Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Design
Xiaomi Redmi Y1 After looking at the phone, it can be said with confidence that the imprint of the Xiaomi family is clearly visible. If you assume it to be Xiaomi Redmi 4 at first glance, then there will be nothing surprising in it. Take the phone in your hands and you will realize that it is bigger than Xiaomi Redmi 4. It has a 5.5 inch display. In Redmi Y1, you will get a 16 megapixel front camera with selfie flash. There are capacitive touch buttons for navigation below the screen.
Weighing 153 grams, this phone is quite light and to keep the weight low, Xiaomi has used plastic. The chrome highlights give the feel of a metal back plate. But the rear and sides are made of plastic. The power and volume buttons are also made of plastic. The 13-megapixel primary camera and flash are on the top edge and the fingerprint sensor is placed in the middle. The position of the scanner is convenient. The SIM tray is on the left edge. You will get 2 nano SIM slots. Apart from this, there is also a separate slot for microSD card to increase storage.
There is a microUSB port at the bottom, while the top has an IR blaster, a secondary mic for noise cancellation and a headphone jack. We liked the build quality of the Redmi Y1. Xiaomi has used good quality plastic which gives a premium feel. The retail box of the handset is quite simple. The box contains a SIM ejector tool, a 10-watt charger and a micro-USB cable.
Specifications and Features of Xiaomi Redmi Y1
To give speed to this phone, the company has used Snapdragon 435 processor. This processor is used Xiaomi Redmire 4 ,Review) has been released. The maximum clock speed of this octa-core processor is 1.4 GHz. There are two variants of Redmi Y1. One comes with 3 GB RAM and 32 GB storage. At the same time, the other has 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage. No matter which variant you choose, you have the facility to use a microSD card up to 128 GB.
This phone has a 5.5″ screen with HD 720×1280 resolution. There is a 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass for protection. The main feature of Redmi Y1 is its 16 megapixel front camera which is equipped with selfie flash. There are very few phones in the market with this type of sensor on the front panel. The phone becomes more attractive due to the front flash. There is a 13 megapixel sensor on the rear with PDAF and F/2.2 aperture.
The battery of Redmi Y1 is 3080 mAh. This is very less compared to the 4100 mAh battery of Xiaomi Redmi 4. For connectivity, Xiaomi Redmi Y1 has Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n, GPS, A-GPS and GLONASS. Accelerometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, electronic compass, hall sensor and gyroscope are part of it. Both SIM slots support 4G and VoLTE. But only one SIM will be able to use the 4G network at a time.
We got the variant with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage for review. It was running MIUI 9 beta based on Android Nougat. MIUI 9 has many new features. Early buyers of the Redmi Y1 will get MIUI 8. The stable version of MIUI 9 will be available in the coming weeks. The UI will get updated, but it is not clear whether Xiaomi will update the Android version or not. If you have used MIUI before, then the updated user interface will be easy to understand. But if you have been using stock Android or some other skin, then it will take some time to get used to it. The settings interface has changed to some extent and MIUI also handles app permissions in a slightly different way. Once you get familiar with this user interface, you will start liking MIUI.
You will get new features like dual apps. With its help, you will be able to run two accounts simultaneously in apps like WhatsApp and Facebook on your phone. The phone also has a reading mode which makes the color tone of the screen a little warm. Due to this, using the phone at night becomes more convenient. Many apps of Xiaomi will also be pre-installed. Apart from this, the company’s own store is also present. There is a theme support, with the help of which you will be able to change the look of the phone in a few seconds. Let us tell you that we were using MIUI 9 beta. It is possible that things may change a little in the final build.
Xiaomi Redmi Y1 performance and camera
Given the reliable hardware, it’s no surprise that the Redmi Y1 was a good experience to use. The phone unlocks quickly after a quick fingerprint scan. Apps launch quickly too. We liked the accurate colour reproduction and viewing angles of the Redmi Y1’s screen. You can change the colour temperature of the display to suit your preference. The phone also handles multitasking well. Overall, we liked the combination of software and hardware in this Xiaomi phone.
During testing, we played Clash Royale, Asphalt 8 and Prime Peaks games. The phone had no problem running these games. The phone did not heat up too much while playing the games. However, we found that the battery was consumed quickly.
The battery life of the Redmi Y1 is average. The phone lasted for about a day with normal use. In our HD video loop test, the battery lasted for 9 hours and 45 minutes which is very less compared to the 14 hours and 20 minutes of the Xiaomi Redmi 4. If battery life is a priority for you, then the Redmi 4 seems to be a better option.
The camera app on the Redmi Y1 is similar to other Xiaomi phones. You have several modes to choose from, such as Panorama, Beautify, and Manual. The app has quick toggles for HDR and flash, which is a useful feature. The selfie camera also has a quick toggle for Beautify mode. Photos taken in daylight had no lack of detail and the colours were quite accurate. The camera performance in low light is not very good. The phone manages to keep the noise levels low, but the images are not good. You will need a steady hand to take usable photos.
The most important feature of this new series of the company is selfie. We tested the front camera in different conditions. Photos came out sharp in daylight, but a lot of grain is visible when we zoom in. Selfie flash proves to be useful in low light. Portrait shots come out well, but grain is still visible in the background. Photos become better due to Beautify mode. But there is nothing wow about the front camera.
Our verdict
The Redmi Y1 is Xiaomi’s first attempt at making a selfie-centric phone. The hardware is reliable and is well capable of handling most tasks. MIUI 9 is quite smooth and users will get used to it quickly. Camera performance is good in daylight but average in low light. The flash helps when it comes to selfies and the beautify mode also works to some extent. But the output is not always good.
The biggest challenge for Xiaomi Redmi Y1 is the company’s own Xiaomi Redmi 4 handset. Redmi Y1 and Redmi 4 are priced almost the same and most of the hardware features are also similar. Redmi 4 has a metal body and a bigger battery in a more compact body. But Redmi Y1 has a bigger screen and front flash too. If selfies are most important for you then Redmi Y1 can be bought. If not, then Redmi 4 is still ahead in this price range.