XIAOMI MI 8 LITE VS MI A2: Which is Better?

• Share on Facebook
• Tweet it
• Share on Reddit
• Pin it

In this article, I wanted to compare the Mi 8 Lite to the Mi A2, so it’s easier to decide which Xiaomi device you should buy?

Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite	Xiaomi Mi A2
BUY NOW	BUY NOW
PROS	PROS
Superb value. Dense, high-end feel. Powerful.	Decent camera. Large, balanced display. Faster processor.
CONS	CONS
No app drawer option. No theme store access in the UK/EU.	Increased price. Old school design.

SPECIFICATIONS

DESIGN

Mi 8 Lite:

Talking about the design of MI 8 Lite, it is not much different from the design of MI 8 SE, except for the notch and the rear camera. MI 8 Lite duel-camera are arranged horizontally.

The design of the smartphone is according to modern trends these days. Colored-aluminum sides and curved back glass are the main attractions in MI 8’s design. The front side is not curved at all and looks firmly attached to the body of the phone.

On the front panel, the side bezels are very thin while the top and bottom bezels are comparatively wider. In this price range, 83% of the ratio of screen-to-body is highly impressive.

MicroSD and SIM card tray are located on the left, while the volume rocker and the power button are on the right. The noise-canceling microphone is on the top of the mobile while the speakers are at the bottom. In the middle of them is the USB Type-C port.

As expected from a mobile made up of glass back, scratches and marks appear very quickly at the back, especially in the light-colored versions of MI 8 Lite.

Mi A2:

Rounded corners and a high aspect ratio, Xiaomi A2 is an attractive mobile at first glance. An LED flash is installed in the front camera, and bezels are made thin. To satisfy the Xiaomi users, notification LED – which was missing from the previous models – has been added next to the flash.

Bottom and top bezels are made symmetrical of the same width and length. In terms of size, it has a large and tall display, and yet it has a weight of just 166g.

At the back of the phone, a dual camera can be found on the left side along with a duel flash. A fingerprint sensor is at the center of the rear of the mobile, which is suitable for users as it can be unlocked easily. The power button and the volume buttons are on the right of MI A2, while the SIM card slot is on the left. Only two SIMs can be inserted in MI A2, and microSD can only be inserted by sacrificing the slot of SIM 2.

DISPLAY

Mi 8 Lite:

An aspect ratio if 19:9 and screen size of 6.26′, MI 8 Lite is on the best mobiles in terms of its display. Narrow notch enhances its display even more. However, upon noticing very carefully, the inconsistency of the backlight around the notch can be seen. Slight light bleed is also noticeable at the top of the phone, especially in the white background.

Colour accuracy, brightness levels, and the sunlight contrast ratio of the MI 8 Lite is decent. In very bright sunlight, some visibility problems may occur, but overall the mobile provides a good display on which games, movies, and general usage can be enjoyed.

Mi A2:

An IPS LCD Panel of 5.99′ is exhibited by MI A2. The screen resolution and the pixel density of the mobile are high. The display is highly color accurate overall. The maximum brightness level is 420nits, which is not much compared to the competitors of MI A2.

Colour accuracy and a sunlight contrast ratio of MI A2 is not much impressive as in very high sunlight, visibility of the display gets distorted.

CAMERA

Mi 8 Lite:

Standard camera arrangement is present in the rear of MI 8 Lite, which includes a primary camera of 12 MP, along with a 5MP camera to be used as a depth sensor that can be found. Camera specifications are below average, and lack of optical image stabilization is a disappointment.

On the bright side, there are many options in the camera menu to enhance your pictures and videos. AI Camera mode, HDR, beautify filters and effects are present in the default camera app to take the best pictures. Quality of the photographs captured in daylight is fantastic, while the images were taken in the night time or low-light are unimpressive.

Mi A2:

On paper, MI A2 has highly impressive camera specifications. It has a dual rear camera of 12 MP and 20MP. The camera application itself comes with a lot of options that can be selected easily by swiping right and left. Like the previous models, toggles have been added for flash, HDR, and filters.

For people who want to adjust the camera settings themselves, manual mode is present in which white balance, contrast, saturation, and other settings can be changed manually.

In good light, MI A2 manages to capture high-quality images, which are further sharpened by the HDR mode. Photos are detailed, color-accurate, and gives a sharp look. In low-light, photos taken by MI A2 are decent, with very little damage to color saturation.

Portrait mode in of A2 takes really amazing pictures with substantial blurred background and focused subject.

SPEAKERS

Mi 8 Lite:

Some people may initially be disappointed that MI 8 Lite comes with a single speaker, but we assure you that the loudness and clarity of the sound are remarkable. The loudness of the sound gets very high, which is very beneficial to those who enjoy listening to music on high volume or have difficulty in hearing the ringtone of their mobile.

