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.
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.
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.