Redmi Y3 Review- Made for selfie lovers!

Redmi Y3 Review

Launched back in 2017, the Redmi Y1 was Xiaomi’s first smartphone in the youth-focused lineup, explicitly targeted at selfie lovers. Later, the company permeated the remaining gaps by giving dual cameras, and a modern 18:9 display with the Redmi Y2. Yet, it lacked the punch needed to satisfy everyone’s needs.

This time, with the current-gen Redmi Y3, Xiaomi took another jump by offering a major design overhaul, followed by a much better processor and a massive battery, to take on the looming competition. That being said, let’s check out if the phone’s really worth buying now in our full Redmi Y3 Review.

Redmi Y3 Specifications

Before starting with the Redmi Y3 review, let’s have a glance at the phone’s specifications, pricing and things we get with the device.

  • Display: 6.26-inch IPS LCD display, HD+ (720 x 1520 pixels) resolution, 19:9 aspect ratio, 269ppi
  • Display Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 5
  • CPU: 14nm-based octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 processor (4×1.8 GHz Kryo 250 Gold & 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 250 Silver)
  • GPU: Adreno 506
  • RAM: 3GB/4GB
  • Storage: 32GB/64GB internal storage, expandable up to 1TB (dedicated slot)
  • Software: Android 9 Pie
  • Main Camera: 12MP ( f/2.2, 1.25µm, PDAF) + 2MP depth sensor
  • Selfie Camera: 32MP (f/2.2, 0.8µm)
  • Connectivity: micro USB 2.0, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS/ A-GPS/ GLONASS, 3.5mm headphone jack
  • Cellular: Dual SIM
  • Fingerprint Scanner: Yes, Capacitive
  • Battery: 4,000 mAh, Li-ion Polymer, non-removable

Price: Rs. 9,999 for 3/32GB | Rs. 11,999 for 4/64GB

Box Contents

A complete list of items you get inside the box:

    • Redmi Y3
    • 10W Charger
    • Micro USB Cable
    • Transparent Silicon Case
    • Sim Ejector Tool
    • Documentation

Redmi Y3 Review

Design & Build

The first thing that differentiates Redmi Y3 from the previous models is its beautiful Aura Prism design. Similar to the Redmi 7, the dual-tone polycarbonate back creates a dazzling rainbow-like pattern on reflection of light. As you’d expect, it’s highly prone to smudges and sweat marks; hence using a case is a must.

Coming to the front, the phone bears a dot-notch which gives it a contemporary appeal. That said, there’s still a broad chin at the bottom, accompanied by thin bezels running around the sides. Moving further, the frame seems to be made up of polycarbonate yet holds up pretty well. Also, Xiaomi has added a P2i nano-coating touted to offer resistance against light splashes of water.

The power button is given to the right, right below the volume rockers. The buttons are positioned well and feel clicky while still showing wobbly nature. The triple slot sits to the left whereas the 3.5mm audio jack and IR blasters are located on the top. At the bottom, we have a micro USB port and a loudspeaker.

Overall the phone looks very appealing, yet we’d have loved to see smaller bezels and a USB Type-C port (as on the Redmi Note 7). Note that the phone feels a little bulky and chunky at 180grams and 8.47mm thickness.

Display

Speaking of the display, the phone gets a 6.26-inch IPS LCD panel with an HD+ resolution. And while the panel produces good colours and has right viewing angles, it left us disappointed in terms of media consumption and sunlight visibility.

A full-HD+ display is something we’d expect in a phone priced Rs. 10,000 and we wish if Xiaomi used the Redmi Note 7’s panel here. Anyways, the phone does get Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection, giving a little confidence while using it without a screen protector.

Camera

As noted, the Xiaomi Redmi Y3 gets a  12-megapixel primary sensor with an f/2.2 aperture and a 2-megapixel depth camera akin to the Redmi 7. For selfies, there’s a 32MP front shooter with f/2.2 aperture.

