A consumer checks out smartphones (Reuters)
A consumer checks out smartphones (Reuters)Reuters

Homegrown smartphone maker YU Televentures Ltd (a subsidiary of Micromax) unveiled the new feature-rich handset Yuphoria in India on Tuesday.

The new Yuphoria is touted as the budget version of phablet Yureka, which was launched in December last year.

To get a better perspective on these YU series siblings, we have briefly described the key specifications of Yuphoria and Yureka.

Design and Display:

YU Yuphoria comes with candy-bar rectangular shape, with metallic lining all around the contours of the phone, providing true premium feel, and also giving a sense of better grip and sturdy structure to the device to withstand any accidental drop. It measures 8.5 mm in thickness.

On the front, it sports 5.0-inch HD (1280x720p) IPS TFT screen with full lamination, Gorilla Glass 3 shield and anti-fingerprint coating, and pixel density of 294 ppi (pixels per inch). The Micromax YU Yureka comes with ergonomic sloping edge design with a bulge in the middle (on the rear-side). It measures 8.8 mm thick in the middle and tapers down to 6.0 mm thickness at the edge.

In terms of display specifications, it sports a 5.5-inch HD (720x1280p) screen with 80-degree viewing angle. But due to it's bigger, foot-print screen, the phone's display resolution comes down to 267 ppi.

Processor, RAM and storage capacity:

When Micromax YU Yureka made its debut in December 2014 (released in January), it raised the bar for mid-range smartphones by incorporating advanced 64-bit class Snapdragon 615 Octa-core CPU.

Snapdragon 615 Octa-core SoC (System on Chip) is manufactured by Qualcomm. Snapdragon 615 chipset comes with H.265/High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), which enables faster computational operations.

YU has incorporated 64-bit class Snapdragon 410 series quad-core CPU inside the Yuphoria.

One advantage of having 64-bit processor is that the phone performance and RAM management will be optimized and efficiently used among the apps. Users are less likely to face lag during multi-tasking.

Secondly, new Android applications starting this year will be rolled out with 64-bit architecture compliant codes, making YU Yuphoria and Yureka future-proof.

Yureka's Snapdragon 615 processor is backed by Adreno 405 graphics engine, 2GB DDR3 RAM and 16GB inbuilt memory with an option of expansion up to 32GB via microSD card.

On the other hand, Yuphoria's Snapdragon 410 chipset is also supported by sumptuous 2GB RAM and 16GB with option for expansion up to 32GB via microSD card.

Camera Specifications: 

Micromax YU Yureka packs a 13.0-megapixel camera with Sony Exmor RS sensor, Blue-lens architecture, 5-physical element lens, f/2.2 aperture, 75.4 degree wide-angle, full HD (1080p) resolution recording, LED flash and a pretty decent 5.0-megapixel camera with 71-degree angle lens, which is certain to cheer selfie enthusiasts.

On the other hand, Yu, in order to cut costs, it has made some trade-offs in the camera department of the Yuphoria.

Yuphoria ships with a 8.0-megapixel camera with LED flash, f/2.2 aperture,1.4um pixel size, HDR, full HD video recording ability. But on the front, it boasts more superior 5mp snapper with f/2.0 aperture 4-physical element lens, 86-degree wide-angle photo capture ability.

Mobile operating system:

Both Micromax YU devices stand even as they run on the same feature-rich Cyanogen custom Android OS.

YU Yuphoria comes with Cyanogen OS 12 (Android 5.0 Lollipop) out-of-the-box, whereas the Yureka just got updated to the same OS version last month.

Cyanogen takes Android experience to the next level like no other Custom ROM developer does. They provide almost unlimited custom features.

Advantages of using Cyanogen OS include option to remove any app (even the pre-loaded ones which come with the phone), enhanced performance, better RAM management, regular security updates, quick settings configuration option, regular monthly update, privacy guard (gives users the control to what the applications can learn about you and your contacts),Global Blacklist (gives users the ability to flag telemarketers, robo-callers, annoying people and blacklist them) and many other customization options.

Price:

Price is one of the most important aspects of this comparison article, since price plays a crucial role in decision-making, especially by middle-class consumers, who form the biggest chunk of the India's market. 

Micromax YU Yuphoria comes with an aggressive price tag of ₹6,999.Considering its hardware (both inside and out), it's a smart buy.

With a budget-friendly price-tag, feature-rich YU Yuphoria is poised to stir up another storm in the Indian budget market like its older sibling Yureka did in the early part of the year.

