Centric A1 Review: The Best Indian Answer To Xiaomi’s Dominance

Home-grown smartphone manufacturer, CENTRiC, which is an arm of Priyanka Communications has launched the Centric A1 in India and while every other domestic player is struggling to compete in this Chinese-dominated market, the Centric A1 offers everything one can ask for from a new entrant in the budgeted segment.

The Centric A1 has been launched at Rs 10,999 and such a competitive price, the smartphone comes with Stock Android, Full HD display, an exceptional front camera and a unimetal body covering the whole package.

While almost every mention on the specs-sheet makes Centric A1 one of the most sought-after offering in the segment, it goes head-to-head with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, Honor 6X, Micromax Canvas Infinity and 10.or G, all of which offer segment-leading features and at a rather hard-to-ignore price tag.

So will the Centric A1 find its own sweet spot in the competition? Let’s see!!

Centric A1 Specifications

• 5.5-inch (1920 ×1080) FHD IPS Oncell display with 2.5D Curved Glass, offering 401ppi and protected by an undisclosed scratchproof layer.

• 64-bit Octa core Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 chipset clocked at 1.4GHz coupled with Adreno 505 GPU.

• 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage, expandable up to 256GB via MicroSD.

• Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box.

• 13MP rear camera with, PDAF, dual-tone LED Flash, f/2.0 aperture, HDR and professional mode.

• 8MP front camera with fixed focus, f/2.0 aperture, and selfie Flash

• 3000mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0.

• Hybrid Dual SIM (micro + nano/microSD) and Fingerprint sensor at the rear

• DTS Sound with speakers placed at the bottom of the device for clear audio

• Dimensions: 7.8 mm thick, 76 mm wide and 152 mm tall.

• 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS + GLONASS, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, NFC, Micro USB Type-C support and 3.5mm audio jack.

Centric A1 Price And Availability

Priced at Rs 10,999, the Centric A1 is available in Gold, White & Gold, Black & Grey color options while there is only a single 3GB/32GB variant of the device. The smartphone can be bought directly from the company’s website for now, while it is expected to be available through offline retail channels in the coming months.

Centric A1 Review (First Impressions)

The unimetal built indeed gives the Centric A1 a premium feel as compared to its plastic-made counterparts and the curved edges coupled with a sleek design makes it easy-to-operate with a single hand. The fingerprint scanner is placed within the reach while two speaker grilles at the bottom of the device is a welcomed placement.

The 5.5-inch display is one of the best in business, in the mid-budget category, and comes with great veiling angles as well as contrast. Color production is bright and sharp while sunlight visibility is enough for outdoor reading and multimedia consumption.

Coming to the cameras, while users shouldn’t expect Moto G5S Plus-type results, as far as the single-sensor competition is concerned, both the front and rear cameras are right there at the top. The front camera offers great pictures under exposures while it’s the low-lighting conditions where the front 8MP unit excels.

However, the only let down in this department is the absence of OIS and grainy pictures front the front camera.

The biggest USP of Centric A1 has to be its Stock Android experience which has been a rarity in smartphones priced near the Rs 10,000 mark. While there won’t be any sort of bloatware or on-top skin, users will be able to enjoy features like split screen views and Google Assistant, to name a few.

As far as the performance credentials are concerned, the SD 430 might be as powerful as the Snapdragon 625 that powers the Redmi Note 4, but with the 3GB RAM and Adreno 505 GPU, it makes up for a good gaming as well as multitasking package.

DTS Sound is also something that differentiates the Centric A1 from its competitors as it digitizes audio sounds at 20 bits for clear and ricker sound production.

Conclusion

In our quick review, the Centric A1 came out to be a highly recommended device which comes with a sleek design, great camera, good audio quality and sturdy yet premium built. And while we won’t say that it is the best smartphone at this price range as the recently launched Billion Capture+ offers a better hardware package than the Centric A1.

However, if stock Android experience and an everyday smartphone, is what you need, Centric A1 is worth considering as its 3000mAh battery can easily give a full day worth of juice under moderate usage.