A few years back, Xiaomi joined hands with Google for the Android One program and launched its first Android One device Mi A1 later. The Chinese manufacturer introduced few other models like Mi A2, Mi A2 Lite, and finally, M1 A3.
The company introduced the Android One devices, which guarantee faster update regular security updates etc. As per Google, Android One device will be eligible to get three major OS version updates and monthly security updates for a minimum of 3 years. But the question is whether the company managed to keep its words and do provided the updates like said.
The answer is simply No, and we can say that Xiaomi failed to provide a regular update to its Android One devices. We can say without any doubt that Xiaomi is one of the best smartphone manufacturers, and they are providing the best and timely update to all the MIUI devices. The company’s custom UI MIUI is one of the best feature-rich ROM and comes with a lot of add-on features.
But when it comes to Android One devices, the company went in another direction. As we all know, the Android One program is managed by Google, and the mobile manufacturers have only limited control over the operating system. The operating system comes as a stock ROM without any customization from the mobile company.
The program was introduced by Google in partnership with other mobile companies so that they can provide users with pure android experience. But OEM, like Xiaomi, was unable to keep on updating the devices under this program.
Here we will briefly explain how we faced the issue with Xiaomi’s Mi A2 Lite device as it the 3rs Android One device from the company.
We got the device in the same month it was introduced. As the program mentioned, we were also looking for a faster update and monthly security updates.
The device was initially launched with Android Oreo in July 2018, and after few months in November, the company rolled out Android 9 Pie. The update was initially released with some minor bugs and which has been fixed quickly. The update was a stable release, and the device was working fine too.
But then things changed once the Android 10 was released. Even after months, the company was unable to issue a stable till now. From November 2019 onwards, Mi A2 Lite users are waiting for the Android 10 update, but the company wasn’t able to provide them till now.
Android 10 update for the Mi A2 Lite device was first rolled out on 1st week of March 2020, and soon after the release, Xiaomi pulled back the update. The update was bricking some device, and a large number of users faced a boot loop issue, which ultimately forced users to format the device.
Again in April, the company released the updated version claiming the issues have fixed. It was correct, and the company fixed the boot loop issue. But the update came with a bunch of new problems.
The new update failed with two main issues like weak network signal and frequent drop of the message. Also, the update lacks VoLTE support for some of the providers. These two issues forced us to downgrade to Android 9 Pie using the Mi Flash tool. Since no point in keeping the phone updated to the latest android without Signal and coverage.
Same as Mi A2 Lite, Mi A3 update was also pushed back multiple times due to the frequent bugs and Mi A3 users are still far away from the Android 10 update. Mi A2 users finally got the update after multiple rollout and bug fixes. Mi A1 devices already covered the 3 major OS update with Android 9 last year so the company doesn’t have to worry about the device.
But from the experience, we can say that Xiaomi is the best device if the device runs on MIUI and the worse one if the device comes under the Android One program.
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