Both the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 and the Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Lite are budget smartphones. They are part of Xiaomi’s under Rs.10,000 smartphone category. They are targeted to the budget buyer who is looking out for an affordable yet full-featured Android smartphone. Xiaomi Smartphone has launched several other devices in this category before and the Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite are the latest updates to it.
Since these two phones are part of the same series, they share a lot of similarities. However, Xiaomi maintains that the phones aspire to win over two different sets of audiences. A quick comparison of their prices and specifications tells us what really sets them apart. Here’s a comparison between the two to help you figure out which is the better budget Xiaomi for you.
Table of Contents
Design
The Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite look alike. They sport the same all-plastic body and curved display. They have a slightly metallic finish and a smooth back. Both phones are beautiful-looking and very ergonomic. They have the same 5.5-inch HD screen too with 720px resolution. Even their buttons are placed in the same spots. The only difference is the fingerprint scanner. The Redmi Yi comes with a fingerprint scanner on the back, while the Redmi Y1 Lite doesn’t have it at all.
Camera
The phones share the same 13-MP camera on the back. This camera comes with an f/2.0 aperture and an LED flash that take good daytime and low light photos. On the front, the Redmi Y1 comes with a large 16-MP camera with LED flash. It also supports a few smart photo-editing tricks. The Xiaomi Redmi Y1 Lite, on the other hand, comes with a smaller 5-MP selfie camera. The front camera stats is a major difference between these two phones. The Redmi Y1 is particularly marketed to the selfie-centric audience.
Performance
The Redmi Y1 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor paired with Adreno 505 GPU. The Redmi Y1 Lite runs on a slightly lower Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor with Adreno 308 GPU. Another difference between the two is their RAM and storage space.
The Redmi Y1 comes with two options, a 3GB RAM and 32GB storage variant and a 4GB RAM and 64GB storage one. The Redmi Y1 Lite comes in only one variant, a 2GB RAM with 16GB storage. Both their memories can be expanded, and they also have a dual sim slot. Currently, they run on the MIUI 9 operating system.
Battery
Since these phones are similarly sized, their battery backup is the same. They hold a 3,080 mAh battery that is enough to last you through the day. The MIUI 9 optimizes the battery further to make them last longer. Though, standby time of the two batteries varies slightly. For Redmi Y1 lasts for 240 hours on 3G while for Redmi Y1 Lite lasts for 264 hours on 3G. The battery supports talk time of 32 hours on Redmi Y1 and 35 hours on Redmi Y1 Lite with 75 hours and 92 hours of music playback time, respectively.
The winner
The differences between the two phones show up in their prices too. Depending on what features you need, you can choose between these two budget phones.