Xiaomi is giving special treatment to the Redmi 7A. The device got its first beta update for Android 10 a few weeks ago, and now the company is rolling out another beta but that carries stable Android 10 status. The Redmi A series comes for the entry-level customers offering the best bang for the buck. Interestingly enough, these devices can easily outperform Android Go smartphones from the same budget segment. They come with a better hardware configuration that Android Go devices and consequently, full-fledged MIUI. The company usually delivers one major Android update for these devices, and then keeps updating just the MIUI version running above. Now the company is giving the expected treatment to the Redmi 7A which was released with Android 9 Pie.
Redmi 7A specifications
The Redmi 7A was released in 2019 with a truly affordable price tag of $85 (It may vary by market). For this amount, the company delivered the handset with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. Of course, this may not be impressive in 2020, but for that price, the device offers much more than any other Android Go device. Another key aspect was the 4,000mAh battery, although the device lacked any kind of fast charging due to the old micro-USB port. The handset came with MIUI 10 on top of Android 9 Pie and received MIUI 11 update a few months ago. However, it still was based on the 2018’s Android version. The company then followed with a beta update of Android 10 that finally brought the latest Google’s OS to the low-end smartphone.
Now, the company is going forward with a stable MIUI 11 update based on Android 10. At the time of reporting, the OTA is available on the European units of the handset. However, it’s possible to cross-flash the firmware on other regional variants. The new firmware carries V11.01.0.QCMEUXM model number and bumps Android security patch level (SPL) to May 2020. Other regions might get their respective updates pretty soon.
It still requires an authorized Mi account
Worth noting that the aforementioned build carries a weird status of “stable beta”. As a result, users need an “authorized Mi account” with beta tester privileges to sideload this update. However, this can easily be bypassed by installing a recovery ROM with a custom recovery like TWRP. As soon as Xiaomi decides to classify this update as stable, then more users will be able to update it. It’s curious, but devices like the Redmi Note 8 are still waiting for this update while the cheap Redmi 7A is getting it. Moreover, the company even had problems to provide a full-fledged stable update for the Android One device Mi A3.
