Product Spotlight: The Xiaomi Redmi 5A

Everybody get hyped! Another top-of-the-line budget-friendly smartphone makes its way to the Philippine shores by way of the Xiaomi Redmi 5A.

Are you excited? So are we! Read on to find out if this budget-friendly smartphone holds up to its (un)official title as the “entry-level smartphone king”.

 

The Xiaomi Redmi 5A is definitely one of the cheapest smartphones available on the market. Believe us, our jaws dropped the moment we saw the price tag too!

(Side note: Billease is offering the Xiaomi Redmi 5A for as low as ₱369 a month installment plan! Hop over to our promo page to call dibs on this promo!)

And because Xiaomi, the Chinese giant of a brand, has been slaying the market with every product they launch, it’s definitely interesting to see if this affordable phone has more to offer us in terms of specs and feature.

 

Does it feel good? Does it look good?

If you’re used to smartphones with bigger displays, the Xiaomi Redmi 5A’s 5-inch display may come off a little too small for you. This is due to the thick bezels used to accommodate a selfie camera, an earpiece, and the phone’s navigation buttons (which are unfortunately not backlit).

The display is quite good, considering that it only supports a 294ppi. Colors are bright and crisp and give off a decent display even in an outdoor setting. The IPS panel also gives users great angles for viewing pictures and videos.

As for the built, arguably the Xiaomi Redmi 5A does not feel as premium as the brand’s previous offerings due to its plastic body.

Though it is quite hefty at 137g, the phone is also a little too bulky at 8.35mm. The sleek plastic body is also quite prone to slips and accidental drops. We definitely recommend using a protective case on this smartphone for added security.

Read: Product Spotlight: The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4x

 

Does it get things done?

If there’s one area that Xiaomi excels in, it’s definitely their smartphone’s hardware.

And while most smartphones in this price level tend to settle for laggy, mediocre chipsets, we’re happy to report that Xiaomi still brought their best game on with their Xiaomi Redmi 5A.

The budget smartphone is equipped with a 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 quad-core CPU and an Adreno 308 GPU. This makes the Xiaomi Redmi 5A perfectly capable of performing everyday tasks with much ease.

Read: Should You Buy Smartphone via An Installment Plan?

 

What is the memory like?

The memory can be quite an issue, however, as the Xiaomi Redmi 5A only has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage (with only 10.5GB of it usable from the get-go). This makes app performances lean a little on the slow side and for storage to fill up fast.

Fortunately, the internal storage is expandable up to 128GB via microSD card. It is also great that there is a separate slot for the SD card; that way, you won’t need to sacrifice your phone’s dual sim capacities.

 

Can the Xiaomi Redmi 5A take perfect shots?

Much like its budget-friendly counterparts, the Xiaomi Redmi 5A’s cameras get things done, but may not be something to write home about.

The Xiaomi Redmi 5A comes with a 13-megapixel rear-end camera with f/2.2 aperture and a 5-megapixel selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture. It reportedly also has a phase detection autofocus or PDAF that allows for a sharper and faster autofocus.

Read: Product Spotlight: Asus Zenfone 3 Laser

There are also a few modes that photography enthusiasts might want to explore. There’s a manual mode, an HDR, a panorama, and – of course – a beauty mode to give you better selfies.

Quality-wise, the Xiaomi Redmi 5A can definitely produce great shots but, as in most Redmi phones, low lighting is its enemy. The HDR shots also lack stabilizers and tend to produce grainy shots under low light.  

 

How’s the battery life?

With a 3,000mAh battery, the Xiaomi Redmi 5A has quite a generous battery life – similar to bigger, more expensive smartphones in the market.

That’s not the best part, though! This smartphone’s battery usage proves itself very effective as well, giving users more than 11 hours of juice with moderate-to-heavy usage. When used in viewing videos, you can get up to five hours of screen time with a single charge – pretty neat for a budget smartphone!

It does, however, take a little time for the battery to fill up, as the Xiaomi Redmi 5A does not support quick-charge technology.

 

Overall Verdict:

Priced less than ₱5000, the Xiaomi Redmi 5A is quite a catch, especially if you’re on a lookout for a budget smartphone that can offer more value than what is on the market today.

Still, if you have a little bit more money to burn, we recommend scoring the Xiaomi Redmi 5 or even the Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus. These two may cost a little more, but they also offer more like a larger screen, fingerprint sensors, and marginally better cameras.

 

What do you think? Are you going to get the Xiaomi Redmi 5A for yourself? Let’s discuss more in the comments section!