The two most talked about smartphones in recent times, the Yu Yureka and Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G have more in common than either company would care to admit. Yet, one is better than the other.
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has often been touted as the most disruptive smartphone maker in the world right now. When the company entered India, it dazzled almost everyone with the Xiaomi Mi3, before going on to make the news for a lot of things. Xiaomi’s devices though posed more of a threat to Indian manufacturers like Micromax and others. Going simply by the response we get from you guys, it seems Xiaomi’s brand value has gone way beyond Micromax.
On the other hand, Micromax has been making big efforts to change its brand image. The company started last year, hiring ex-Samsung Country Head Vineet Taneja as its CEO and flying Hollywood star Hugh Jackman all the way over to advertise its Micromax Canvas Turbo smartphone. All this was followed recently by the Yu Yureka, possibly Micromax’s biggest effort to come out of the ‘cheap brand’ image.
As we have said in our review of the two devices, they are both very good smartphones, never before seen in their specific segments. But again, going by what our readers have told us, a comparison is in order. So, without further ado, here's our comparison between the Yu Yureka and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G.
Build and Design
We never really liked the Xiaomi Redmi Note’s design and looks, but the Yu Yureka quite fits its price. The Yureka’s comparative lightness and Moonstone finish makes it feel like way the more premium device. The Redmi Note on the other hand suffers from its over-use of plastic and glossy back, which makes it slippery to hold.
Both devices are equally big, being phablets, but the Yureka is just slightly better, being the thinner and less bulky smartphone.
Winner: Yu Yureka
Display
Both the smartphones have a 720p 5.5 inch display and lack the sharpness that we would like in our devices. That said, MiUI 5 on the Redmi Note makes the display look better when on the home screen and navigating about the device. The Note though has a slightly duller screen, which is evident from some icons, like the Gmail icon, which looks dull and a dirtier shade of white than it does on the Yureka.
The white on the Yureka on the other hand is slightly on the cooler side, which again is something that many may not like. We’re not big fans of either displays and think that it would come down to personal choice.
Winner: Tie
Performance
The Redmi Note 4G runs on a 1.6 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core SoC, while the Yureka runs on a much newer Snapdragon 615 octa-core 64-bit SoC. The newer hardware works in favour of the Yureka, considering that it will be the right fit for the 64-bit optimized Android Lollipop OS, whenever it comes on the device.
If you go simply by benchmarks, then the Yureka is by far the better device in terms of performance, coming out with benchmark scores that are often double of what the Redmi Note 4G offers. The AnTuTu scores have a difference of nearly 10,000, while the 3D Mark graphics scores also differ greatly.
This difference though won’t show up in regular usage very easily. Both devices have 2GB of RAM, which allows for good multitasking. The Yureka’s newer hardware though gives it the edge, in terms of longevity. The Lollipop update, once it releases on the Yureka would make it better, while the Redmi Note may not show a performance jump even after Xiaomi releases Android Lollipop based MiUI for the device.
Winner: Yu Yureka
Camera
In terms of camera sensor specifications in megapixels, the Redmi Note 4G and the Yu Yureka are the same on paper, offering 13MP sensors. But, that doesn’t mean the cameras are the same. Under regular usage, both the cameras seem to have thier strengths and weaknesses. But the Yureka has a slight edge when it comes to low light imaging. The camera sample images below should help you get a better idea of what the cameras are capable of.
Xiaomi Redmi Note Camera Test Shots
Yu Yureka Camera Test Shots
For thier price point, both the smartphones have really good cameras and are a bargain in terms of image quality that you get at such low price points. The Yu Yureka wins the imaging round, thanks to its better low-light performance.
Winner: Yu Yureka
Battery
Micromax insisted at the launch, the CyanogenMod’s optimisation would allow the 2500 mAh battery in the Yureka to work like a 3200 mAh battery. Frankly, we didn’t believe it then and upon testing we can confirm that while the Yu Yureka offers good battery life for its modest 2500mAh battery pack, it does not beat the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G in battery tests.
Winner: Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G
User Interface
If you’ve read our MiUI review, you would know that we quite like this UI. Xiaomi has done a very good job of it and there’s not much that you can fault MiUI for. On the other hand, CyanogenMod offers a number of new features to the Yureka as well. Both the devices have a number of themes that users can choose from.
If you like tinkering around with the software on your phone though, you would like the fact that the Yureka’s warranty doesn’t get voided when you root it. But except that, this one again comes down to one’s personal choice, much like the display. CM 11 does have a bunch of features that MiUI 5 lacks, but it’s not enough to make the Yureka the winner. In fact, the edge that the Yureka gets is nullified by the fact that CM 11 can also be unstable, resulting in app crashes at times.
If you’re going for a CM powered phone, you would already know about the instability. So, if you want more features on the software side, go for CM, but if you’re all right with the lesser number of features on MiUI, you would be getting a more stable OS.
Winner: Tie
Price
While all of the above, would still make it very hard to choose from the Redmi Note 4G and Yu Yureka, the price is what makes the difference here. The Yureka costs Rs. 8,999 to the Note’s Rs. 9,999. In the below 10k budget segment and in a market as competitive as this, the small price difference makes for all the difference.
In addition, both devices are capable of 4G connectivity. So, the Yureka will simply have to be our pick.
Winner: Yu Yureka
Bottomline
Overall, while the Yureka beats the Redmi Note in certain departments, the latter is able to beat its competitor only when it comes to battery life. So, we have to choose the Yu Yureka as the better choice, even though the competition is very very close. The fact is, the Redmi Note 4G continues Xiaomi’s tradition of great value for money devices, it’s just not unparalleled and best in class anymore.
So, if you’re buying a Redmi Note, you won’t be making a bad choice. You also won’t be buying the best smartphone in the segment though.
Winner: Yu Yureka
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Prasid Banerjee
Trying to explain technology to my parents. Failing miserably. View Full Profile
