Some may find flash sales irritating, because they make it dofficult for one to grab products as units get sold out in just a few minutes — sometimes in seconds.
However, this model has been like a "sure success" marketing strategy for Xiaomi for several years now. Yet again, the Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite ran out of stock in just three minutes when they were launched in India.
Xiaomi India Head Manu Kumar Jain has claimed in a tweet that 1.5 lakh units of the Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite were sold out in just three minutes on its first flash sale in India.
The phones were launched in the global market as Redmi Note 5A Prime and Redmi Note 5A in September, but have come to India with a different name.
Also read: Xiaomi Redmi Y1 vs Redmi Note 4 vs Redmi 4: Which smartphone should you buy?
Now, the big question is whether Xiaomi Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite can break the Redmi Note 4's record in India. It's too early to call right now, and sales depend on the number of units made available, but if we are to go by the launch-day performance, the Redmi Note 4 is ahead.
The Chinese technology giant has claimed that 2.5 lakh units of the Redmi Note 4 were sold out in just 10 minutes when it was released in India via flash sale earlier this year.
The handset reportedly went on to sell 5 million — or 50 lakh — units in six months, becoming the bestselling smartphone in the first half of 2017 in India.
On the other hand, 1.5 lakh units of the Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite were sold during the first flash sale in India, which means they failed to beat the Redmi Note 4 numbers even if their sales are put together.
However, it may be noted that the new entrants were sold out in just three minutes, indicating that more units could have been sold if there was more stock. So, we will have a clearer picture only after a few more flash sales.
Xiaomi Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite will be put up on flash sale once again at noon on November 15. It will be available on Mi.com and Amazon India.
Xiaomi Redmi Y1 is a selfie-centric phone priced at Rs 8,999 for the 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM variant and Rs 10,999 for the 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM model. It sports a 5.5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with 720x1,280 pixels (236 ppi pixel density), is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor, and runs MIUI 9.0 OS based on the Android 7.0 Nougat operating system.
It also features 3GB/4GB RAM, 32GB/64GB storage expandable by up to 128GB via microSD card, a 13MP main camera with f/2.2 aperture, a 16MP selfie-camera with f/2.0 aperture, and a 3,080mAh battery under the hood.
Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Lite on the other hand has a 5.5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with 720x1,280 pixels (267 ppi pixel density) and comes with a price tag of Rs 6,999.
Under the hood, it has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, the MIUI 9.0 OS based on the Android 7.0 Nougat operating system, 2GB RAM, and 16GB internal memory expandable up to 128GB via microSD card.
It also features a 13MP main camera with f/2.2 aperture, phase detection autofocus and LED flash, a 5MP front-snapper with f/2.0 aperture, and a 3,080mAh battery.