And it is set to give a stiff challenge to Lenovo A6000 (& A6000 Plus), Xiaomi Redmi 2, Motorola Moto E (2 Gen) and the recently-released Huawei's Honor 4C.

[Read more: Metal-Clad Micromax YU Yuphoria, YuFit Smartband, HealthYU Kit Launched in India; Price, Specifications]

The company has confirmed that Micromax YU Yuphoria sale will go live on Amazon India on 28 May. Prospective buyers are advised to get registered to become eligible to buy the new YU phone later this month. Registration window will open later in the evening 5:00 pm on Amazon India.

On other hand, Micromax YU Yureka comes with a price-tag of ₹8,999 and sold exclusively on Amazon India on Thursdays.

Just days ahead of Yuphoria launch, YU Yureka was made available on Amazon India via open sale for ₹8,999.

But while filing this report, Amazon India's Yureka web-page was showing a caption –'Currently unavailable'.

There is no word on when the phone will be back on sale. As of now, the ecommerce site provides an email-update button for those who are still thinking of buying the Yureka (HERE).

[Also Read: Huawei Honor 4C vs Xiaomi Mi4i vs Asus Zenfone 2 (ZE550ML) vs Motorola Moto G (2 Gen): Specification Comparison]

Key specifications of Micromax YU Yureka and Xiaomi Mi4:

Models Micromax YU Yuphoria Micromax YU Yureka
Display
  • 5.0-inch HD (1280x720p) TFT IPS display with full-lamination technology, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 shield and finger-print proof
  • Pixel density: 294 ppi (pixels per inch)
  • 5.5-inch HD (720x1280p) screen with 80-degree viewing angle, it is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 shield, oleophobic coating to prevent finger-print smudges
  • Pixel density: 267 ppi (pixels per inch)
OS Cyanogen OS 12 (based on Android 5.0 Lollipop) CyanogenMod Android 4.4.4 KitKat based CM11 series
  • [The company released the Lollipop 5.0 OS based Cyanogen OS 12 to device in April]
Processor 64-bit class either Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 Series quad-core CPU 64-bit class Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 [MSM 8939]series Octa-core [Quad-core 1.7GHz ARM Cortex A53 + quad-core 1.0GHz A53] CPU
GPU Adreno 306 graphics engine Adreno 405
RAM 2GB DDR3 2GB DDR3
Storage capacity 16GB, expandable up to 32GB 16GB, expandable up to 32GB
Camera
  • Main: 8.0-megapixel camera with LED flash, f/2.2 aperture,1.4um pixel size, HDR, full HD video recording
  • Front: 5.0-megapixel camera with f/2.0 aperture 4-physical element lens, 86-degree wide-angle photo capture ability
  • Main: 13.0-megapixel camera with Sony Exmor RS sensor, Blue-lens architecture, 5-physical element lens, f/2.2 aperture, 75.4 degree wide-angle, full HD (1080p) resolution recording, LED flash
  • Front: 5.0-megapixel camera with 71-degree angle lens
Battery 2230 mAh with Quick-charge v1.0 technology (users can charge the phone from 0 to 65% within 45 minutes)
  • Talk time: up to 7 hours
  • Standby time: close to 160 hours
  • Music playback time: up to 7 hours
  • Video playback time: close to 3.5 hours
2500 mAh (Lithium-Polymer)
  • 4G-LTE: up to 11 hours;
  • 3G: close to 13 hours;
  • 2G:up to 15 hours;
  • Music playback: almost a day;
  • Video playback: close to 6 hours;
  • Gaming: up to 4 hours;

[Average phone usage details]

  • Talk time: close to 8 hours;
  • Standby time: up to 210 hours;
Network 3G/4G-LTE (Cat.4 with 150 mbps down-load speed and upload data with 50mbps speed) 3G & 4G-LTE (Cat. 4): 150mbps/50mbps (Download/Upload speed)
Add-ons Metal-frame, Saturn-ring camera ring, microSD card slot, Dual-SIM slots, Bluetooth v4.0, Wi-Fi, Pure Wolfson sound and AAC speakers Dual-SIM (4G+3G micro slots) slots, Curved body design, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), Bluetooth v4.0, A-GPS, Micro-USB, FM Radio;
  • Special mention: Warranty not void on Rooting, OTA (Over-The-Air) updates every month
Dimensions 142.38 x 76.96 x 8.25 mm 154.8 x 78.0 x 6.0-8.8 (width) mm
Weight 143 g (with battery inside) N/A
Colour Champagne Gold with White & Buffed Steel with Black Moonstone Grey;
  • Accessory: hand-crafted leather cover (Sold separately)
Price ₹6,999/- ₹8,999/-