About two months back, Xiaomi launched the Redmi Y2 as the latest addition to the Youth series tagging it as a selfie-centric smartphone. But, the selfie tag was not enough to convince a normal user like me to buy or recommend it. However, one of our friends decided to give it a go and we get to review the 3GB RAM 32GB storage variant of Redmi Y2. So here are our thoughts after using this real youth phone for a week.
Design
The Redmi Y2 looks as big as the Redmi Note 5 with a 5.99-inch display and is primarily made of plastic with the brushed metal finish. However, in numbers, it is slightly bigger measuring 160.7 x 77.3 x 8.1 mm and less heavier with 170g compared to the latter. Being lighter, the Redmi Y2 is more comfortable to hold and shuffle in our hands to reach the fingerprint sensor or the physical buttons. It comes in three shades viz grey, gold and rose gold for the trendy youth.
Now let us take a look at the Y2 from different angles. On the front, you’ll find the gorgeous display along with selfie-cam, proximity sensor, earpiece, and selfie-flash. Turn the device around to see the dual camera setup with flash, fingerprint sensor, plastic casing and stylish antenna bands. On the top side are the 3.5mm audio port, IR blaster and noise cancellation mic. Flip to the opposite side to find the micro-USB port, mic and speaker grills. The volume and power buttons are located on the right side, whereas the hybrid SIM tray is on the left side.
- Lighter and comfortable to hold compared to Redmi Note 5.
- Cheap plastic body with brushed metal finish in three colours.
Display
The Y2 sports a 5.99-inch full-screen HD+ display with 720 x 1440 pixels having 18:9 aspect ratio. However, the 269 PPI screen with 1000:1 contrast ratio might look a bit dull for the sharp eyes. Automatic and manual display modes or enhancements are available in the MIUI settings. Even with the full-screen display if the soft buttons feel awkward, you can switch to the gesture mode from settings.
- Low PPI screen in large estate might look a bit dull.
- Gesture and other display modes can change the experience.
Camera
Coming to the photography department, Y2 has got tonnes of improvements compared to Y1. Let us start with the 16MP selfie-cam which is coupled with a flash. Even though it has same megapixels, Xiaomi has added image processing enhancements like 4in1 pixel binning technique and AI-powered beautify 4.0 and bokeh effects. Xiaomi claims that the AI can detect facial hairs and decorations. The AI thus makes the new android facial unlock system almost fail-safe.
Let us now check out the rear camera with a dual setup which is completely new to Y series. Xiaomi has entirely ported the dual-cam of Redmi Note 5 Pro to the Y2 making it the best camera phone under 10K bracket. It includes a 12-megapixel primary sensor with 1.25-micron pixel, f/2.2 aperture and 5-megapixel secondary sensor with 1.12micron pixel, f/2.0 aperture. These large pixel sensors accompanied with single tone LED flash improves low light photography. You can also play with bokeh effects, filters and other camera software perks.
- Primary – 12+5MP rear dual camera -12MP 1.25pm, f/2.2.
- Secondary – 16MP, LED Selfie-light, Beautify 4.0, 1080p video at 30fps
Performance
It seems Xiaomi is not done with the Snapdragon 625 SoC, which needs no special intro. Clocked at 2.0 GHz, this octa-core processor along with Adreno 506 GPU offers efficiency and performance. You can choose from 3GB RAM/ 32GB storage or 4GB RAM/64GB storage variants. But if storage is all that matters, you can expand up to 256GB with the help of dedicated SD card slot. Gaming performance was tested with PUBG mobile and the device did not heat up much for an entire match session. Antutu and Geekbench 4 was used for benchmarking the device, and the scores obtained are quoted below.
- Antutu: Total 76,828, CPU 38,147, GPU 11913, UX 18426, MEM 4417.
- Geekbench: CPU single-core 840, multi-core 4281.
Connectivity
For cellular connectivity, the device uses X9 LTE modem with good upload and download speeds. With this modem, you can connect the device to 4G VoLTE/ViLTE, 3G and 2G networks in India. For local connectivity, there is the Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1 and micro-USB port. The built-in IR blaster allows you to control home appliances with the programmable Mi Remote app. Finally, there is the 3.5mm audio port which allows you to pair non-Bluetooth legacy devices.
- Bands – GSM: 2/3/5/8 WCDMA 1/2/5/8 – FDD-LTE 1/3/5 TDD-LTE 40/41(120MHz)
- SIM Tray – two nano SIMs + micro SD card, FM, 3.5 mm audio jack
Battery Backup
The Redmi Y2 houses a 3080 mAh non-removable Li-Po battery. Combined with the MIUI 9.5 optimization, it can provide juice for a full day of regular use. On a full charge, the device can deliver 25 hours of call time or 7 hours of gaming or even 31 days of standby time. However, charging the device is too tiring without the option for the quick charge.
- 3080 mAh Li-Po battery, no quick charging.
- 5V/2A charging, Micro USB/USB 2.0.
Package Contents
The Redmi Y2 comes in a striking red retail box. Inside of which you can find the handset, power adapter, USB 2.0 cable, warranty card, user guide, SIM tray ejection tool and a clear soft case as a freebie. However, we noticed that the pre-applied screen guard is unusable due to the printings on it.
Also, the freebie soft case won’t give enough protection to the projected rear dual-camera. So it is better to purchase a separate protective film and case.
Overall
In our opinion, the Redmi Y2 is not just a selfie phone, but the best performer in every department considering the price tag. The Y2 also defeats the Redmi Note 5 fair and square with the added dual-camera setup. So if you can cope with the HD+ screen, plastic body and lesser battery backup, we would suggest you buy the Redmi Y2 anytime instead of the Redmi Note 5. Hope the article was informative, Peace!