Xiaomi has been so successful in the last 18 months, especially after the launch of Xiaomi Redmi Note 4. The Chinese brand managed to sell 9.4 million units of Redmi Note 4 in India within a year. 2017 will be considered as the best year for Xiaomi in India as almost all their smartphones did equally well at the market, except the high-end Mi Mix 2 and Redmi Y1 Lite. Xiaomi has launched its fourth smartphone of 2018 in India a couple of days ago- the Redmi Y2. The Redmi Y2 is the fifth Xiaomi smartphone to offer the Snapdragon 625 chipset in India, after the Redmi Note 4, Mi Max 2, Mi A1 and Redmi Note 5.
As always, the Redmi Y2 is priced aggressively in the country and it gives a tough fight to the competition and Xiaomi's own Redmi Note 5. Specifications wise, the Redmi Y2 has a 5.99-inch HD+ display- not the Full HD+ one as the Redmi Note 5. It's powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset, mated with 3GB/4GB of RAM and 32GB/64GB of internal storage. It has a dedicated microSD card slot for storage expansion.
Here comes the real deal with the Redmi Y2. The phone packs dual rear camera setup and a whopping 16MP front-facing with various AI features on board. The Redmi Y2 boasts a 12MP primary sensor at the back with f/2.2 aperture, 1.25?m and PDAF. It's paired with a 5MP depth sensor. The rear camera also offers Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS). To the front, Xiaomi has added a 16MP shooter, which is being marred with various AI features. In fact, Xiaomi is calling the smartphone as 'AI-Selfie superstar.'
Moving on, we have a 3080mAh battery, MIUI 9.5 running the show built on top of Android 8.1 Oreo, Face Unlock feature, rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and a micro USB port to the bottom.
Lastly, we have the pricing. This is where things get interesting- the Redmi Y2 with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage is priced at Rs 9,999, whereas the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage model is priced at Rs 12,999.
Our take: Honestly, we expected aggressive pricing from Xiaomi for the Redmi Y2, especially considering the threat it received from a new brand Realme, which is offering a much-powerful MediaTek Helio P60 chipset at a price of Rs 8,990. While going into the launch event, we expected the device to have an Rs 8,999 price tag for the 3GB RAM variant and Rs 10,999 for the 4GB RAM option.
Still the Rs 9,999 price tag for the base variant is excellent and it's easy to say, the Redmi Y2 packs the best front and rear camera in its price range (I have been using the device for more than 24 hours, the first impressions will go live very soon). But the Rs 12,999 price tag for the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage option is on the steeper side.
Weekend Talk: What's Your Take on the Redmi Y2?
Well, now let's have a debate on the Xiaomi Redmi Y2. What's your take on the pricing of the Redmi Y2 in India and of course, what's your opinion on Xiaomi launching yet another Snapdragon 625 SoC smartphone? Also, which one will you pick between the Redmi Y2 and Redmi Note 5? Mind you, the Redmi Y2 offers better selfie camera than the Note 5, but the Note 5 wins in the battery, display and build quality aspects.
