Getting one of these phones in the US comes with other risks as well since your importing g from China. No warranty for one. Little you can do if the phone is delivered to you in some defective state. I only have full 3G coverage with AT&T. That said other experiences I've read on Xioami's phones have been largely positive. Really cannot stress how amazing of a deal the MI A1 is. Feels like a spiritual successor to the Nexus line.
I use one. I was blown away by the value of the 220$ Xiaomi MI A1. It's nice to know that I can move between some options for manufacturers to get the best value for my budget, and also expect a consistent experience.
I think it started out as a program for low end devices but kinda morphed into what you described, as evidenced by Nokia's higher end Android one devices.
Getting one of these phones in the US comes with other risks as well since your importing g from China. No warranty for one. Little you can do if the phone is delivered to you in some defective state. I only have full 3G coverage with AT&T. That said other experiences I've read on Xioami's phones have been largely positive. Really cannot stress how amazing of a deal the MI A1 is. Feels like a spiritual successor to the Nexus line.