Redmi 7A launched in India with surprise camera swap

Xiaomi's sub-brand Redmi has launched the Redmi 7A in India. The super budget smartphone, which hit China at the end of May, maintains the low pricing seen in its homeland launch but packs a new camera for the Indian market.

The Chinese Redmi 7A arrived with an unspecified 13MP rear camera sensor, while the India Redmi 7A boasts a 12MP Sony IMX486. The IMX486 can be found on phones like the Xiaomi Mi A2 and Redmi Note 7 in India — both of which are far more expensive than the Redmi 7A (they started at 16,999 rupees and 9,999 rupees respectively).

While it means the Indian Redmi 7A gets a slight drop in raw megapixel numbers, it will theoretically have a boost in low-light performance thanks to greater pixel size (1.25µm versus 1.12µm). Xiaomi says the Indian variant is "the only phone in its segment to sport the sensor." There certainly aren't many with an IMX486 at its price.

Indian customers will also be able to take advantage of two years of warranty, said Xiaomi, when the phone goes on sale next week.

Other Redmi 7A India specs

Aside from the aforementioned rear camera, the Chinese and Indian Redmi 7A are the same. That phone packs a 5.45-inch, HD+, LCD screen, Snapdragon 439 chip (clocked at 2GHz), 2GB RAM, and up to 32GB internal storage (expandable up to 256GB via MicroSD).

There's a 4,000mAh battery inside, with 10-watt charging and MicroUSB connectivity, a 5MP front-facing camera, FM Radio, and a headphone port. Xiaomi said the battery life should last up to two days.

Redmi 7A India price

There's more good news for Redmi fans in India as the 7A will be go sale immediately upon release: the 2GB+16GB model will cost 5799 rupees (~$85) and the 2GB+32GB price is set at 5999 rupees (~$88). In China, the phone started at 549 yuan (~$79,89); Xiaomi's phones are often slightly pricier outside of its home nation.

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These prices will only last until August, when the models will go up to 5999 rupees (~$88) and 6199 rupees (~$90) respectively. If you want to buy one of these models, I'd recommend trying to get the 32GB version — the quality of life difference between 16GB and 32GB storage is significant.

The phone will be available in Black, Blue, and Gold with its first sale starting July 11 at 12PM. You'll find the device on Mi.com, Flipkart, and at Mi Home stores, as well as offline channels in the future.

We haven't seen the Redmi 7A in person yet but it's shaping up to be a quite a handset. It's the same price as the Redmi 6A but with a bigger battery, better processor, and potentially superior rear camera. It's hard to argue with that as an upgrade.

We'll have more on the Redmi 7A in the coming weeks — give me your early thoughts on it in the comments.

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