Xiaomi Mi A3, Mi A3 Lite To Have In-Display Fingerprint Scanners
Xiaomi launched the Mi A2 Android One smartphone last year. The smartphones under the initiative by Google run clean, stock UI with promised software updates for at least two years. While the company also launched the Mi A2 Lite alongside the device, it made its way into the Indian market as the MIUI running Redmi 6 Pro. Xiaomi will most likely launch the successor of the Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite this year. Fresh reports claim the new smartphones, presumably, the Mi A3 and Mi A3 Lite will have an in-display fingerprint sensor.
The Findings
A report claimed that Xiaomi is testing the hardware of three devices. The first two smartphones discovered are codenamed “bamboo_sprout” and “cosmos_sprout“. All the Google Play certified devices under the Android One program usually carry the “sprout” suffix which leads to believe the Android One certification of the said handsets. Another smartphone, codenamed “pyxis” has been reported to be arriving with the aforementioned smartphones. This is reported to be the Chinese variant of the Mi A3 Lite. Notably, Xiaomi has released an MIUI enabled version of its Android One smartphones for the Chinese market. The first one was the Mi 5X, which was the Chinese variant of the Mi A1. Likewise, the Mi A2 was launched in the country as the Mi 6X.
All three smartphones, namely the Mi A3, Mi A3 Lite and the Mi 7X are being reportedly tested with “fod” which is a vendor term for an in-display fingerprint scanner. This leads the speculation that the aforementioned devices will have this feature. As the handsets are supposed to be affordable, the sensor will most likely be optical as an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner like in the Samsung Galaxy S10 require an upscale OLED display.
Specifications
While specifications of the Mi A3 and the Mi A3 Lite aren’t known yet, they are expected to feature a similar design language to the current Xiaomi and Redmi lineup. A glass sandwich design is expected like the Redmi Note 7 and Note 7 Pro. There may be a waterdrop notch on the front surrounded by minimal bezels on all sides. Under the hood, the Mi A3 may run on the 11nm Snapdragon 675 like the Redmi Note 7 Pro or the newly announced Snapdragon 712 SoC. The Mi A3 Lite may have the 14nm Snapdragon 660 chipset like the Redmi Note 7.
In terms of optics, the Mi A3, A3 Lite and the Mi 7X are all expected to have a 32MP selfie camera. This is the same size of sensor found in the Vivo V15 Pro but Xiaomi’s solution will reportedly use pixel binning to combine four pixels into one to create an effective 8MP resolution for images. Unfortunately, there is no information regarding the rear cameras but the smartphones may feature a dual camera setup. The Mi A3 and the 7X are expected to have a 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor at the back like the Redmi Note 7 Pro.
Pricing & Availability
Also read: Nokia Phones Accidentally Sent Sensitive User Data To China
The Xiaomi Mi A3 and A3 Lite are expected to launch in the second quarter of 2019. Expected prices of the smartphones hint at a price of around Rs. 13,999 for the Mi A3 Lite and Rs. 17,999 for the Mi A3 in India.
