Xiaomi Redmi 5A review: Hail the new king of the budget smartphone segment

China-based smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi is enjoying quite some success in the price-conscious Indian smartphone market, thanks mainly to its affordable budget smartphone segment, where the company has a stronger hold than competitors.

Xiaomi’s latest offering, the Redmi 5A, is another budget device that comes with best-in-class features and specifications. 

But it is the subsidised launch price of Rs 4,999 for the first 5 million units – against the actual price of Rs 5,999 – that makes the phone a lot more special.

Business Standard reviewed the Redmi 5A to test its overall performance. Here are our observations:

The Xiaomi Redmi 5A sees no radical change in design over predecessor Redmi 4A. The front side of the device is dominated by a 5-inch HD display covered with flat glass. There is no additional layer to protect the screen from unwanted scratches or survive accidental falls, so users might like to use high-quality tempered glass to protect the screen.

There are three capacitive navigation keys below the display that work like a charm. The earpiece and sensors find their spot along with the front camera at the huge bezel on the top. The ejectable dual-sim tray and dedicated memory card expansion slot are placed at the left side of the device, and both require a pin for ejection. The volume rockers and the power button are placed on the right side.

The 3.5mm headphone jack, along with an infrared blaster and secondary microphone, is placed at the top. The bottom is covered with a micro-USB port and the primary microphone.

The rear is rather bland, with the primary camera being placed at the top left along with the LED flash. There is no fingerprint scanner, so the back feels a lot emptier. The speaker is mounted on the lower back, which might cause some trouble to people who like to put their phones on a flat surface.

Overall, the device feels light and comfortable in the pocket and in hand. You do not need both your hands to operate it.