Xiaomi has adopted a new strategy and thus launched selfie-centric smartphones Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite targeting the youth of India. Until now, the Chinese handset maker offered all the features as a complete package.
Though Xiaomi has a big product line to its credit, it never attempted to serve the selfie enthusiasts. The newly launched Xiaomi Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite smartphones are exclusively meant for selfie lovers.
In fact, these handsets are nothing new but rebranded India version of Redmi Note 5A which are currently marketed in its home country as Redmi Note 5A. Apart from the launch of Redmi Y series, Xiaomi has also rolled out MIUI 9 Global ROM for its popular line up including Redmi Note 4, Mi MIX 2 and Mi Max 2.
With respect to the today’s launch, Xiaomi has made a good attempt to try something different under the ₹10K price segment. As per the first impressions, Redmi Y1 is truly the best selfie smartphone in ₹10K price segment.
Also Read: Xiaomi Mi A1, the Flagship Android One Phone with Dual Camera at ₹14999
Regarding the specifications, Redmi Y1 sports a 5.5-inch HD 720X1280 pixels display with Corning Gorilla Glass on top. Sadly, it has got all-plastic body but beautiful enough to hold and use it. Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor and 3GB RAM, it has an inbuilt storage capacity of 32GB expandable up to 128GB via microSD card slot.
As specified the biggest highlight is its 16-megapixel front camera having f/2.0 aperture. With its LED selfie-light, one can take better selfies even in low-light conditions. The Beautify 3.0 and selfie-countdown makes it more appealing. The Xiaomi Redmi Y1 packs a 13-megapixel rear camera with f/2.2 aperture, PDAF and dual-LED flash.
The face recognition and 1080p video recording make Redmi Y1 a good camera phone. However, the Redmi Y1 Lite packs just a 13-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front camera. Though it is powered by 3080mAh battery, the handset is geared to provide a talk-time of 32 hours and standby of 10 days.
Following its old traditions, the handset supports 2 SIM cards through hybrid SIM tray. Strangely, the Redmi Y1 Lite sports a dedicated microSD card slot. It’s cool to note that the handset will receive MIUI 9 update within a month of its release.
Starting 8th November, the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite will be available online (both Amazon India and Mi India) and offline stores as well. It’s priced at ₹6999 and ₹8999 respectively. Apart from 3GB-32GB ROM variant, the Redmi Y1 has also got a top-end variant 4GB RAM-64GB ROM priced at ₹10,999.
As we all know that the selfie-phones market is dominated by OPPO and Vivo. With its affordable price tag, Xiaomi Redmi Y1 is surely the best selfie-phone. If you are on tight budget, then you can’t go wrong with it.
Also Read: OPPO F5 to Launch in 3 Variants with AI-Powered Selfie Features
By balancing the ergonomics and performance, Xiaomi Redmi Y1 can be termed as a mish-mash of Redmi 4A (body) and Redmi 4 (hardware). Truly, a selfie phone on budget!
Interestingly, Mi has signed-up Katrina Kaif as its brand ambassador for its new series Redmi Y1.
