Xiaomi Redmi Y1, Redmi Y1 Lite launched in India: Price, specification, features and more

Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite: two selfie-centric smartphones were launched on Thursday by Xiaomi India in its new Y series.

Both the smartphones will go on sale starting November 8 on e-commerce site Amazon.in.

NEW DELHI: Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite, two selfie-centric smartphones were launched on Thursday by Xiaomi India in its new Y series. Radmi Y1 is Xiaomi's first smartphone in India which features selfie light and a 16 MP front facing camera. It has a 13MP f/2.0 rear camera. The device has 5.5 inch HD display with Corning Gorilla glass and is powered by a 3,080mAh battery. Redmi Y1 houses Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 octa-core chipset, a dedicated micro-SD card slot and dual-SIM (nano+nano) slots. The fingerprint sensor is placed at the rear of the device. Meanwhile, Redmi Y1 Lite features an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, sports a dedicated micro-SD card slot with dual-SIM (nano+nano) capabilities and 5.5 inch HD display. Similar to Redmi Y1, the smartphone features a 13 MP f/2.0 rear camera and is powered by a 3080mAh battery. Redmi Y1 has been launched at a price point of Rs 8,999 for 3GB RAM and 32GB storage variant and Rs 10,999 for the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant. Redmi Y1 Lite is the cheaper sibling in the selfie-centric series at a price of Rs 6,999. Both the smartphones will go on sale starting November 8 on e-commerce site Amazon.in.

Key features of Redmi Y1:

Display: 5.5-inch display, 1280 × 720 resolution (HD), Corning® Gorilla® Glass, IPS technology Camera: 16MP front camera, Selfie-light (flash), f/2.0 aperture, 1.0 micron pixel size; 13MP rear camera, f/2.0 aperture, PDAF for fast focusing, 1.12 micron pixel size, 5 piece lens Processor: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 435 (Octa-core, max 1.4GHz) Memory: 3GB RAM + 32GB internal storage / 4GB + 64GB internal storage Sim: Dual SIM + dedicated microSD card slot Battery: 3080mAh high-capacity battery Rear fingerprint sensor Dimensions: 153 × 76.2 × 7.65mm

Key features of Redmi Y1 Lite:

Display: 5.5-inch display, 1280 × 720 resolution (HD), Corning® Gorilla® Glass, IPS technology Camera: 13MP rear camera, f/2.0 aperture, PDAF for fast focusing, 1.12 micron pixel size, 5 piece lens Processor: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 425 (Octa-core, max 1.4GHz) Memory: 2GB LPDDR3 RAM + 16GB internal storage SIM: Dual SIM + dedicated microSD card slot Battery: 3080mAh high-capacity battery Dimensions: 153 × 76.2 × 7.55mm Meanwhile, MIUI 9 upgrade will start rolling out from November 3, starting with three devices -- Mi Max 2, Mi Mix 2 and Redmi Note 4 smartphones. The update includes India-specific features such as a "panchang calender", Indian festival cards and IRCTC card that makes SMSes by IRCTC easy to read. According to Jai Mani, Lead Product Manager, Xiaomi India, MIUI 9 will be as fast as stock Android OS. The new OS based on Android Nougat also supports three major style notifications which are multiple styles, bundling notifications and quick replies. Here's all about MIUI 9: 

MIUI has over 280 million users, in 56 languages, across more than 220 regions. Last year, MIUI 8 brought along innovative features, such as scrolling screenshots, SMS Caller ID, Dual Apps, Second Space, and more.

 With MIUI 9, Xiaomi focused on faster app launches, and a smoother UI with reduced latency. MIUI 9 also brings split screen, an improved notification dropdown, as well as icon animations, and smart photo editing featuring object removal.

 The improved notification dropdown includes multiple styles, bundled app notifications, as well as quick replies right from the dropdown.

 MIUI 9 also brings support for the Panchang calendar, festival cards for over 26 festivals in India, as well as Horoscope, News, Cricket News, Cricket Schedule, Football Schedule, Health and Fitness, and ‘On this Day’ information.

 The gallery app now features 12 sticker sets onboard, with four exclusively designed for India.

 There’s also a new App Vault feature that is just a swipe away, and can be used to hail cabs, take notes, scan QR codes, and more.

 MIUI 9 now includes a new Mi Video app, which now features automatic grouping, multilingual subtitles, as well as support for more video formats.

 MIUI 9 also sees the launch of the Mi Calculator, Mi Explorer, and Mi Drop standalone apps on the Google Play Store.

Mi Drop allows for transfer of all file types via Wi-Fi Direct peer-to-peer sharing, and will be available to download from Nov 16.

 MIUI 9 will be rolling out to the following Xiaomi smartphones:

• 2017 - Mi MIX 2 / Mi Note 3 / Mi 6 / Mi Max 2 / Redmi Note 4 / Redmi Note 4X / Redmi Note 5A / Redmi 4 / Redmi 4X / Redmi Y1 / Redmi Y1 Lite
• 2016 - Mi MIX / Mi Note 2 / Mi 5 / Mi 5s/ Mi 5s Plus / Mi Max / Mi Max Prime / Redmi Note 3 / Redmi 3 / Redmi 3S / Redmi 3S Prime / Redmi 4 / Redmi 4A
• 2015 - Mi Note / Mi 4i / Redmi 2 / Redmi 2 Prime / Redmi Note 4G Prime / Redmi Note 2
• 2014 - Mi 4/ Redmi Note 4G
• 2013 - Mi 3
• 2012 - Mi 2

MIUI 9 stable will begin staged rollout to Redmi Note 4, Mi Max 2, and Mi MIX 2 on Nov. 3, following which, other supported devices will get the update within a month.

(With inputs from IANS)