Redmi Y2 Review : Great Selfie smartphone

With their feature-rich phones and aggressive pricing, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi has surpassed the likes of Samsung and other reputed brands. They have dominated the budget smartphone market in India as almost 9 out of top 10 affordable phones belong to Xiaomi. All their models deliver unmatchable performance at reasonable pricing. Last year, the company unveiled their Redmi Y series of Mi Mobile phones with great camera performance to cater to selfie lovers. After the success of their first model in the lineup Redmi Y1, the company has launched its second selfie-focussed phone in India, Redmi Y2 to make the selfie enthusiasts happy. The device features 16 Megapixel front camera for great selfies and boots on latest Android 8.1 Oreo operating system customised under MIUI 9.5 for easy and simple usage. In terms of hardware, it supports Snapdragon 625 SoC and 3GB or 4GB of RAM.

Redmi Y2 Features and Specifications :

• 5.99 inch HD+ IPS 8:9 display with 1440×720 pixels resolution.
• 2 GHz octa-core Snapdragon 625 processor coupled with Adreno 506 GPU.
• 12MP+5MP dual rear camera with LED flash produces flawless results with detailed and vivid color reproduction in all types of light conditions. The AI-powered 16MP selfie camera is great for clicking selfies, self portraits and video calling.
• It runs on MIUI 9 based on Android 8.1 Oreo operating system.
• It is fuelled by 3080mAH inbuilt battery and comes with various connectivity options like WiFi, dual SIM functionality, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS, microUSB 2.0 etc.
• It comes in two variants - 3GB RAM+32GB storage priced at Rs 9,999 and 4GB RAM+64GB storage priced at Rs 12,999. Both of them can be expanded upto 256GB (dedicated card slot).

High definition (18:9) 5.99-inch Display and Metallic design:

Redmi Y2 sports a much better design and sturdier build as compared to its predecessor Redmi Y1. Redmi Y1 comes with plastic chassis and 16:9 display with thick bezels whereas in MiY2, the plastic body is replaced with premium metallic build hence providing it a classy and expensive look like Redmi Note 5 Pro. Redmi Y2 features a 18:9 bigger 5.99-inch display with narrow bezels surrounding the screen and delivers vibrant images having 1440x720 pixels resolution, great contrast levels and wider viewing angles. The overall display quality is good though we still feel that similar priced Oppo Realme 1 offers a sharper full HD+ screen display at lesser price. Its customised MIUI software includes night mode and a reading mode which are less stressful on eyes.

While designing it, all minute details are being taken care of and there are no plastic caps on top or bottom. The dual-band antenna design on top and bottom edges and fingerprint reader looks decent and makes it stand out from its peer competitors. The rear panel has providing during the usage for longer duration. Aesthetically, it looks elegant and rounded edges on the rear panel provides better grip for comfortable user experience while using it for longer hours of duration. It is 8.1mm thick and is easy to carry anywhere with dimensions of 160.7mm x 77.3mm x 8.1mm and weighing 170 grams. For easy accessibility, the most used buttons- power and volume buttons are positioned on the right. The dual camera and a fingerprint sensor are placed at the rear panel of the device. It does not support USB Type-C port but its micro USB port (which is placed at the bottom with grills on both sides) supports fast charging which charges the phone to 100% in 2-3 hours and is very helpful for those who are always on the move. Other connectivity options like IR blaster, 3.5mm audio jack and a secondary microphone are present at the top. Overall Redmi Y2 is the most beautiful and the most premium looking phone under Rs 10,000 as compared to its predecessor Redmi Y1.

Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset for smooth working :

Redmi Y2 comes with Qualcomm's mid-range Snapdragon 625 chipset which comprises of eight power efficient Cortex-A53 cores and clocked at 2.0 GHz. Though Snapdragon 625 provides fast and smooth working, we still feel that Snapdragon 636 used in Redmi Note 5 Pro would have been a better option in Redmi Y2 for far more superior performance. However, Snapdragon 625 offers hassle-free experience with normal games and all social media apps but may not perform well with heavy intensity games like PUBG, Asphalt etc and you might get indefinite pauses and stutters while operation. In case you are a gaming enthusiast, then look for other Xiaomi models which support more advanced Snapdragon 636 processor. It is available in two variants- one having 3GB RAM and 32GB storage and the higher variant has 4GB RAM with 64GB of onboard storage. The storage can be expanded upto 256GB via a dedicated micro SD card slot.

AI-powered Selfie camera :

The USP of this phone is its Artificial Intelligence powered camera. Its 16MP front camera comes with AI-based Beautify 4.0 feature which enables the users to click perfect selfies. It also has bigger pixels (1.25 micrometer) soas to capture more light. The company has incorporated "Super Pixel technology" to provide light and minute detailing to the pictures. You get perfect bokeh shots with their AI software. The selfie shots come out really well with adequate brightness and vibrant colours in all types of light conditions. The on-board front camera uses pixel binning technique to combine four pixels into one large 2um pixel which reduces the noise and captures more light so that the user gets good results even in low light environment. Like high-end Google Pixel 2, the software-based portrait mode renders depth-of-field effects to selfies thus improvising the user experience. On the rear front, the device features 12MP+5MP dual rear camera setup with f/2.2 aperture, LED flash and other additional features like Auto HDR mode, portrait mode, Geo tagging, Electronic Image Stabilisation (ElS), PDAF (phase detection autofocus) etc. In terms of video quality, you can easily shoot full HD videos. Redmi Y2 impresses with its camera performance, especially considering its price being below 10K. With the assistance of artificial intelligence algorithms, it is able to deliver great photography results and the portrait selfies is quite an attraction in this price range. In tricky light conditions also, we are able to capture reasonably well photos with good detailing.

Android 8.1 Oreo OS with MIUI 9.5 :

It is the first Xiaomi smartphone in India to launch with MIUI 9.5 based on Android 8.1 Oreo operating system which helps in faster multitasking with utmost ease and simplicity. The latest MIUI 9.5 is the most feature-rich interface which offers lot of customisation options to the user including wide range of community developed themes and several minute tweaks which makes this Xiaomi phone stand out from its peer models of any other brand. Its gesture-based navigation is very beneficial to the consumer as it is very fast while operating the phone in comparison to swipe-based navigation found in older models. Though the user may take some time to get accustomed to the gestures. Moreover, MIUI 10 is scheduled to be released in Redmi Y2 in coming future to enhance the user experience.

3080mAH Battery and connectivity :

The phone is backed by a non-removable 3080mAh battery which can provide uninterrupted usage and doing multiple activities for almost a day. Whether you want to click pictures, upload them to social media or watch your favourite YouTube videos, the battery backup will be quite sufficient. The phone comes with 10W fast charger which charges the device in an hour and a half to decent capacity. In terms of connectivity, it supports dual SIM functionality (Nano SIM + Nano SIM), Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, Infrared, 3G and 4G. Sensors on the phone include Compass/ Magnetometer, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor and Gyroscope. It also has Face Unlock feature to unlock the device for additional security and safety.

Conclusion :

Xiaomi is introducing latest technological advancements in their devices. At price below 10K, Redmi Y2 is a great value buy with premium features and is a big improvement over its previous generation in terms of build, aesthetics and camera quality. In short span of time, it has become one of the best selling and most desirable smartphone owing to its impressive set of cameras, good battery life and reasonable performance. It is an all-rounder budget smartphone. The only competitor to Redmi Y2 in this price is Oppo Realme 1 with similar specifications and features though MIUI 9.5 scores over Color OS.

About Xiaomi brand :

Xiaomi is a privately owned China based smartphone manufacturer that designs, develops and sells smartphones, an Android-based OS and other consumer electronics. Xiaomi also makes fitness trackers, TVs, air purifiers, and tablets. It has a skin for its Android phones and tablets – MIUI. The company largely sells its phones in the online market via flash sales in India.