The Chinese tech firm Xiaomi is expected to launch a number of new handsets in early 2018, and one of them is likely to be the Xiaomi Mi A2. While its predecessor was only launched a few months ago, the rumors are rife that the Mi A2 smartphone will make an appearance at the upcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 in Barcelona, Spain later this month. One of the possible highlights of the said device is Xiaomi's latest Surge S2 mobile processor.

According to the latest reports, Xiaomi might officially announce the Mi A2 smartphone at the MWC 2018 on Feb. 26. It can be argued that the Mi A1 was only released less than a year ago, and it seems unlikely that Xiaomi would launch the replacement for the said device this early. However, the handset maker has been known to release new hardware time and time again, and the public may not have to wait for a full year until the arrival of the Mi A1 successor.

As for the possible specs and features of the Xiaomi Mi A2, it is believed that the handset would meet the standards of a midrange smartphone, just like its predecessor. However, there could also be some improvements, including an increase to 64 GB of built-in storage. Also, it is expected that the Mi A2 will be among the first few devices from Xiaomi powered by its very own second-generation Surge processor. The Xiaomi Surge S2 is tipped to sport TSMC's 16 nm technology. This new midrange chipset will be more efficient than the first Surge processor that uses an older 28nm manufacturing process. 

Other expected features of the Xiaomi Mi A2 include 256 GB microSD card support, battery capacity ranging from 3,000 to 3,200 mAh, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, FM Radio, Bluetooth 5.0 and USB-C 1.0 connection for charging and data transfer. Prior to the anticipated launch of the Xiaomi Mi A2 at the MWC 2018, the company has already unveiled the Redmi Note 5 handset earlier this month. Xiaomi is also set to announce the Mi MIX 2S and Mi 7 smartphones in the coming days.