Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Review: Decent overall performance achieved!

Specifications and Design: A subtle design tries to steal the show

Xiaomi Redmi Y1 has a 5.5 inch HD IPS LCD display. It has volume rockers as well as lock/unlock toggle on the right edge. Volume rockers have been placed above lock button, which facilitates ease in operating the device and using the buttons whenever required.

Micro USB 2.0 port rests at the bottom-edge and is surrounded by the speaker grills. The 3.5 mm audio jack takes the top edge. The left edge of the smartphone sports the SIM tray.

The front panel is quite good to look at. It sports three touch-enable buttons to access Home, Multitasking, and Previous Screen. The top end of the smartphone has the front camera along with ambient light sensor, earpiece, and a front flash.

The rear panel has the primary camera with single LED flash right next to it. The MI logo acquires the space close to the bottom antennae band.

The smartphone is quite handy and is not too heavy in hands. The glossy finish of the front panel coupled with the matte finish of the rear panel come together to form a great unibody metallic design.

The device is good to look at, in spite of the fact that it does sport an out-of-the-box design.

The smartphone has an inbuilt storage of 32GB and 64GB along with Android Nougat 7.0 and MIUI 9 user interface, which is very light and quite appealing.

Camera: Takes decent pictures

Xiaomi Redmi Y1 has a 13MP, f/2.2 primary snapper. The front camera, on the other hand, is equipped with a 16MP sensor, which has an aperture value of f/2.0.

The rear camera is not very impressive. An ample amount of sharpness is clearly missing in pictures. However, the natural tone of the images is not lost. The saturation of pictures clicked by the smartphone varies in different ambient lights. In low-light condition the camera captures over-saturated images, which seems to persist even after using the flash.

In bright daylight, the rear camera captures good pictures and the sharpness is retained to some extent. The 16MP front-facing camera takes pictures with a decent amount of saturation and exposure. The increased aperture value of the device makes this possible. The sharpness of the front camera is also quite better than that of the rear one.

The camera app was quick and there were several add-ons in the app, such as filters and enhanced modes.

Hardware and performance- Enhanced performance

Xiaomi Redmi Y1 is driven by Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor clocked to 1.4Ghz. The processor is a bit outdated, however, it does not disappoint users as far as multitasking is concerned. 3GB of RAM seemed quite sufficient to me and switching between apps was rather smooth. The device also pulls you through some mid-segment games without any glitch at all. However, what is the most impressive feat of the Redmi Y1 is its capability to pull you through a demanding game with a hint of lag. I was reviewing a 3GB variant and it seemed quite enough for me for daily usage and lasting gaming sessions. The 4GB variant will certainly give users a better gaming experience.

The smartphone is capable of running some steep games such as Mortal Combat 5 and others.

Display: Vibrant with great daylight performance

The 1280 x 720 pixels resolution and a pixel density of 236 ppi may not sound too promising but the display of Redmi Y1 does not fail to offer a decent quality and a good daylight performance. The sharpness of the display is not something I was very impressed with, especially while watching videos but the exposure bandwidth was still quite impressive.

Battery: Well optimized 3080 mAh battery

The Redmi Y1 has a 3080 mAh battery, which clearly means it can be relied upon for substantial number of hours. The device easily lasts 20 hours under normal usage.

It offers a well-optimized utilization of the power, thus allowing users to do more while offering a lasting battery life. When used under extensive conditions the device managed to pull itself through 14 hours. The charging time of the smartphone is equally satisfactory. It packs up to 100 percent of power in less than 2 hours.

Conclusion: A budget smartphone with a decent overall performance!

This smartphone is meant for users who need a lasting battery backup and decent looks. However, Redmi Y1 also shines when it comes to multitasking and normal usage scenarios as well.

Gamers can certainly invest in the smartphone as well. However, if you are a movie buff you shouldn't prefer using the device. It also captures decent pictures and overall it is great for an average user who is looking for a device with optimal overall performance.