The selfie-centric smartphone series from Xiaomi that we have all been waiting for is finally here.
Xiaomi launched the much-awaited new series called the Redmi Y at an event on Thursday, November 2, in New Delhi.
The Redmi Y series will comprise of two smartphones -- the Redmi Y1 and the Redmi Y1 Lite.
Xiaomi had been running the #YourBestSelfie campaign for quite some time, asking fans to get ready for a whole new series of selfie-centric smartphones.
Both new phones are targeted towards the selfie-loving crowd, and the company also revealed that the 'Y' in the Redmi Y series stands for "You."
What's more, Xiaomi announced a new "Product Endorser" for the Redmi Y series: Katrina Kaif.
Xiaomi Redmi Y1: Design and Specifications
The Redmi Y1 was the first smartphone launched at the event.
The phone has a brushed aluminium unibody construction with an impressive 5.5-inch HD IPS display with 2.5D curved glass and Gorilla Glass protection.
However, the Redmi Y1's highlight is its front-facing selfie camera that comes with a dedicated selfie-light for low-light selfies.
The Redmi Y1 packs a 16MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture and 76.4-degree wide-angle lens.
Xiaomi has also equipped the camera with features like 36 smart beauty profiles, selfie countdown, face recognition and video call with real-time beautify.
The front shooter also uses a technology called Pixel-binding that combines many pixels to form a "super pixel" which reduces noise and produces sharper and clearer images under any light.
There's also another feature called "Catchlights" that adds an extra sparkle to your eyes when you click selfies.
Coming to the back of the phone, the Redmi Y1 comes with a 13MP rear-camera featuring f/2.2 aperture and phase detection autofocus (PDAF).
Xiaomi claims the rear-camera comes with enhanced low-light capability as well.
Apart from that, the camera includes features such as HDR, Panorama mode, Burst mode, face recognition and Real-time filters, which can be applied while taking videos.
There is also a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor at the centre of the phone just below the camera.
The Redmi Y1 is powered by a 64-bit Snapdragon 435 octa-core processor along with Adreno 505 GPU. The phone comes in two configurations: 3GB RAM + 32GB internal storage and 4GB RAM + 64GB on-board storage.
The Redmi Y1 comes with a dedicated microSD card slot that can take cards up to 128GB.
Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Lite: Design and Specifications
The Redmi Y1 Lite is almost identical to the Redmi Y1in terms of design.
The only differences are the lighter Snapdragon 420 quad-core chipset (vs the octa-core Snapdragon 435 in the Redmi Y1) and the lower 2GB RAM and 16GB of on-board storage, which can be expanded via the dedicated microSD slot (up to 128GB).
The Redmi Y1 Lite does not come in a higher memory configuration.
Also, Xiaomi has skipped the rear-fingerprint sensor on the Y1 Lite to keep the cost lower. The rest of the specifications, including the cameras, are the same.
Xiaomi Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite: Price and Availability
Xiaomi has priced the Redmi Y1 attractively at launch, with the 3GB RAM +32GB varaint costing Rs 8,999 and the 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM having a price tag of Rs 10,999.
The Redmi Y1 Lite is priced even lower at Rs 6,999 for the single 2GB RAM + 16GB internal storage variant.
Both the Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite will be sold exclusively by Amazon.in, with the first sale slated to be held at noon on November 8.
The devices will also be available on Mi.com and other offline retailers including Reliance Digital, Sangeetha Mobiles and Xiaomi's exclusive Mi Home outlets, across India.
