Xiaomi Mi A3 or Mi 9 lite for my 14 year old son?

john9876

My son (and I) have the Mi A1 phone and we've both been very happy with it.
The only weak point is the camera in low light.

My son's screen is cracked and the battery has swollen so it's not worth repairing.

I'm thinking of getting him the Mi A3 (£168) or the Mi 9 lite (£242) on amazon uk. (I know it's cheaper elsewhere but would like to get very quickly).

Is the Mi 9 lite worth £74 more?

Alternatively is there another Xiaomi you'd recommend ... there's so many models it's very confusing.

Thanks

theoneeyedman

john9876 wrote: »

My son (and I) have the Mi A1 phone and we've both been very happy with it.
The only weak point is the camera in low light.

My son's screen is cracked and the battery has swollen so it's not worth repairing.

I'm thinking of getting him the Mi A3 (£168) or the Mi 9 lite (£242) on amazon uk. (I know it's cheaper elsewhere but would like to get very quickly).

Is the Mi 9 lite worth £74 more?

Alternatively is there another Xiaomi you'd recommend ... there's so many models it's very confusing.

Thanks

Good man : similar situation in this house, so I'm following this with interest!
Mi A1 was a serious piece of kit for it's time.

captain_boycott

theoneeyedman wrote: »

Good man : similar situation in this house, so I'm following this with interest!
Mi A1 was a serious piece of kit for it's time.

Mi 9t for €272 with honorbuy.com? Have it in 48 hrs. Cracking phone.

john9876

captain_boycott wrote: »

Mi 9t for €272 with honorbuy.com? Have it in 48 hrs. Cracking phone.

ok, I'm in uk.
€272 = £255, I can get it for £260 on amazon

But why is the 9t worth almost £100 more than the A3?

captain_boycott

john9876 wrote: »

ok, I'm in uk.
€272 = £255, I can get it for £260 on amazon

But why is the 9t worth almost £100 more than the A3?

https://youtu.be/Hr5mO6VyApI

Depends what you want but for me, the full screen display and small bezel won out.

john9876

Thanks Captain Boycott.

I think the 9t looks very nice.
I'm not sure if I'll buy it for my 14 year old.
It's bigger than the A3 and he struggles to get that into any of his pockets at the moment which is part of the reason why he's cracked the screen a few times!
I also worry about the camera that protrudes out at the top, moving parts are more likely to give issues especially when banged about by kids.

I think I will go with the A3.

OneEyedMan, what are you thinking?

theoneeyedman

john9876 wrote: »

Thanks Captain Boycott.

I think the 9t looks very nice.
I'm not sure if I'll buy it for my 14 year old.
It's bigger than the A3 and he struggles to get that into any of his pockets at the moment which is part of the reason why he's cracked the screen a few times!
I also worry about the camera that protrudes out at the top, moving parts are more likely to give issues especially when banged about by kids.

I think I will go with the A3.

OneEyedMan, what are you thinking?

Haven't got a chance to look at it properly yet. The A1 was so robust... My daughter is 17 and still on the payroll here, but the A3 is the one to beat based on the A1 history and only very limited research TBH for 100 quid extra, the 9T would have to knock its socks off.
I hope to do some research and.omparisons in coming days.

Am I right in saying A3 has stock Android and 9T hasn't?

john9876

The Mi A3 is now £210 on amazon.uk and not available on honorbuy or eglobal.

I almost ended up buying a used on on amazon.it by mistake!

I'm not sure if the price has gone up because of covid-19 or if I made a mistake ...

FrasierCrane

Following this thread with interest. Have had Moto G phones for years but fancy a change for no other reason than just a change.

Like the look of the Mi A3 as it's stock Android but the lack of NFC in 2020 is probably a deal breaker.

Do Xiaomi do any other stock Android phone with NFC for around the 200-250 price point. So many phones to go through and examine the specs.

Thanks

biebiebie

Similar to situation here.
Has Mi 9 Lite.
Very happy!

But check price on Amazon.es
Preferable than honorbuy.

FrasierCrane

biebiebie wrote: »

Similar to situation here.
Has Mi 9 Lite.
Very happy!

But check price on Amazon.es
Preferable than honorbuy.

Thanks

Looks like a great option. Amazon.es is saying early May for delivery unfortunately.

Available on eGlobal central for around 260. Never bought from them before but they use Paypal so should be ok I suppose. Anyone bought from them? Are they ok?

sioda

FrasierCrane wrote: »

Thanks

Looks like a great option. Amazon.es is saying early May for delivery unfortunately.

Available on eGlobal central for around 260. Never bought from them before but they use Paypal so should be ok I suppose. Anyone bought from them? Are they ok?

Yup bought from them twice slowish delivery on first few days on the second would happily buy again

chrisire

Wife has the mi a3,great phone for the price,she went from the mi a2 lite and loves it,biggest reason i got it for over the other Xiaomi phones was the pure android look to it compared to miui.

sydthebeat

FrasierCrane wrote: »

Thanks

Looks like a great option. Amazon.es is saying early May for delivery unfortunately.

Available on eGlobal central for around 260. Never bought from them before but they use Paypal so should be ok I suppose. Anyone bought from them? Are they ok?

Expect min 22 days for delivery.

Probably more now with everything going on in China

john9876

I'm now thinking of getting the mi 9 lite.
Does this use miui interface and what does that actually mean?
It still looks the same I presume?
I've only ever had a samsumg and the mi a1?

august12

john9876 wrote: »

I'm now thinking of getting the mi 9 lite.
Does this use miui interface and what does that actually mean?
It still looks the same I presume?
I've only ever had a samsumg and the mi a1?