As for the camera performance, the device produces nice-looking pictures with plenty of detail and accurate colours under daylight. The AI mode further improves the image by a little margin. Having said that, the phone handles exposure reasonably well and does a decent job in keeping the highlights from being blown out in HDR mode. The low-light shots, however, are soft, lack detail and exhibit a lot of noise.

Selfies, indeed are one of the USPs of the Redmi Y3. The 32-megapixel shooter, housed in the dot-notch captures sharp and well-detailed pictures. While you can shoot 32MP photos, the camera natively captures 8MP images, thanks to the 4-in-1 pixel binning technique.

Although the 32MP images have better detail and allow more zooming, the 8MP ones simply have better dynamic range. In fact, even in low light, the 32MP mode invites a lot of grains while the binned images have better details in the foreground as well as the background. The selfie camera indeed is better than most other phones in this price range. The portrait mode, however, doesn’t work well and often messes around with edge detection.

Performance

The Redmi Y3 gets powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 SoC, a considerable leap from the Snapdragon 625 on the Redmi Y2. Furthermore, the chipset is paired with up to 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

In our usage, the phone performed flawlessly in day to day tasks including clicking photos, using social media apps, watching videos and listening to music. We didn’t experience any lag or stutter in the review period. So, if you’re not a heavy multi-tasker, the phone will go very well with your everyday use.

Unfortunately, the phone starts to struggle during heavy gaming. Games like PUBG are playable but only at low graphics settings. While Snapdragon 632 is capable enough, we’d have loved to see a better chipset, looking at the fact that the Xiaomi’s own Redmi Note 7 came with the Snapdragon 660 at under Rs. 10,000.

Software

On the software front, the Redmi Y3 runs MIUI 10 based on Android 9.0 Pie. While a lot of people will love the UI for the customizability and features it offers, people who love simplicity may find it intrusive and difficult to manage with.

The UI doesn’t offer an app drawer which is something we don’t appreciate much, but then again you can install a custom launcher to revamp your home screen. Nonetheless, the UI has a lot of bloatware to offer including Xiaomi’s official apps, as well as some third-party apps like DailyHunt, ShareChat and Amazon. Thankfully, most of them can be uninstalled in the settings.

That being said, ads are still a big problem in MIUI. This includes ads in the lock screen, ads in the notification panel and ads whenever you install an app on your phone. Luckily, you can turn them off by disabling “Personalised Ad Recommendations” in the settings.

Above all, MIUI 10 also brings in gesture-based navigation akin to the iPhone X that works very well. Despite being heavily skinned, MIUI offers tons of options for customisations. Anyway, if you are a stock Android lover, you’ll have a tough time getting used to it.

Battery & More

As you’d expect, the built-in 4000mAh battery of the Redmi Y3 lasts somewhat over a day with mixed usage. The lower-resolution display and the power-efficient chipset further makes up for great persistence.

In our usage, the phone comfortably lasted for about one and a half days. Moreover, if you’re a light user, you can easily manage two days on a single charge. The lack of fast charging, however, might disappoint some.

Besides, the Redmi Y3 gets all the necessary connectivity options and sensors. The call quality, as well as the mic quality, is on par with the other phones in this range. We also loved the fact that the phone gets a dedicated microSD card slot

Pros

  • Premium looks
  • Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection
  • A great selfie camera
  • Long-lasting battery life
  • Dedicated card slot
  • Dual 4G VoLTE

Cons

  • Ads in MIUI
  • Not for heavy gaming
  • Sub-par display
  • Average rear cameras
  • MicroUSB port, no fast charging

Redmi Y3 Review Verdict – Should you buy it?

If you’re someone who is highly fond of taking selfies throughout the day and doesn’t care much about the performance or display, then you should definitely consider buying the Redmi Y3.

However, if you see yourself spending most of the day in playing games or watching movies, we’d suggest getting better overall performers like the Redmi Note 7/7s, Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 (Review) or even the Samsung Galaxy M20 in the sub-10K segment.

Buy Redmi Y3 from Amazon.in

About the author

Ritik Singh

An avid media student who is highly passionate about technology since childhood. He has good experience in video production, gadget reviews and is ardent about writing on tech.