The Redmi Y3 is a well-rounded smartphone that offers a unique selfie camera experience on a budget.
Shomik Sen BhattacharjeeApr 24,2019 20:02:11 IST
Xiaomi may be one of biggest players in the budget smartphone market in India but all the devices they’ve launched over the past couple of years haven’t been smash hits — particularly the Redmi Y series. The Redmi Y1 never really took off the way Xiaomi intended it to and its successor, the Redmi Y2 was just too closely positioned to the Redmi Note 5.
With the Redmi Y3, Xiaomi’s gone back to the drawing board and changed quite a few things to ensure that it stands out. Launched at a price of Rs 9,499 for the 3 GB RAM/ 32 GB storage variant, the Redmi Y3’s price is almost the same as the recently launched Redmi Note 7 and goes toe-to-toe with the Realme 3. We get a brand new 32 MP selfie camera, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 chipset, a big 4,000 mAh battery, and a refreshing new design. But does the Redmi Y3 really cater to the youth with what it has to offer? Or are you better off picking up the Realme 3 (review) or the Redmi Note 7?
One look at the Redmi Y3 and it will certainly grab your attention. Gone is the dull, monotonous single tone brushed-metal-esqe plastic finish we saw on almost every Redmi device that was launched last year, for an overall look that takes a lot of design cues from the Redmi Note 7 series.
Xiaomi’s fancily calling this the Aurora Smoke design but there isn’t anything here which we haven’t seen before — a two-tone gradient finish that refracts light, a drop-notch display and curved edges for better grip. That said, Xiaomi’s approach here is certainly subtle and something that would appeal to a lot of people. Perhaps even to those who wouldn’t actually be thinking of picking up a phone with a gradient back.
As far as construction goes, the phone is completely made of plastic but feels fairly sturdy. In terms of size, the Redmi Y3 is just as big as the Redmi Note 7 Pro, but the curved sides certainly help a great deal in gripping the phone. The use of plastic on the back does make the phone feel like a sub-Rs 10,000 budget device but also ensures that the phone is easy to grip.
Considering the phone’s highlight is its selfie camera, I had no issues holding the phone in place with one hand while taking photos.
The phone is 0.2 mm thicker than its predecessor and Xiaomi’s blaming that on the fact that the plastic panel on the back has been made thicker than normal to ensure better durability. There’s also P2i-rated water and dust resistance here, something we haven’t seen any phone maker offer at this price.
Apart from adding the small dot-notch on the top, Xiaomi hasn’t tinkered around much with the display on the Redmi Y3. The new smartphone features a 6-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 720 x 1520 pixels.
