Xiaomi launches the new Redmi Y Series in India
Xiaomi launches the new Redmi Y Series in India

Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone giant has launched the Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite smartphones as the first members of its new Redmi Y series. The Y Series targets the youth of India. The Redmi Y1 comes with a 16 MP selfie camera with LED flash, while the Redmi Y1 Lite is quite similar, but comes with a 5 MP front-facing camera. Today, Xiaomi has also announced the availability of the MIUI 9 Global ROM which will be available early November for Redmi Note 4, Mi MIX 2, and Mi Max 2 while other smartphones will get it by end of the month.

Redmi Y1 is the first in the Redmi Y Series, by Xiaomi and the biggest highlight of Xiaomi Redmi Y1 is its 16 MP front camera with LED flash for taking selfies in low light. It also comes with the latest Beautify 3.0 feature which tweaks the selfies to make them look good. It sports a 5.5-inch 720p HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection.

Xiaomi launches the new Redmi Y Series in India
Xiaomi launches the new Redmi Y Series in India

The Redmi Y1 is powered by a Snapdragon 435 octa-core processor, coupled with 3GB of RAM and 32GB inbuilt storage, which is expandable up to 128GB via microSD card- Yes, there is a dedicated microSD slot this time. The Redmi Y1 sports a 13 MP rear camera with PDAF and dual-LED flash and 16 MP front-facing camera, as we have mentioned earlier. The Redmi Y1 comes with all the standard connectivity options and is powered by a 3080mAh battery. It runs MIUI 9 out of the box and features a fingerprint scanner on the back. The Redmi Y1 is priced at INR 8,999 for the 3GB RAM/32GB storage variant and INR 10,999 for the 4GB/64GB storage variant.

The Redmi Y1 Lite is a little toned down variant of the Redmi Y1 and is a lower end phone under the same Redmi Y Series, the Redmi Y1 Lite has the same 5.5-inch 720p HD display, runs MIUI 9, but it is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 425 processor, coupled with 2GB RAM. It sports 13 MP rear camera with PDAF and dual tone LED flash but has a 5MP selfie camera instead of the 16 MP unit as we have seen on the Redmi Y1, but it features an IR blaster and has the same battery capacity. Redmi Y1 Lite is priced at INR 6999.

If you want to have a look at the specs sheet and comparison between the Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite, head over to the bottom of the page where the specs comparison sheet is provided.

Along with these two new phones under the Redmi Y Series, Xiaomi also announced the availability of MIUI 9. With MIUI 9, Xiaomi focused on faster app launches, and a smoother UI with reduced latency. MIUI 9 also brings split screen, an improved notification dropdown, as well as icon animations, and smart photo editing featuring object removal. MIUI 9 also brings support for the Panchang calendar, festival cards for over 26 festivals in India, as well as Horoscope, News, Cricket News, Cricket Schedule, Football Schedule, Health and Fitness, and ‘On this Day’ information. In MIUI 9, the gallery app now features 12 sticker sets onboard, with four exclusively designed for India.

The MIUI 9 also brings a new App Vault feature that can be used to hail cabs, take notes, scan QR codes, and more. MIUI 9 now includes a new Mi Video app, which now features automatic grouping, multilingual subtitles, as well as support for more video formats. With MIUI 9 Mi Calculator, Mi Explorer, and Mi Drop standalone apps will also be made available on the Google Play Store. Mi Drop allows for the transfer of all file types via Wi-Fi Direct peer-to-peer sharing and will be available to download from Nov 16.

MIUI 9 will be rolling out to the following Xiaomi smartphones:

  • 2017 – Mi MIX 2 / Mi Note 3 / Mi 6 / Mi Max 2 / Redmi Note 4 / Redmi Note 4X / Redmi Note 5A / Redmi 4 / Redmi 4X / Redmi Y1 / Redmi Y1 Lite
  • 2016 – Mi MIX / Mi Note 2 / Mi 5 / Mi 5s/ Mi 5s Plus / Mi Max / Mi Max Prime / Redmi Note 3 / Redmi 3 / Redmi 3S / Redmi 3S Prime / Redmi 4 / Redmi 4A
  • 2015 – Mi Note / Mi 4i / Redmi 2 / Redmi 2 Prime / Redmi Note 4G Prime / Redmi Note 2
  • 2014 – Mi 4/ Redmi Note 4G
  • 2013 – Mi 3
  • 2012 – Mi 2

Redmi Y1 vs Redmi Y1 Lite

GENERAL
Release dateNovember 2017November 2017
Form factorTouchscreenTouchscreen
Dimensions (mm)153.00 x 76.20 x 7.70–
Weight (g)153.00150.00
Battery capacity (mAh)30803080
Removable batteryNoNo
ColoursGold, Dark GreyGold, Dark Grey
SAR ValueNANA
DISPLAY
Screen size (inches)5.505.50
TouchscreenYesYes
Resolution720×1280 pixels720×1280 pixels
HARDWARE
Number of cores8 4
Processor makeQualcomm Snapdragon 435Qualcomm Snapdragon 425
RAM3GB2GB
Internal storage32GB16GB
Expandable storageYesYes
Expandable storage typemicroSDmicroSD
Expandable storage up to (GB)128128
CAMERA
Rear camera13-megapixel13-megapixel
FlashYesYes
Front camera16-megapixel5-megapixel
SOFTWARE
Operating SystemAndroid 7.0Android 7.0
CONNECTIVITY
Wi-FiYesYes
Wi-Fi standards supportedNA802.11 b/g/n
GPSYesYes
BluetoothYesYes
NFCNoNo
InfraredYesNo
Headphones3.5mm3.5mm
FMYesYes
Number of SIMs22
SIM1
SIM TypeNano-SIMNano-SIM
GSM/CDMAGSMGSM
3GYesYes
4G/LTEYesYes
SIM2
SIM TypeNano-SIMNano-SIM
GSM/CDMAGSMGSM
3GYesYes
4G/LTEYesYes
SENSORS
Compass/ MagnetometerYesNo
Proximity sensorYesYes
AccelerometerYesYes
Ambient light sensorYesYes
GyroscopeNoNo
BarometerNoNo
Temperature sensorNoNo

An optimist to the core, I always see the glass half full. I like to take life as it comes and not to become too serious on the harsher aspects of it. Apart from this, I am an Engineer, a Blogger & a Researcher....

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