080 (1080p) at 30 fps, 1280 x 720 (720p) at 30 fps, 3840 x 2160 (4K) at 30 fps, Slo-mo video 1280 x 720 (720p) at 120 fps 1920 x 1080 (1080p) at 30 fps, 1280 x 720 (720p) at 30 fps, Slo-mo video 1280 x 720 (720p) at 240 fps, 3840 x 2160 (4K) at 30 fps, Slo-mo video 1920 x 1080 (1080p) at 240 fps
Camera Features (Functions) Phase Detect Auto-Focus (PDAF), geotagging, Two-tone flash Dual Pixel Autofocus technology, AI Dual camera, AI scene detection, AI Beautify, AI dynamic bokeh, AI studio lighting, AI short video editing, AI high-res photos
SECOND CAMERA
Sensor Resolution (2nd Camera) 12 Megapixel 12 Megapixel Both phones have the same second camera resolution.
Lens Type (2nd Camera) Telephoto lens Telephoto lens
Lens Aperture (2nd Camera) F/2.6 F/2.4 Xiaomi MI 8 has better second camera lens aperture than Xiaomi MI A1.
Camera Features (2nd Camera) - Portrait lens
FRONT CAMERA
Number of Front Cameras 1 2
Sensor Resolution (Front) 5 Megapixel 20 Megapixel Xiaomi MI 8 has better front camera resolution than Xiaomi MI A1.
Special Effects (Front) - Mirror
Camera Modes (Front) Beautify with 36 smart beauty profiles AR Emoji, AI portrait mode
Face Recognition (Face ID) Face recognition Face recognition Both phones have face detection.
Video Resolutions (Front) 1920 x 1080 (1080p) -
Camera Features (Front) Self-timer Self-timer, AI detection of 10 different scenes, 3D Beautify
SECOND FRONT CAMERA
Camera Features (2nd Front) - Flood Illuminator, Dot Projector
BATTERY AND CHARGING Xiaomi MI A1 Xiaomi MI 8
Battery Capacity (Battery Size) 3080 mAh 3400 mAh Xiaomi MI 8 has larger battery capacity than Xiaomi MI A1.
Fast Charging Technology - Qualcomm Quick Charge 4.0+ Xiaomi MI 8 has fast charging technology.
Battery Technology Lithium Ion -
CELLULAR Xiaomi MI A1 Xiaomi MI 8
Technology WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM CDMA2000 1X / GSM / WCDMA (UMTS) / TD-SCDMA
Mobile Broadband Generation 4G 4G Both phones have the same mobile network generation.
Operating System Google Android Android 8.1 Oreo
User Interface - MIUI 9.5
Intelligent Assistant Google Assistant -
Payment Technology - Android Pay
Navigation GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS
COMMUNICATIONS Xiaomi MI A1 Xiaomi MI 8
Data Transmission GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, VoLTE, FDD-LTE, TDD-LTE GPRS, EDGE, EV-DO, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, FDD-LTE, TDD-LTE
2G Band 850 GSM, 900 GSM, 1800 GSM, 1900 GSM 850 GSM, 900 GSM, 1800 GSM, 1900 GSM, 800 CDMA2000 1X, 1900 CDMA2000 1X
3G UMTS Band Band 1, Band 2, Band 5, Band 8 Band 1, Band 2, Band 4, Band 5, Band 8
3G UMTS Frequency 2100, 1900, 850, 900 2100, 1900, 1700, 850, 900
4G LTE Band Band 1, Band 3, Band 4, Band 5, Band 7, Band 8, Band 20, Band 38, Band 40 Band 1, Band 2, Band 3, Band 4, Band 5, Band 7, Band 8, Band 12, Band 17, Band 20, Band 34, Band 38, Band 39, Band 40, Band 41
4G LTE Frequency FDD 2100, FDD 1800+, FDD 1700 - 2110 AWS, FDD 850, FDD 2600, FDD 900, FDD 800 DD, TDD 2600, TDD 2300 FDD 2100, FDD 1900 PCS, FDD 1800+, FDD 1700 - 2110 AWS, FDD 850, FDD 2600, FDD 900, FDD 700a, FDD 700b, FDD 800 DD, TDD 2000, TDD 2600, TDD 1900, TDD 2300, TDD 2500
Wireless Interface Infrared (IrDA), IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.2 Bluetooth 5.0
Bluetooth Profiles HID -
NFC - Yes Xiaomi MI 8 has NFC reader for mobile payments.
Messaging Services SMS, MMS SMS, MMS
MEDIA Xiaomi MI A1 Xiaomi MI 8
Supported Digital Audio Standards WAV, AAC, PCM, MP3, FLAC, AAC +, eAAC+, AMR-WB, AMR-NB WAV, AAC, PCM, AMR, MP3, FLAC, AAC +, eAAC+, APE (Monkey's Audio), apt-X, AMR-WB, AMR-NB, apt-X HD
Supported Digital Video Standards MKV, XviD, MPEG-4, M4V MKV, XviD, MPEG-4, H.264, M4V, HEVC, H.265, ASP
Sound Enhancements Dirac HD Sound -
FEATURES Xiaomi MI A1 Xiaomi MI 8
Phone Functions Speakerphone, voice control, call timer, conference call, flight mode, voice dialing, vibrating alert Speakerphone, voice control, call timer, conference call, flight mode, voice dialing, vibrating alert
Sensors Accelerometer, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, gyro sensor, hall sensor Accelerometer, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, digital compass, barometer, gyro sensor, hall sensor, Time of Flight (ToF), infrared (IR) sensor
Security Devices Fingerprint reader Face recognition, fingerprint reader
Security Technology - IR face unlock
Additional Phone Features Noise suppression by Fortemedia Face Unlock, MU-MIMO technology
OTHERS Xiaomi MI A1 Xiaomi MI 8
Included Accessories Power adapter Power adapter, SIM card removal tool, USB-C to 3.5 jack adapter, USB-C cable, Mi 8 Protective cover
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