Xiaomi Redmi Y1 selfie phone launched in India: Price, specifications, features

Xiaomi on Thursday launched a new smartphone focused on selfie enthusiasts.

Called the Redmi Y1, the smartphone is priced at ₹8,999. The highlight of the smartphone is its 16-megapixel selfie camera, which also comes with an LED flash. It is also pre-loaded with Xiaomi's Beautify 3.0, a mode that automatically enhances your photos while preserving facial features.

The Xiaomi Redmi Y1 looks very similar to the Xiaomi A1 smartphone, which launched in India this September. The smartphone has a similar metal back panel and curved edges. It also sports a fingerprint sensor on the back. The Redmi Y1 is available in Gold and Dark Grey.

Xiaomi Redmi Y1: Specifications

The smartphone comes with a 5.5-inch display with HD resolution. It runs custom MIUI, and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 octa-core processor coupled with 3GB of RAM. The smartphone comes with 32GB of built-in storage and supports expandable storage up to 128GB via a microSD card.

The Redmi Y1 also has a 4GB+64GB variant, which is priced at ₹10,999.

While it has a 16-megapixel front-facing camera, the smartphone sports a 13-megapixel rear camera with Face Detection Auto Focus on the back.

Connectivity options include dual-SIM, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. It is powered by a 3,080mAh battery.

The smartphone will be exclusively available on Amazon India from November 8. The phones will also be available offline through partner stores.

Xiaomi's foray into selfie category

Xiaomi's foray into the selfie-centric phones category comes days after the company was rated as the second-top smartphone brand in the country. A new report by Counterpoint Research said Xiaomi had grabbed 22% shipments market share, just behind Samsung with 23% share.

Selfie phones are becoming increasingly popular in India. While the segment is led by Samsung, OPPO, Vivo, Lenovo and Gionee, Xiaomi - an otherwise prominent name - had been missing from the list.

Counterpoint Research said in an August report that sales of selfie-focused devices grew annually by a factor of nine in Q1, 2017. "Integration of high-quality (8 Megapixel and above) selfie-focused camera in smartphones is one of the fastest growing trend though merely a supply side push to drive the selfie trend," wrote Karn Chauhan, a research analyst at Counterpoint.