In the market for a new, affordable smartphone? Then the Redmi 7A should be in your list. Officially available in Malaysia not too long ago, you can now get Redmi’s latest smartphone for only RM419 – it was originally retailing at RM459.
On top of that, even though this Redmi 7A is a global unit (it’s offered by Xiaomi’s official global store on Shopee), it comes with after-sales support from Xiaomi’s service centres in Malaysia – not a bad deal, isn’t it?
However, do note that the Xiaomi global store only offers six-month warranty for the Redmi 7A. Despite that, this is without a doubt a legitimate store managed by the folks over at Xiaomi’s headquarters in Beijing. The Redmi 7A offered here is also the global version, so it should have Google’s services installed on the phone.
Alternatively, you could wait for the Malaysian release of the Redmi 7A: the phone appeared in SIRIM’s database on 6 July with the model number M1903C3EG. Now that the Redmi 7A has been registered with the certification body, we imagine it won’t be long until it’s officially launched here.
In any case, the Redmi 7A is a decently equipped affordable smartphone. Packing a Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 chipset, it should be able to offer enough processing power for a pleasant user experience. However, the 2GB RAM is a potential pain point. So is the 32GB of internal storage, but that is easily expandable with a microSD card.
Design wise, the Redmi 7A won’t be turning heads. It has a decidedly conventional-looking screen (no fancy hole-punch or notched cutout here) surrounded by rather thick bezels, and it’s still using a microUSB port. That being said, the Gem Blue variant does have a rather sleek-looking gradient finish.
There is also one area where the Redmi 7A will excel: battery life. Featuring a generous 4,000mAh battery, we reckon this phone will be quite long-lasting. Also, it only needs to power a 5.45-inch 720p IPS display, which shouldn’t be all that power-hungry.
Rounding out the specifications of the Redmi 7A are a single 12MP f/2.2 rear camera, a 5MP f/2.2 front-facing shooter, and dual-SIM support.
The Redmi 7A can now be purchased on Xiaomi’s official global store on Shopee for RM419. It remains to be seen how long it will be listed at that price, so if you’re keen to get it for RM419, you may want to act fast. Not thrilled with the six-month warranty? Well, you can always wait for the Malaysian launch of the Redmi 7A.
Alternatively, you can consider getting the Redmi 7 instead – it doesn’t cost all that much more for a sleeker, more capable smartphone.