With an active external amplifier, MI 8 lite, is one of the loudest mobiles in this price range. More importantly, the quality of the sound is not distorted much, even at very high volume.

Sound output through the headphones is good even though the volume decreased slightly, but the clarity and quality of the sound were maintained.

Mi A2:

MI 2 has a very loud single speaker at its bottom. A loudness test gives it an excellent rating. Like the MI 8 Lite, it provides one of the highest readings in loudness test. However, sound quality decreases just a little, which is usually not noticed.

Volume through the headphones is decent, with almost no distortion in the quality of the sound.

PERFORMANCE

Mi 8 Lite:

MI 8 uses Snapdragon 660, which uses an octa-core CPU. Snapdragon 660 is famous for its excellent performance, but it is deficient in energy efficiency.

Overall, the performance of the smartphone is great as there are no significant lags during heavy gaming, streaming, or daily usage. Even after using it for long hours consecutively, there are no heating issues associated with this device. Users can expect to enjoy the performance provided by MI 8 Lite thoroughly.

Mi A2:

MI 2 makes use of the Snapdragon 660, which includes an octa-core Kryo processor. Even though the CPU of MI A2 is an improvement from its predecessors, MI A1, it is unsatisfactory to see the combination of this CPU and a comparatively small battery of 3,000 mAh.

There are no major overheating issues with MI A2, and the overall working of the mobile is smooth due to its powerful processor.

SOFTWARE

Mi 8 Lite:

MI 8 Lite runs on Android 8 and MIUI 9.6, which is the traditional Xiaomi firmware. Like the previous versions of MIUI, there is no option of app drawer in this version as well, so users have to make efforts to sort the apps themselves. App vault will be displayed upon swiping right, and it has the most-used apps along with the in-built applications like the Calendar, Clock, and MI Notes.

On swiping down from the home screen, the notification bar opens up, which also has rapid toggles for functions like mobile data, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc. Much to the dismay of Xiaomi lovers, face-unlock is unavailable in MI 8 Lite.]

A security application is pre-installed in the MI 8 Lite through which your uninstall apps, clear cache, and most importantly, scan for viruses and harmful data in the mobile. It has some more important applications like options to limit the data usage, manage apps permissions, and others.

Mi A2:

MI A2 is powered by Android One. The advantage of Android One is that it gets all the official updates immediately. Unlocking of the phone is rapid and reliable.

Quick options for mobile features and notifications bar change its color with each wallpaper. Gestures include double-pressing the power button to start the camera application.

The gallery of the mobile is entirely controlled by Google. For pictures and videos, Google Photos is used by default. Google Play Music is used as a music player. Google Calendar is the default calendar of Mi A2.

Different themes and wallpapers are available to make MI A2 stylish and attractive. The built-in application of MI Remote is present, which allows you to control various appliances like television.

BATTERY

Mi 8 Lite:

MI 8 Lite has a battery of decent 3,350 mAh, which powers the Snapdragon 660. Since the CPU is not much energy-efficient, battery decreases quickly than it should have. Especially when the mobile is connected to the internet via mobile data or Wi-Fi, the battery falls rapidly.

However, the mobile provides sufficient battery power for daily usage of about 8 to 12 hours. Heavy gamers and people who enjoy streaming movies and shows on mobile may not be impressed with this battery duration, but it is sufficient for users with normal usage.

The charger that is included with MI 8 Lite is not fast, but it supports Quick Charge 3.0 for quick charging.

Mi A2:

The capacity of MI A2’s battery is 3,000 mAh, which is quite disappointing for the mobile in its price range. On constant 9 hours of video playback, while the mobile was connected to the internet via Wi-Fi, the battery fell to about 10%. The only thing good in terms of the battery of MI A2 is that it comes with the support of Quick Charge 4.0 support.

WHICH ONE YOU SHOULD BUY?

MI 8 Lite is not a perfect smartphone. It needs improvement in things like battery and the software, the design, attractive build, and the camera performance of the MI 8 Lite is commendable. The performance of the mobile itself is good, and heavy applications can be used without any lags. The fact that Xiaomi has not included a 3.5mm headphone jack in MI 8 may dissatisfy some customers.

MI A2 has the advantage of having the latest Android One, along with a large screen and dual camera, which is able to take high-quality photos. The absence of a headphone jack and a separate microSD slot are some cons of this mobile. The battery life of MI A2 is also not good at all since it cannot provide power for long on heavy usage.

Overall, if you want to enjoy heavy usage along with the capability of taking decent pictures and listening to music loudly, you should buy the Xiaomi MI 8 Lite.

Jaskaran Singh

Jaskaran, a tech enthusiast from childhood, inspired by his father, began his tech journey by rooting Android phones. He now writes on various tech topics, aiming to simplify complex ideas for a broad audience. His writing is direct, concise, and flows effortlessly, making tech topics accessible and engaging.