Redmi Y1 Lite vs Redmi Y1 Price in India, Specifications, Features: What's the Difference?

Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite have emerged as the first pair of handsets in Xiaomi’s new range of Y series smartphones in India. Both the smartphones are placed in the sub-Rs. 10,000 segment and, typical of Xiaomi, feature hardware that gives them an edge over the competition. Both Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite will go on sale on November 8 at 12pm IST via Amazon India and Mi.com, and will hit retail stores thereafter. Notably, the Redmi Y1 lite and Redmi Note 5A share very similar looks and specifications, making us believe the company has rebranded the latter offering for its launch in India. We take a look at what the Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite offer and the key differences between them.

Redmi Y1 vs Redmi Y1 Lite price in India

Redmi Y1 price is Rs. 8,999 for the 32GB/3GB variant and Rs. 10,999 for the 64GB/4GB variant. As for the Redmi Y1 Lite price in India, you will have to shell out Rs. 6,999 for the handset with 16GB storage and 2GB RAM.

Redmi Y1 vs Redmi Y1 Lite specifications and features

The highlight of the Redmi Y1 is the 16-megapixel front camera with f/2.0 aperture, 76.4-degree wide-angle lens, and LED selfie light. The front shooter comes with 36 smart beautify profiles and can use the beautification feature in real time during video calls. It also has face recognition and selfie countdown features. On the other hand, the Redmi Y1 Lite has a 5-megapixel selfie camera without the front LED flash or the wide-angle lens. However, the sensor still has f/2.0 aperture to take in more light while taking selfies. Other software features, such as the facial recognition, real-time beautification, and selfie countdown, are present in the Lite model as well.

The Redmi Y1 Lite is powered by the quad-core Snapdragon 425 chipset and comes with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. On the other hand, the Redmi Y1 packs the octa-core Snapdragon 435 chipset under the hood, and will be available in two variants – 3GB RAM + 32GB inbuilt storage and 4GB RAM + 64GB internal storage. 

As for the display panel, both the MIUI 9 handsets sport a 5.5-inch HD (720x1280 pixel) display with 1000:1 contrast ratio and 450-nits brightness. However, the Lite model does not feature the 2.5D curved glass design in front that its sibling does. Another difference, though extremely minor, is that the Lite variant weighs 150 grams and has 7.55mm thickness, while the Redmi Y1 weighs 150 grams and is 7.7mm thick.

Both the handsets feature a 13-megapixel rear camera sensor with f/2.2 aperture and phase-detection autofocus, and real-time filters. If you want to expand storage, the two Redmi Y-series phones come with support for microSD cards of up to 128GB capacities and dedicated slots. The battery capacity for both models is 3080mAh, but the Redmi Y1 is claimed to deliver 35 hours of battery life and the Lite model 32 hours. Connectivity features are common between the two, and include the likes of 4G VoLTE, dual SIM (Nano + Nano) functionality, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.2, Micro-USB 2.0 port, and 3.5mm audio jack.

We discuss the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 and MIUI 9, on on our weekly technology podcast Orbital, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS or just listen to this episode by hitting the play button below.