At an event in Delhi today, Xiaomi has launched its selfie-centric series smartphones for the Indian market - the Redmi Y1 and the Redmi Y1 Lite. Basically, these phones are available in China as Redmi Note 5A, but rebranded for Indians as Redmi Y series.
The first one in the series Redmi Y1, dubbed as the ‘best selfie’ smartphone, comes with a 16MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture, 76.4-degree wide-angle lens, and a dedicated front-facing LED flash for capturing enhanced selfies. The rear camera, on the other hand, is a 13MP shooter with f/2.2 aperture and PDAF.
The smartphone sports a 5.5-inch HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass on top for screen protection. In the hardware department, the Redmi Y1 is powered by a 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 435 processor alongside an Adreno 505 GPU. The chipset is paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The device comes in two colour options Black, and Gold with a brushed metallic finish and supports dual-SIM as well as a dedicated microSD slot. The Redmi Y1 will also be available in a premium 4GB RAM and 64GB storage model.
The second smartphone in the Y series is the Redmi Y1 Lite that sports a 5.5-inch display as well. Tipping the scale at 150 grams, the smartphone comes in Light Grey and Gold colour options. Backed by a 3,080mAh battery, the Y1 Lite is internally powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 425 SoC, paired with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage that can be further expanded up to 128GB via a dedicated microSD card slot. The device features a 13MP rear camera while a 5MP selfie camera sits on the front.
Starting November 8, both the Redmi Y1 and the Redmi Y1 Lite will be available online exclusively on Amazon and also in major offline retailers across the country. The Redmi Y1 is priced at Rs. 8,999 while its 4GB+64GB variant is available at the price of Rs. 10,999. Meanwhile, the Redmi Y1 Lite comes with a price tag of Rs. 6,999.
Xiaomi India also announced the MIUI 9 update during the event. The MIUI 9 update brings faster app launches and smoother UI with added features like split screen, icon animations, app vault, smart photo editing, second space, Mi Video, and T9 dial pad. The MIUI 9 is claimed to be as fast as the stock android and also comes in 56 languages across 220 countries. Starting November 3, the MIUI 9 will roll out to Mi max 2, mi mix 2, and other Xiaomi phones.
