599 Yuan Leadcore Powered Xiaomi Redmi 2A announced


Redmi 2A

After the rumours and rumblings Xiaomi have finally revealed details of their latest Redmi model powered by a Chinese made Leadcore processor.

A few months back Xiaomi bought a major share in Chinese processor manufacturer Leadcore. Buying Leadcore was a major boost for Xiaomi as it meant that the company could offer lower cost phones without having to rely on Mediatek (whom they no longer work with).

We’ve been waiting to see what would emerge from the Xiaomi Leadcore deal and today have learned all about the first Xiaomi phone to run the processor. The first Leadcore powered Xiaomi is the newly announced Xiaomi Redmi 2A running a quad-core L1860C processor. The L1860C has 4 X Cortex A7 cores, runs at 1.5Ghz and has a built-inh Mali T628MP2 GPU. The CPU comes with native LTE making it the most affordable LTE Xiaomi phone available.

Other details of the phone include 1GB LPDDR3 RAM, 8GB internal memory, 8 mega-pixel Omnivision main camera with 5 element lens, and a 2200mAh Sony/LG battery. Like the regular Redmi 2 the 2A will come in a range of bright colours and actually looks very similar in design.

Xiaomi have announced that the RRP of the Xiaomi Redmi 2A in China will be 599 Yuan ($96) but during the Mi Fan Festival customers will be able to bag one for only 499 Yuan. For anyone thinking to buy a 2A outside of China please be aware that the first launch model will only support China Mobile TD-LTE bands.

[ Mi.com ]
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18 Comments

  1. renky89
    March 31, 2015

    this is not exactly cheaper than the regular redmi 2…

    • Riccardo Benzoni
      March 31, 2015

      it’s also not exactly less powerful than regular redmi 2, so it’s not that easy to drop the price down even more… it’s all on resellers and how much they charge on it… if they go for the same price, it won’t make any sense for international users.

      • balcobomber25
        April 1, 2015

        This phone probably won’t do to well in the reseller market, there just isn’t enough of a markup difference between this and the Redmi 2. Prices will be very similar with resellers. Where this phone will sell is in developing countries that Xiaomi (China, India, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia etc.) has or will have an official presence for.

  2. Muhammad Yasir
    March 31, 2015

    no then… PLEASE GO INTERNATIONAL!

  3. seven7dust
    March 31, 2015

    this is basically meant to confuse buyers with the normal redmi, some people will just look at price and buy it for that purpose, without look at specs and might get disappointed by the performance.

    waiting for the review to check performance vs SD n mediatek , will you guys do a review ?

    • Riccardo Benzoni
      March 31, 2015

      i believe it will have very similar performances if not better than 2S. Specs for both CPU and GPU are very good for the price and, most of all, they have full control from production to software development.

    • balcobomber25
      April 1, 2015

      It is meant as a budget offering for those who can’t afford the Redmi 2. Which believe it or not in several Asian countries where this will be marketed there are millions of those people. It is just Xiaomi capitalizing on a market segment.

  4. Nik
    March 31, 2015

    Disappointing non 64bit offer.

    • balcobomber25
      April 1, 2015

      It’s a sub $100 phone, what do you expect lol? Most sub $100 phones are using the MTK 6582 right now, which also isn’t 64 bit.

      • Steven Fox
        April 1, 2015

        This 1860C is much more powerful than the 6582 and the Snapdragon 400 and 410. It`s a good buy.

  5. Riccardo Benzoni
    March 31, 2015

    i believe Xiaomi made a great move buying leadcore, since they can make their own low and mid-range devices “at home”, saving money and developing hardware tailor-made for their software and with a total control of development (sources and all the rest). I believe they had issues with MTK regarding sources (if you noticed, they only released qualcomm’ ones, not even the ones from the very first red rice, and they also have some problems releasing MIUI 6 for those devices). This way, they can release sources even the very same day as the phone launches, making it attractive for developers.

  6. March 31, 2015

    From $65 to $96 + reseller markup. No thanks Xiaomi – A53 64bit MTK is THE STANDARD today, ain’t going below this level.

    • Antonin Srnsky
      April 1, 2015

      this phone is not even meant for you, its for poor in ASIA.

  7. kerry
    April 1, 2015
  8. carol
    April 1, 2015

    i see the new feactures of xiaomi redmi 2, is any other feactures ?http://flosmall.com/blog/320-xiaomi-redmi-2a

  9. Creazydea
    April 2, 2015

    3G and 4G Network bands are suck

  10. Andrawid
    April 3, 2015

    1GB, a low end processer and an OS that is known to lag on low end hardware unlike Windows Phone.

    This is a recipe for disaster, for the consumer of course. Think of all the unsuspecting consumers that will buy this and then regret at leisure.

  11. Steven Fox
    April 4, 2015

    What do you know, the price of the original Redmi 2 has gone up a notch, and Redmi 2A is now at 119USD, I was really hoping for 99$.