I currently have the mi A1 and love the pure Android as opposed to the previous which ran on the mi interface, I wouldn't go back, will be buying the mi A?? in the next year or so, I usually hold onto phones for a good few years so I presume the A3 will probably be A5 by then.

john9876

ok, I'll probably stay away from miui then.
Which Xiaomi phones have stock android then for less than£300?
I know the mi A3 does. I'm struggling to find that in 128gb with delivery I less than a week or two.

august12

john9876 wrote: »

ok, I'll probably stay away from miui then.
Which Xiaomi phones have stock android then for less than£300?
I know the mi A3 does. I'm struggling to find that in 128gb with delivery I less than a week or two.

https://www.smartprix.com/bytes/best-stock-android-phones-available-rs-17000-2017/

This may help narrow the options for you, I will do some googling later in the day. The advantage of pure Android is explained.

mistress_gi

I just a 64gb mi a3 as a gift for a friend in the UK. Bought in bangood at a total of €140 and a bit of change delivered. Took around 2 weeks to get to the UK.
I wouldn't worry too much about the memory because it will take an SD card.

sydthebeat

john9876 wrote: »

I'm now thinking of getting the mi 9 lite.
Does this use miui interface and what does that actually mean?
It still looks the same I presume?
I've only ever had a samsumg and the mi a1?

I went from the A1 to the pocophone...
Android one to MIUI.

The difference is incredibly minimal and your get used to the os within the day.

I certainly wouldn't be using MIUI as a reason not to switch to a good phone

john9876

mistress_gi wrote: »

I just a 64gb mi a3 as a gift for a friend in the UK. Bought in bangood at a total of €140 and a bit of change delivered. Took around 2 weeks to get to the UK.
I wouldn't worry too much about the memory because it will take an SD card.

The cheapest I can get the mi A3 now to be delivered within 2 weeks is about €240 , ie €100 more than you paid!
The world has changed a lot in a week!

august12

john9876 wrote: »

The cheapest I can get the mi A3 now to be delivered within 2 weeks is about €240 , ie €100 more than you paid!
The world has changed a lot in a week!

I bought from here in 2018, can't remember how long for delivery but have had no issue with delivery and no duties or import taxes from their EU warehouse. Price is good.

https://www.eglobalcentral.eu/xiaomi-mi-a3-dual-sim-4gb-128gb-not-just-blue-1.html

mistress_gi

I was waiting on a sale to come in, I go to kimovil quite regularly so I get the deals when they are "hot"
Another thing you can do is buy amazon warehouse deals. I buy stuff there all the time. Most of items still have manufacturer warranty and they new just open or damaged boxes.
For electronics I like amazon Germany but for phones amazon Spain seems to be the place to be lately

https://www.amazon.es/gp/offer-listing/B07VHRHW8H/ref=mw_dp_olp?ie=UTF8&condition=used

captain_boycott

I just can't understand why people hate on Miui so much...please someone explain what is so much better with "stock android"?

And anyways if you don't like it, just install Nova launcher or any number of other 3rd party launchers that are out there...

moralcourage

I went from an Mi A1 to an Mi 9 lite, it was a big jump in quality, l'd really recommend it.

Re the stock Android experience, the battery life is excellent so not bogged down, and as the previous replier mentioned, you can install nova launcher and replicate a stock Android look.

john9876

august12 wrote: »

I bought from here in 2018, can't remember how long for delivery but have had no issue with delivery and no duties or import taxes from their EU warehouse. Price is good.

https://www.eglobalcentral.eu/xiaomi-mi-a3-dual-sim-4gb-128gb-not-just-blue-1.html

Thank you so much for this.
I'd been looking on eglobaluk and it has nothing.
I know they get criticised on here but I've bought from the uk site a few times before and it's been fine.

august12

john9876 wrote: »

Thank you so much for this.
I'd been looking on eglobaluk and it has nothing.
I know they get criticised on here but I've bought from the uk site a few times before and it's been fine.

You are most welcome, this is more than adequate for a 14 year old, P.S. buy a good tempered screen protector and cover at the same time so you will have them all before you give it to him.

john9876

august12 wrote: »

You are most welcome, this is more than adequate for a 14 year old, P.S. buy a good tempered screen protector and cover at the same time so you will have them all before you give it to him.

Just curious, did you get a tempered glass screen protector for yours? I've read that some people seem to have had problems getting one that fits the curved edges and one that doesn't impact the fingerprint scanner.
I guess if you have one that works well (and a case), I'd appreciate the links.

august12

john9876 wrote: »

Just curious, did you get a tempered glass screen protector for yours? I've read that some people seem to have had problems getting one that fits the curved edges and one that doesn't impact the fingerprint scanner.
I guess if you have one that works well (and a case), I'd appreciate the links.

I don't have the mi A3, still on the A1 model, I have a screen protector that isn't fully covering the screen, I will do a search and see what I find.

https://wonderfulengineering.com/10-best-screen-protectors-for-xiaomi-mi-a3/amp/

https://wonderfulengineering.com/10-best-cases-for-xiaomi-mi-a3/amp/

Number 1 case cover is nice, available on Amazon.uk.

NATLOR

john9876 wrote: »

ok, I'll probably stay away from miui then.
Which Xiaomi phones have stock android then for less than£300?
I know the mi A3 does. I'm struggling to find that in 128gb with delivery I less than a week or two.

No reason to stay away from MIUI
I have a MI 9T (first non stock android phone) and just put nova launcher on it

Plenty of other launcher options lawnchair/pixel etc

HeyCelia

Dear, suggest to have a look at Huawei P smart 2019:)