The Xiaomi Redmi 1S has a 720p display and is powered by the 1.6 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core SoC. It has an 8 MP rear camera and a 1.6 MP front camera. It runs on a 2,000 mAh battery and the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean OS, layered with MiUI 5. It is 9.9 mm thick and weighs about 160 grams.
This isn't the lightest smartphone around. In fact, at 160 grams, this is one of the heavier devices. But you can get over that considering the Rs. 5,999 price tag.
The Redmi 1S is also quite thick. The thickness lies at 9.9 mm but the rounded edges help a little bit for the grip. It has the volume rocker and power on/off key on the right side, while the left side is empty.
The back of this smartphone is made of plastic, with a matte finish. It has the 8 MP camera on the top, with the single-LED flash below it. The Mi logo is at the bottom of the device. The back is also openable.
The back of this smartphone is openable and houses the dual SIM card slots and the micro-SD card slot. It also has the removable 2,000 mAh battery below these.
The dual-SIM cards support 3G and 2G internet. Xiaomi is going to ship the Redmi 1S with two SIM adapters for converting micro-SIM cards to mini-SIM cards.
MiUI 5 on this smartphone has two additions. One is the Lite mode seen here, which makes the phone much easier to use. The second addition is SIM management, which lets users name each SIM card whatever they want. This will then show up in their dialler and other relevant places.
At first look, the 8 MP camera took good photos under indoor lighting conditions. The colour reproduction is good and the UI is quite fast. It doesn't take much time to focus either.
Low light shots taken by the camera were also above expectations. Of course, we will be able to say more after a full review.
The Redmi 1S has changeable back covers and Xiaomi will launch these along with the phone itself. There is also a flip cover, which costs Rs. 559 and will be available on Flipkart.