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Google Pixel 2 and Xiaomi Mi A1 are the best smartphone deals in Flipkart Big Billion Day Sale: Features, News

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Not only do both smartphones run on a pure and unadulterated version of Android but also offer tremendous value for money at their current discounted prices.
With the new year just around the corner, it is the perfect time to up your smartphone game and invest in a shiny new gadget. Flipkart is currently offering discounts on a wide range of smartphones as a part of its Big Billion Day sale. While the sale, which is set to end today, has lucrative deals on many devices, there are two offers which stand out in particular.
Covering both ends of the price spectrum, the first offer involves Xiaomi’s Android One based Mi A1 mid-range smartphone and the second involves Google’s recently launched Pixel 2 flagship. Not only do both smartphones run on a pure and unadulterated version of Android but also offer tremendous value for money at their current discounted prices.
Flipkart is offering a flat 2,000 rupees discount on the Xiaomi Mi A1 effectively reducing its price to Rs 12,999. The offer on Pixel 2 is even more generous – much more generous actually. Flipkart is offering a flat discount of Rs 11,001 on the phone along with an additional Rs 10,000 cashback on all debit and credit cards – effectively reducing its price from Rs 61,000 to Rs 39,999.
While the offer on the Mi A1 sounds a bit stale in comparison to the mouth-watering deal being offered on the Pixel 2, we have included it on the list plainly because the Mi A1 makes for an excellent buy at Rs 12,999. There simply isn’t a better smartphone you can buy for the price. For Rs 12,999, you are getting a smartphone with a great dual camera setup, a premium all-metal design, superb performance and the fluidity of stock Android.
The Mi A1 ticks all the right boxes. Even though it does not embrace the latest bezel-less craze, it has a stylish full metal unibody design that is sleek, clean and well thought out. The build quality is a step above Xiaomi phones of the past and the 5.5-inch FullHD display up front is vivid and punchy, albeit a bit lacking in brightness.
In typical Xiaomi fashion, the hardware under the hood is class leading. The Xiaomi Mi A1 is powered by the ultra-reliable and efficient Snapdragon 625 processor which along with the stock build of Android Nougat ensures fast and fluid performance across the board. The rest of the specifications are also top notch – the phone comes with 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage which can be expanded via a microSD card and a 3,000mAh battery which ensures a day of usage easily.
Not only do both smartphones run on a pure version of Android but also offer tremendous value for money at their current discounted prices
While most competitors in this price range like the Moto G5S Plus still use the age-old microUSB port for charging and data transfer, the Mi A1 comes with the future-forward USB-Type C port for charging and data transfer.
The Mi A1 also comes with a stellar dual camera setup. In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Mi A1 has the best dual camera implementation in any smartphone south of Rs 30,000. The dual 12MP camera setup on the Mi A1 not allows you to capture bokeh images but also offers 2X optical zoom. On the front, the Mi A1 comes with a 5MP sensor for selfies.
This is what we had to say about the Mi A1’s dual camera setup in our official review:
“It’s safe to say that the Mi A1 offers the best dual camera implementation on a mid-level budget phone right now. The Mi A1 literally excels at portrait shots when the lighting is ideal, offering crisp and detailed shots and a creamy background, with little or no blurry edges”
Also Read: Xiaomi Redmi 5A review: If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it
It is safe to say that the Google Pixel 2 is a fantastic smartphone and an even better portable camera. The Pixel 2 for Rs 39,990 is an absolute steal deal. It offers all the benefits that the bigger Pixel 2 XL brings to the table – a stellar camera (if not the best in the Android world), fast and fluid software, top notch hardware and a premium design – without any of the troublesome display issues.
Even though the Pixel 2 lacks an edge-to-edge 18:9 display, it still looks as premium as a high-end flagship should. If you can live with bezels in 2017, the Pixel 2 makes for a superb buy, especially at its current mouth-watering discounted price.
The Pixel 2 comes with a water-resistant chassis, dual front facing speakers, edge sensors that can be used to invoke Google Assistant, a crisp and vibrant FullHD display and Android 8.0 Oreo as Google intended it to be – unadulterated, bloat-free and devoid of overlays. Pixel 2 users also get unlimited high resolution photo backups till 2020.
Along with the latest version of Android (and the promise of timely future updates), the Pixel 2 also comes loaded with top-end hardware. It is powered by the Snapdragon 835 processor paired with 4GB of RAM and the Adreno 540 GPU. While the battery seems a bit anemic on paper (2,700mAh), the phone actually lasts a day of use quite easily.
The biggest USP of the Pixel 2 and the primary reason to buy the phone is its camera. Both the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL have arguably the best smartphone cameras currently. The Pixel 2 has a 12MP rear camera with an aperture of f/2.8 accompanied by an 8MP front camera. Despite having just a single sensor on the front and back, the Pixel 2 can click bokeh images via software algorithms – a combination of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The biggest USP of the Pixel 2 and the primary reason to buy the phone is its camera
This is what we had to say about the Pixel 2XL’s rear camera (Pixel 2 has the same rear camera) in our official review:
“It captures great photos in good light and is one of the best in low light. Google’s HDR+ mode remains the best image processing method in the industry. Compared to the camera in the original Pixel phones, the camera in the Pixel 2 XL is faster: faster in focusing and faster in clicking photo. And that portrait mode, even with the 8-megapixel selfie camera that too clicks fantastic images, is superb.”
Flipkart is offering discounts on other smartphones as well. While these deals are not as lucrative as the ones being offered on the Pixel 2 and Mi A1, they are worth considering anyhow. Flipkart is offering 10% instant discount on SBI credit cards and extra 5% off with Axis Bank Buzz credit cards on all the smartphones listed below.
Moto X4 at Rs 18,999
Flipkart is offering the 32GB storage/3GB RAM variant of the recently launched Moto X4 for Rs 18,999 – down from Rs 20,999.

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