Oracle Stock Slides After Blue Owl Exit Report, Company Says Michigan Data Center Talks Remain on Track 
Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Ban Sparks Global Debate and Early Challenges 
MetaX IPO Soars as China’s AI Chip Stocks Ignite Investor Frenzy 
Apple App Store Injunction Largely Upheld as Appeals Court Rules on Epic Games Case 
noyb Files GDPR Complaints Against TikTok, Grindr, and AppsFlyer Over Alleged Illegal Data Tracking. 
Biren Technology Targets Hong Kong IPO to Raise $300 Million Amid China’s AI Chip Push 
SUPERFORTUNE Launches AI-Powered Mobile App, Expanding Beyond Web3 Into $392 Billion Metaphysics Market 
SoftBank Shares Slide as Oracle’s AI Spending Plans Fuel Market Jitters 
iRobot Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Amid Rising Competition and Tariff Pressures 
Trump Signs Executive Order to Establish National AI Regulation Standard 
SpaceX Begins IPO Preparations as Wall Street Banks Line Up for Advisory Roles 
OpenAI Explores Massive Funding Round at $750 Billion Valuation 
Micron Technology Forecasts Surge in Revenue and Earnings on AI-Driven Memory Demand 
Nvidia Weighs Expanding H200 AI Chip Production as China Demand Surges 
Evercore Reaffirms Alphabet’s Search Dominance as AI Competition Intensifies 
The Xiaomi Mi A2 is out and it is making a lot of budget smartphone hunters quite happy. The device represents a good balance between low costs and decent features. On that note, it is concerning that Xiaomi did an Apple and got rid of phone’s 3.5mm headphone port. The device was also pitted against the similarly impressive Nokia 7 Plus and held its own.
As Ars Technica notes in its coverage of the Xiaomi Mi A2, it seems that even budget smartphones are now getting rid of the headphone jack. Is this the beginning of the end for the feature that has been a part of the tech industry for decades? At this point, it doesn’t seem so, but one can never really tell.
In terms of the other features and specs of the Xiaomi Mi A2, its OS is the Android 8.1 Oreo and has a 5.99-inch screen. The display resolution is 2160×1080 and it sports an Adreno 512 GPU. The processor is a bit on the mid-range side with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660. However, with a retail price of $290, customers can hardly complain about that.
In terms of competitors, it’s clear that the Xiaomi Mi A2 was intended to compete in the same arena as the Nokia 7 Plus. HMD Global, which has acquired the rights to distribute the Nokia brand, has been doing quite well and is actually seeing a resurgence.
To see which of the two would serve users best, Android Authority compared the Xiaomi Mi A2 and the Nokia 7 Plus, and the results seem to put the devices on an even playing field. Granted, the price of the Xiaomi Mi A2 gives it an advantage, but the Nokia 7 Plus does feature a headphone jack and a bigger battery. So it basically comes down to what customers are looking for.
