In a bid to further strengthen its foothold in India, China’s Xiaomi has introduced a new smartphone series in India that includes Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite phones.
Redmi Y1 is Xiaomi’s first phone in India which comes with a Selfie-light in the 16MP front facing camera and features a 5.5-inch HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass, 13 MP rear camera with f/2.0, and houses 3,080mAh battery.
The smartphone is powered by octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 coupled with 3GB of RAM and offers 32GB of on-board storage. Another variant with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage is also available.
Redmi Y1 is equipped with a 2+1 card slot, which boasts a dedicated microSD card slot, as well as dual-SIM (nano+nano) capabilities. At the back is a fingerprint sensor, for added security.
Redmi Y1 is priced at Rs 8,999 for the 3GB/32GB storage variant, and Rs 10,999 for the 4GB/64GB variant.
Priced at Rs 6999, Redmi Y1 Lite features an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, along with 2GB of RAM and 16GB internal storage. Just like Redmi Y1, there’s a dedicated microSD card slot with Dual-SIM (nano+nano) capabilities.
Redmi Y1 Lite sports a 5.5-inch HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass, 13 MP rear camera with f/2.0, and a 3,080mAh battery.
Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite are Amazon exclusives, and be available on November 8, starting from 12 p.m. onwards. The smartphones will also be available across Mi.com, Mi Home stores, and offline partners.
The company also unveiled latest upgrade to its popular Android-based operating system MIUI 9, which now comes with features designed for India.
Focused on faster app launches, and a smoother UI with reduced latency, MIUI 9 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 November 16 onwards.
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
Consumers can download MIUI9 for Redmi Note 4, Mi Max 2, and Mi MIX 2 starting from November 3 onwards, following which, other supported devices will get the update within a month.
Driven by strong sales in both India and China, Xiaomi emerged as the fastest growing brand – an increase of 81 per cent YoY. The company shipped 28 million smartphones, capturing seven per cent market share in Q3 2017, market research firm Counterpoint Research has said.
The key reason behind the Xiaomi’s growth can be attributed to a streamlined supply chain and being more effective in securing key components. Additionally, Xiaomi has focused on expanding its offline distribution channel under the Mi Home brand, thus expanding its total addressable market.
