AFTER a round of obligatory leaks leading up to its announcement, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A is now official — at least in its home country of China.

SEE ALSO: Complete specs of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A

The Redmi Note 5A is the latest budget smartphone from the Chinese brand known and beloved for coming up with feature-packed yet affordable electronics. Xiaomi’s latest entry is no exception. Better yet, its better-than-average internals are encased in a premium metal shell, with a fingerprint reader to boot.

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But Xiaomi didn’t stop there. It added a 16-megapixel selfie camera with front-firing flash, allowing for better-looking vanity snaps even when the lighting isn’t ideal. There’s also a real-time beautify feature, which further justifies the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A’s pitch as a selfie phone — for cheap, might we add. The camera hardware round the back is pegged at 13 megapixels and won’t blow anyone’s socks off.

The 5.5-inch, 1080p screen is both generous and sharp for a bargain-basement option, while the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor under the hood offers a satisfying user experience on Android Nougat-based MIUI. The 3080mAh battery will probably last you through a full day of work.

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Prices obviously vary depending on RAM configuration and storage specs, but the base model with 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage costs 899 yuan, or approximately P6,944 or $135. Meanwhile, the top-end version with 4GB RAM and 64GB memory retails at 1,199 yuan (P9,262 or $180).

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