The Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite and Mi A3 receive disappointingly small January update

Google markets Android One as being "secure, up-to-date and easy to use". While commenting on the first and third tenents of that strapline are beyond the scope of this article, the rollout of Android 10 the Mi A2 Lite and Mi A3 challenge the second. Slated to receive Android 10 this month, screenshots that have been published online show that the two Android One handsets have received an altogether different January update.

As Xiaomi India alluded to last week, the Mi A2 Lite and Mi A3 have been furnished with the January 2020 set of Android security patches. The two devices remain on Android 9.0 Pie for the time being, though. There appears to have been no movement on the "mid-February" timescale for the release of Android 10 to the Mi A3, either.

Meanwhile, there is no sign of Android 10 for the Mi A2 Lite. Xiaomi is yet to release the Android 10 kernel source for the device, or even a closed beta. Hence, all signs currently point towards Mi A2 Lite owners having to wait until at least after the Mi A3 receives its Android 10 update next month.

In short, while Android One offers a near-stock version of Android, it is still subject to the machinations and delays of OEMs. With Xiaomi now upgrading some of its mid-range handsets to Android 10 builds of MIUI 11, does the Android One program continue to offer "faster access to Android OS updates" as Google promised nearly two years ago?