Xiaomi’s MIUI is often described as an abomination by Android purists. A Xiaomi phone running stock version of Android is the most desirable combination for a huge chunk of Android users, and that’s the actual reason behind the success of Android One phones from the Chinese OEM.
Rather than designing a new phone from scratch, Xiaomi took some of their existing devices and rebrand them with Android One firmware. The first (Mi A1) and second (Mi A2) generation Android One phones from the OEM were originated from China-exclusive Mi 5X and 6X respectively.
Xiaomi did release another Android One phone in 2018 along with Mi A2. Dubbed as Mi A2 Lite, it was based on Redmi 6 Pro – a slight departure from the rebranding strategy.
Fans are speculating about the successor to the A2 lineup for a long time, and all hell broke loose when XDA-Developers found some evidences regarding the future Android One phones from the Chinese OEM.
Judging from the internal firmware packages, they concluded that at least two Android One phones with codenames “bamboo_sprout” and “cosmos_sprout” were in works. Both of them should carry in-display fingerprint sensor.
Interestingly, some leaked evidences now suggest that Mi A3 and A3 Lite are indeed in works, but they would be based on the brand new Mi CC9 series. The ‘sprout’ codename plays a key role here, as the word can be seen in an alleged hands on picture of Mi CC9e.
The person posted a couple of other pictures which indicated that the Mi CC9e could be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 SoC. On the other hand, leakster Sudhanshu Ambhore also compared the tentative model numbers of the Mi CC9 lineup and speculated about the similar rebranding.
Is Xiaomi planning to launch 3 Android One devices in 2019, which are going to be the global variants of Mi CC9 series of phones? Will there be a ‘Pro’ model, based on the top end Meitu Edition? Only time will tell.
FYI, the Mi CC series will be launched in China today (July 2) at 7.30 PM CST Asia (IST 5.00 PM). Take a look at the company’s official Weibo profile to watch the livestream and related glimpses.
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Kingshuk De
896 Posts
I came from a mixed background of Statistics and Computer Science. My research domains included embedded computer systems, mobile computing and delay tolerant networks in post-disaster scenarios. Apart from tinkering with gadgets or building hackintosh, I like to hop on various subreddits and forums like MyDigitalLife and XDA.
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