Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi on Thursday expanded its product portfolio with the launch of a new budget-friendly and also selfie-centric smartphone series, dubbed as the “Redmi Y series” in the Indian tech market. The new Redmi Y series includes two devices, namely Xiaomi Redmi Y1 and Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Lite. Basically, the Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite were first introduced in China in the month of August as Redmi Note 5A, and the same smartphone has been launched in India in two variants as Redmi Y series. The Xiaomi Redmi Y1 comes in two variants based on its RAM and internal storage configuration: Redmi Y1 with 3GB RAM & 32GB internal storage, and the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 with 4GB RAM & 64GB internal storage. On the other hand, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Lite comes in only one configuration with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage.
Alongside the two new Redmi Y series smartphones, Xiaomi also announced the availability of the MIUI 9 custom UI skin for Redmi Note 4, Mi MIX 2, and Mi Max 2 (early November), and other smartphones will receive update by end of the month. The new MIUI 9 user interface brings an array of smart features including Smart app launcher, Smart assistant, Home screen enhancements, Lock screen enhancements, Split screen multitasking, Image search, Quick reply and notification management. However, the main highlights of the smartphones are their latest Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS, 13MP rear camera, 16MP front camera (high-end variant), premium build quality and a dedicated dual Nano-SIM slots with a microSD card slot (Triple tray configuration). The Chinese brand says the Redmi Y series smartphones are aimed at the youth of the nation.
When it comes to pricing and availability, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 with 3GB RAM & 32GB internal storage variant has been launched in the country with a price tag of Rs. 8,999, while the top-end variant with 4GB RAM & 64GB internal storage has been priced at Rs. 10,999. As for the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Lite, it has been priced at Rs. 6,999. Both the smartphones will be made available for purchase in India starting November 8 exclusively via e-commerce website Amazon.in as well as company’s online retail store Mi.com and other offline retail stores across the country in Gold and Dark Grey colour options.
Design wise, both the smartphones come with an aluminium alloy frame with a brushed metal-like finish on the back, giving it an overall premium look. The smartphone is quite thin and its slight curves on the edges to make phone sit comfortably in your palm. The smartphones also feature a trio of capacitive navigation touch buttons for controlling back, home-screen and multitasking. The volume up-down keys and the power/lock button are all placed on the right-hand edge of the smartphones, and a 3.5mm audio socket is placed on the very top edge of the devices. Like the Redmi Y1, the Y1 Lite model doesn’t feature a fingerprint sensor. The speaker grilles are seen at the bottom edge of the devices along with a microUSB charging port sitting in the middle.
Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Specifications:
Starting with the high-end variant, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 comes equipped with a 5.5-inch HD IPS display with a screen resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels and a scratch resistance 2.5D curved glass coating on top of the display. The display offers a 450 nits brightness and an impressive 70% of NTSC colour gamut. Under the hood, the smartphone is powered by a 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 octa-core processor along with Adreno 505 GPU to handle the graphics. In terms of memory, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 is backed up by a 3GB/4GB of RAM and 32GB/64GB of internal storage, which can be further expanded up to 128GB via a microSD card. Talking about its software fronts, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 runs company’s proprietary MIUI 8 custom UI skin (upgradable to MIUI 9), based on Google’s latest Android 7.1.1 Nougat operating system. The Xiaomi Redmi Y1 also features an IR Blaster (infrared sensor) that can be used as a universal remote to control third-party electronics & appliances like set-top boxes, audio consoles, TVs, fans, air conditioners or DVD players.
In terms of photography, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 features a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with an f/2.2 aperture, Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF) and an LED flash module. On the front, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 carries a 16MP front-facing shooter with an f/2.0 aperture, 76.4-degree wide-angle lens, OmniVision sensor and an LED flash module for capturing bright selfies and making video calls even in low-light conditions. The front camera also supports Beautify 3.0 feature that helps to beautify selfie photos.
In terms of connectivity, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 offers various connectivity options including dual-SIM, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS/A-GPS, IR Blaster, a 3.5mm audio jack and a microUSB port for charging and data transfer. On the battery front, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 comes loaded with a 3,080mAh battery that is rated to deliver up to 35 hours of talk time and up to 11 days of standby time. Sensors on the smartphone include an Ambient Light Sensor, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, Fingerprint (rear-mounted), Gyroscope, Infrared sensor, and E-compass sensor. Dimensionally, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 measures 153× 76.2 × 7.7 mm and weighs 153 grams.
Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Lite Specifications:
Moving on to the low-spec variant, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Lite flaunts a 5.5-inch HD IPS display with a screen resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels and a scratch resistance 2.5D curved glass protection on top of the display. Coming to its power and performance, the device is powered by a 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 quad-core processor coupled with Adreno 308 GPU. In terms of memory, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Lite comes with a 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, which can be further expanded up to 128GB via a microSD card. Talking about its software fronts, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Lite also runs company’s proprietary MIUI 8 custom UI skin (upgradable to MIUI 9), based on Google’s latest Android 7.1.1 Nougat operating system.
For photography, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Lite sports a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with an f/2.2 aperture, Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF) and an LED flash module. On the front, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Lite houses a 5-megapixel front-facing snapper with an f/2.0 aperture for capturing selfies and video chats.
In terms of connectivity, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Lite also supports dual-SIM, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS/A-GPS, IR Blaster, a 3.5mm audio jack and a microUSB port for charging and other connectivity. On the battery front, the smartphone is fuelled by a 3,080mAh battery. Sensors on the smartphone include an Ambient Light Sensor, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, and Infrared sensor. Dimensionally, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Lite measures 153× 76.2 × 7.5 mm and weighs 150 grams.
