Lets make everything clear for everyone first. Xiaomi products in the markets were genuine and they were selling it officially. But from now on there are going to be some changes in price and their corporate office. Previously Xiaomi products were being sold by distributors and there was no head office or any of such thing. From now on the company is going to have a country director, GM and new chain to control everything. They are now stepping in right direction to improve the brand in Nepal.
Saurvav Kothari is the new GM for Xiaomi Nepal. Indian officers and experts will be looking into market expansion and improvements from now. They are planning to reduce the price as far as possible and the new price shows the new spirit. Improving numbers and quality of after sales and collection centers is also in their top priority. Even though Nepal is a small market they see the enthusiasm of the community growing.
Xiaomi introduced its new officers for Nepal and they explained their plans as well. It seems that we will see some great things. Some things are still same though such as distributors. Vatsal Impex is still distributor for Kathmandu while Teletalk is for outside the valley. Xiaomi Nepal is highly interested in online sales and partners because online was their basis and it is showing growth in Nepal.
This new overhaul shows that Nepali smartphone community is growing. Hopefully we will see more phones at better pricing. In our talk with company officials they assured us that price revisions are imminent. Xiaomi Nepal also introduced four of the new phones which were highly expected by the market. This includes Xiaomi Mi A2, Mi A2 Lite, Redmi 6 and Redmi 6A.
Xiaomi Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite
The Mi A2 and A2 Lite are both Android One devices. The A2 is the update from last years very popular phone Xiaomi Mi A1. The A2 is known as Mi 6X while Mi A2 Lite is also known as Redmi 6 Pro. In Nepal we are getting 4 GB RAM version with 64 GB storage variant for Mi A2. In case of Mi A2 Lite wer are getting both models with 4 GB RAM and 3 GB RAM. The 3 GB RAM version has 32 GB storage and 4 GB version has 64 GB storage. Best thing about having Android One One Phone is guaranteed updates for 2 years.
Read more: Latest Xiaomi Smartphones price in Nepal
Xiaomi Mi A2 features a 5.99″ IPS LCD with 1080×2160 resolution. An octa core processor on Snapdragon 660 is powering this device. It has a 3000 mAh battery to power up everything and runs on Android 8.1 currently. The phone is continuing its legacy with dual back cameras. It has 20 MP and 12 MP f/1.8 cameras at back which supports upto 2160p videos at 30fps. At front we get 20 MP f/2.2 camera for selfies. The phone sadly doesn’t have SD card slot and 3.5 mm headphone jack. The Xiaomi Mi A2 Price in Nepal is Rs 30,999 for the 64 GB variant.
In contrast Mi A2 lite runs Snapdragon 625 SOC with 2 GHz octa core processor. It has a 4000 mAh battery and 5.84″ IPS LCD screen at 1080×2280. Primary camera set includes 12 MP + 5 MP f/2.2 duo while the front side only has a 5 MP camera. This phone supports Micro SD card and has 3.5 mm headphone jack though which is very good. The price of Mi A2 Lite for 3 GB RAM and 32 GB storage variant is Rs 20,999 while price of 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage variant is Rs 24,999 in Nepal.
Xiaomi Redmi 6 and Redmi 6A
Redmi 6 and 6A are another devices based by the company based on Mediatek chipset. The Redmi 6 has 5.45″ LCD screen at 720×1440, It runs with 2 GHz octa core processor on a Mediatek MT6762 inside. It also has 3 GB and 4 GB RAM variant with 32 GB and 64 GB storage options. There is same 5.45″ LCD screen in the Redmi 6A as well but the processor is Helio A22. The 6A is actually lower power model so it starts with 2 GB RAM and 16 GB storage variant. The price of Redmi 6 in Nepal is Rs 16,499 for 3 GB+32 GB model and price of 3+64 GB model is Rs 18,499.
Redmi 6 hosts a 12 MP + 5 MP f/2.2 dual back camera setup while the front hosts a 5 MP sensor. The Redmi 6A comes with 13 MP f/2.2 sensor at back and 5 MP f/2.2 sensor at front. Both of the phones come with 3000 mAh battery. The Redmi 6A price in Nepal is Rs 12,999. The company has plans to launch more devices very soon and they are looking for further expansion.
First Impressions and Latest Updates
Xiaomi is showing its love in Nepal since their official launch after September 23rd. Just at the day of launch Redmi 6 got Face Unlock feature for Nepal. And just after a week on September 30, we get MIUI 10 update for Redmi 6 in Nepal. The first, Day one update came with Face Unlock, new security patch, WiFi battery drain issue fix and camera improvements. The update file size was 1.3 GB because it enclosed a lot of changes.
New MIUI V10.0.1.0 Stable version update is 260 MB in size and comes with lots of improvements. It is now made better for tall full screen devices and has more gesture based features. The notification panel has whole new UI plus new icons. Brightness slider is quite new and looks fresh. Split screen feature is also easy to use now and looks very attractive. The new update also brings camera improvement. Portrait mode is now available for the front camera with better AI integration.
First thing to notice is the offering at the price. There are lots of things for the price because Redmi 6 comes with tall 5.45″ LCD screen at 720×1440. It runs on Mediatek Helio P22 chipset with 2.0 GHz Octa core processor. The chipset is heavily focused on dual camera and AI so Redmi 6 clearly has lots of advantage. At Rs 16,499 users get 3 GB RAM which is very good for the budget price bracket. 32 GB Storage is now base storage and there is 64 GB edition as well. On top uses can use dual SIM on 4G and also have micro SD card.
On back side there is 12 MP+5 MP f/2.2 dual lens camera setup while at front there is 5 MP camera. Its a pretty decent camera at the back because Xiaomi is providing dual lens at this price. It obviously takes benefit of that power and produces good image result. Till now, we are satisfied with its camera. There is a 3000 mAh battery, 3.5 mm headphone jack, USB OTG support and much more.
Its guaranteed that Redmi 6 users in Nepal will get new MIUI 10 update as soon as they update their phone after purchase. We are now waiting for Android Pie update on Redmi 6 and Mi A2. Xiaomi Redmi 6 a nice phone with decent hardware, camera and fresh software. We are testing it so stay tuned for full review with us.
