Yu, a separate brand introduced by Micromax has presented its first mobile phone today. Dubbed Yureka, the phone shows some impressive specifications at a price of ₹8999 that will attract everyone. Besides being India’s first smartphone powered by 64-bit processor, the Yureka is also the only CynogenMod based smartphone to be sold in India.
Specifications & Key Selling Points of Yu Yureka
Yureka’s biggest competitor will be Xiomi Redmi Note and to keep the costs and liabilities down, Yu is going to follow similar pricing and selling approach as Xiaomi is doing. Here’s a quick look at some of the things that make Yureka special and worth buying.
- Snapdragon 615 (64-bit) Processor – This is something exceptional at this price. While other smartphones go with Mediatek or Snapdragon 400, Yu has went ahead to pick up the powerful Snapdragon 615 clocked at 1.5Ghz to give Yureka a lot of processing power.
- 5.5″ IPS HD Display w/ Gorilla Glass – Everybody loves big displays and the Yureka doesn’t dissatisfy in this aspect. It boasts of a big 5.5″ display backed by the toughness and reliability of Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The screen PPI of 267 may disappoint some, but there definitely are few compromises to accept.
- 13MP Camera + 5MP Front – The phone packs a 13MP camera at its back to take well detailed images. It uses the Xmor Sensor from Sony. Overall, a good selling point, but how good it performs is something that only using it will tell. The back camera however does support goodies such as slow motion recording; etc. There is also a 5MP front facing camera for Video Calling or selfies.
- Cynogen OS 11 – Cynogen is one of the most known custom OS based on Android. It packs numerous improvements and feature enhancements which are missing in stock Android. Cynogen makes everything from fonts to themes to boot animation easily customizable. Using Cynogen also entitles the phone for regular updates. Yu promises an OS update every 30 days.
- 4G LTE Support – Yu Yureka will be one of the cheapest 4G compatible Android devices. 4G has a limited availability in India, but as Yu is planning for an international release as well, everything good there. They didn’t announce any operator partnerships for bundled offers, so I guess there are none.
- Price tag of ₹8999 – Pricing plays a major role to the success of everything and the same is the case here. The phone is priced at ₹8999 and we couldn’t ask for more as it offers a lot for the price they are asking. Built quality may be a concern and fingers crossed that it won’t disappoint.
- Warranty Policy – Yu designed its warranty policy such that you’re officially allowed to do all sort of software modifications without the risk of voiding the phone’s warranty. More about their warranty policy later.
Availability of Yu Yureka
Yu is a brand established for the modern people and hence they are deciding to market and sell their devices via online channels only. The Yureka will be exclusive to Amazon India and will be sold in a flash sale model, similar to how Xiaomi sells via Flipkart. The phone is available only in one color and that is the MoonStone black.
Registrations for the first batch will start from 2PM on 19th December and the actual sale will take place on Tuesday, 13th of January 2015 at 2:00 PM. Lucky ones to buy in the first sale will also receive a free Yu branded leather cover which is claimed to be hand made and priced at ₹999.
International availability is not talked about yet, but that’s something Yu won’t be doing anytime soon. Time is now to establish itself in India and then expand to other key markets.
