Xiaomi’s journey in the Indian market is about four years. During this period, the company became the second largest smartphone company in terms of sales after Samsung. With the aim of reaching the top, this Chinese company has been continuously expanding its portfolio. After launching the flagship Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 and Android One handset Xiaomi Mi A1 (Review) in the last few months, the company has now brought the new Redmi Y series for the youth. Through this series, Xiaomi wants to provide selfie-centric products to the customers. The initial model of this series is Xiaomi Redmi Y1. Its specifications are good on paper. But does it deserve to be your first choice? Let us know.

Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Design

After looking at Xiaomi Redmi Y1, it can be said with confidence that the imprint of Xiaomi family is clearly visible. If you assume it to be Xiaomi Redmi 4 at first glance then there will be nothing shocking in it. Hold the phone in your hands and you will realize that it is bigger than the Xiaomi Redmi 4. It has a 5.5 inch display. In Redmi Y1 you will get 16 megapixel front camera with selfie flash. Below the screen are capacitive touch buttons for navigation.
This 153 gram phone is quite light and to keep the weight down, Xiaomi has used plastic. 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 plastic. The 13-megapixel primary camera and flash are placed on the top edge and the fingerprint sensor is placed in the middle. The position of the scanner is convenient. There is a SIM tray 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.

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There is a microUSB port at the bottom, while at the top there is an IR blaster and a secondary mic and headphone jack for noise cancellation. 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 simple. The box includes a SIM ejector tool, a 10-watt charger, and a micro-USB cable.

Specifications and features of Xiaomi Redmi Y1

To speed up this phone, the company has used Snapdragon 435 processor. This processor has been used in Xiaomi Redmi 4 (Review). The maximum clock speed of this octa-core processor is 1.4 GHz. There are two variants of Redmi Y1. Comes with a 3 GB RAM and 32 GB storage. Whereas, the other one 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.

The 5.5″ screen of this phone has HD 720×1280 resolution. There is 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass for protection. The important feature of Redmi Y1 is the 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 front flash makes the phone more attractive. There is a 13-megapixel sensor with PDAF and F/2.2 aperture on the rear.

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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 its parts. Both SIM slots support 4G and VoLTE. But only one SIM will be able to use the 4G network at a time.

We have received a variant with 3 GB RAM and 32 GB storage for review. It was running on MIUI 9 beta based on Android Nougat. There are many new features in MIUI 9. 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 be 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 are using stock Android or any other skin, then it will take some time for you to get used to it. The Settings interface has changed somewhat and MIUI also handles app permissions a bit differently. As soon as you become familiar with this user interface, you will start liking MIUI.

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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 slightly warmer. Because of this, using the phone at night becomes more convenient. Many apps of Xiaomi will also be pre-installed. Apart from this, the company also has its own store. 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’s possible that things may change a bit in the final build.

Performance and camera of Xiaomi Redmi Y1

Given the reliable hardware, it’s no surprise that using the Redmi Y1 was a good experience. After a quick fingerprint scan, the phone unlocks instantly. Apps also launch quickly. We liked the accurate color reproduction and viewing angles of the Redmi Y1’s screen. You can change the color temperature of the display as per your choice. The phone also handles multitasking strongly. Overall, we liked the combination of software and hardware in this phone of Xiaomi.

During testing, we played Clash Royale, Asphalt 8 and Prime Peaks games. The phone did not face any problem in running these games. The phone did not get too hot even while playing games. However, we found that the battery drained quickly.

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The battery of Redmi Y1 is average. The phone lasted for about a day in normal use. In our HD video loop test, its battery lasted 9 hours 45 minutes, which is very less compared to Xiaomi Redmi 4’s 14 hours 20 minutes. If battery life is a priority for you then Redmi 4 seems to be a better option.

The camera app of Redmi Y1 is the same as 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 are useful features. The selfie camera has a quick toggle for beautify mode. There was no lack of detail in the photos taken in daylight and the colors were also quite accurate. Camera performance is not very good in low light. The phone is successful in keeping the noise level low, but the pictures are not good. You’ll need steady hands to take usable photos.

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The most important feature of this new series of the company is selfie. We tested the front camera in different conditions. The pictures came out sharp in daylight, but when zoomed in, they appear very grainy. Selfie flash proves effective in low light. Portrait shots are good, but grains are still visible in the background. Beautify mode makes photos better. But there is nothing wow about the front camera.

our decision

If seen, Redmi Y1 is Xiaomi’s first attempt at making a selfie-centric phone. The hardware is reliable and more than capable of handling most tasks. MIUI 9 is quite smooth and users will soon get used to it. Camera performance is good in daylight, but average in low light. Talking about selfies, flash proves helpful and 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. The price of Redmi Y1 and Redmi 4 is almost the same and most of the hardware features are also similar. Redmi 4 has a metal body and a bigger battery is available in a more compact body. But Redmi Y1 has a bigger screen and front flash too. If selfie is most important for you then Redmi Y1 can be purchased. If not, then Redmi 4 is still in the lead at this price.

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