The Yu Yunicorn doesn't really inspire confidence. While it may still be a competitive device, it's definitely not the best in all aspects.
The Yu Yunicorn will cost you Rs. 19,999, I mean Rs. 17,999. No wait, it’s Rs. 12,999. Actually, it’s been priced at Rs. 13,499. Seldom do you find yourself at a press conference where the price is announced not once, but four times. Beyond the glitz of the launch event, the Yunicorn really is just another smartphone. It runs on a Helio P10 SoC from MediaTek, and as a first for the sub-15k segment, it has 4GB of RAM. There’s also a 13MP camera on the back, and a 5MP camera on the front, along with a 4000 mAh battery.
So, why does Yu make a big deal out of this? It’s probably because the phone marks a sea change in the company’s devices. CEO Rahul Sharma, said that Yu will be adopting a new design language for 2016, and it's accompanied by a new operating system, ambitiously called, Android On Steroids.
Sadly though, the new design language seems to mean that Yu phones will now look like all others. The company’s originals, like the Yu Yutopia, Yureka and others, had a distinct presence and persona. The “Saturn-ring” camera is gone, as are the rounded edges. The Yu Yunicorn pretty much looks like a Meizu M3 Note, with Yu’s logo and 2.5D curved glass on the front. It’s also considerably heavier than the M3 Note, making it much less ergonomic.
Yu Yunicorn (Top), Yu Yunicorn and Meizu M3 Note (Bottom)
While design is a step back, in my opinion, Yu is making bigger changes in the UI aspect. With the end of its deal with Cyanogen Inc, the company now has a new OS, ambitiously called Android On Steroids (AOS). You may expect this to mean a completely new UI, but Yu went for a more stock-like appearance, with cosmetic changes to some app icons.
The cornerstone of the company’s UI remains in its AroundYu feature. Yu has made additions to it this time, allowing you to book cabs without downloading the Ola or Uber apps. The Udio wallet has also been integrated, allowing you to recharge DTH connections etc. using AroundYu. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, the AroundYu feature is the only real innovation from Yu’s stables since its inception. Given the right partnerships, it could be very important to its future. Today’s additions show that Yu is indeed serious about AroundYu as well, except, I’d have liked more drastic additions. Perhaps a more holistic change, rather than a slight addition and update.
But that’s really all the Yu Yunicorn is. It’s a phone like any other, and perhaps even weaker than the Redmi Note 3. The Helio P10, at least on initial benchmarks, seems considerably slower than the Snapdragon 650. The phone has 4GB of RAM, which is the maximum that the P10 supports. However, if the processor isn’t fast or powerful enough to handle a lot of running apps, then no amount of RAM will help.
The 13MP camera on the Yunicorn seems similar to the Redmi Note 3, as far as image quality is concerned, but it's visibly slower. I’ve clicked a few photos at the moment, normal daylight, while others were indoors. The daylight shot seems passable, but a little subdued, while the colours in the indoor shots are fine, they aren’t very sharp and have quite a bit of noise. To be clear, this is only a first look, and I would want to spend more time with the phone before passing a verdict on the camera. I’m attaching resized versions of those images, for your reference.
Outdoor normal daylight (Top), Indoor Normal (Bottom Left) and Studio White Lights (Bottom Right)
Overall, the Yu Yunicorn isn’t really inspiring. It doesn’t seem to be the next flagship device to look forward to, and while it may be competitive, it doesn't "redefine flagships", as we were promised.
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Prasid Banerjee
Trying to explain technology to my parents. Failing miserably. View Full Profile
