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Earlier today, Micromax-backed YU added a new smartphone to its portfolio with the launch of Yunicorn. Some of the key highlights of the smartphone are the metal unibody design, a fingerprint scanner embedded inside the home button and integration of Around YU services platform that was introduced in the YU Yutopia. Targeted in the mid-range segment, the YU Yunicorn will face fierce competition with some of its closest rivals – the LeEco Le 1s, Lenovo ZUK Z1 and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3. We pitted all three smartphones based on their price, specifications and features, and here’s how they compare.
Price and availability: The YU Yunicorn will set you back by Rs 12,999 and will be exclusively available via Flipkart. The smartphone will be sold via flash sales and registrations for the same have started today. YU also said that the smartphone will be sold for Rs 14,999 after a month and will also be made available in offline retail stores.
The LeEco Le 1s is priced at Rs 10,999 and available for purchase on Flipkart, whereas the Redmi Note 3 (3GB RAM + 32GB storage) will set you back by Rs 11,999 and is available for purchase from Amazon India and from Mi.com. The ZUK Z1 is priced at Rs 13,499 and available via weekly flash sales on Amazon India.
Display: All four smartphones sport a 5.5-inch full HD (1080p) display, and one of the differentiating factors of the YU Yunicorn is the 2.5D curved glass on the front. The display on LeEco Le 1s offers maximum brightness of 450 nits. The Redmi Note 3, on the other hand, has a ‘sunlight display’ mode where the ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the contrast and brightness based on the lighting conditions in the room, or outdoors.
Chipset and RAM: At the heart of the Yunicorn runs MediaTek’s Helio P10 octa-core processor clocked at 1.8GHz and paired with Mali T860 GPU and 4GB of RAM. The Le 1s is powered by MediaTek’s higher-end 64-bit Helio X10 octa-core processor clocked at 2.2GHz and paired with 3GB of RAM. The Redmi Note 3, on the other hand, is powered by Qualcomm’s 64-bit Snapdragon 650 hexa-core chipset (with two Cortex-A72 cores and four A53 cores). It is paired with 2GB of RAM and Adreno 510 GPU.
Lenovo’s ZUK Z1 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor and 3GB of RAM. Even though the Snapdragon 801 is relatively old, it was the flagship chipset of its time, and has powered devices like LG G3, Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8 among others.
Storage: The YU Yunicorn and the Redmi Note 3 feature 32GB onboard storage, which can further be expanded via a hybrid SIM card slot – out of the two slots, one accepts a nano SIM card, whereas the other can either have a nano SIM card or a microSD card, not both. LeEco’s Le 1s comes with 32GB of onboard storage. Unfortunately, it doesn’t support expandable storage option. The ZUK Z1, on the other hand, comes with 64GB onboard storage with no option to expand it further. Both the Yunicorn and Le 1s also offer free cloud storage.
Cameras: In the photography department, the Yunicorn sports a 13-megapixel rear camera with aperture f/2.2, PDAF and 1080p video recording capabilities. For selfie lovers, there is a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with aperture f/2.0. The Redmi Note 3 is equipped with a 16-megapixel rear snapper with PDAF and dual LED flash, and a front-facing 5-megapixel selfie camera.
The ZUK Z1 sports a 13-megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash and optical image stabilization (OIS) to let you capture blur free photos. It is also the only smartphone in this price range to come with an OIS. There is also a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.
The Le 1s is also equipped with a 13-megapixel rear camera with auto-focus, PDAF and LED flash. One of the additions is the 4K video recording capability, which is missing from other smartphones. There is also a front-facing 5-megapixel camera for selfies and video calling.
Battery: The Yunicorn is armed with a 4,000mAh battery, which the company says is good enough to last for two days on heavy usage. It also includes fast charging feature. While the ZUK Z1 is equipped with a 4,100mAh battery, the Redmi Note 3 is equipped with 4,050mAh battery. The Le 1s, on the other hand, features a 3,000mAh battery along with support for fast charging via USB Type-C.
OS and connectivity: As Micromax no longer has any exclusive partnership with Cyanogen, the Yunicorn runs on stock Android 5.1 Lollipop OS, which YU calls ‘Android on Steroids.’ It comes with a vertical app drawer and an integrated search bar. YU has also bundled its ‘Around YU 2.0’ service platform which includes all services at one place. To open the platform, one simply needs to swipe right on the homescreen. Here, you can look for shopping deals from Scandid, food options from Zomato, travel deals from Ixigo and cab services from TaxiForSure and Ola among others. It is important to note that in order to use these services, you don’t need to have the apps installed on your smartphone. The company says it will roll out Android Marshmallow update in the coming weeks. In terms of connectivity, you get dual SIM card slots with 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth and GPS.
The Le 1s runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop-based EUI and includes connectivity options such as USB Type-C port, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth and GPS. The company has also promised Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow update which will be rolled out in the coming weeks.
The ZUK Z1 also features the USB Type-C port and connectivity options such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, dual SIM card slots and 4G LTE connectivity. On the software front, it runs on CyanogenOS based on Android 5.1 Lollipop and an upgrade to Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow is also planned, which is due to roll out in the coming weeks.
The Redmi Note 3, on the other hand, features connectivity options such as Bluetooth, GPS, dual SIM 4G LTE, VoLTE and Wi-Fi 802.11ac. It runs on MIUI 7 based on Android 5.1 Lollipop and an update to MIUI 8 based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow is also in the pipeline.
Miscellaneous features: All four smartphones include a fingerprint scanner for biometric authentication. While the ZUK Z1 and YU Yunicorn Plus have the scanner embedded inside the home button on the front, the Redmi Note 3 and Le 1s have the scanner placed at the back. Also, while the ZUK Z1 sports a metal frame and plastic back, the Yunicorn, Redmi Note 3 and Le 1s sport a full metal unibody design.
Comparison Table
YU Yunicorn vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 vs LeEco Le 1s vs Lenovo ZUK Z1: Price, specifications and features compared | Latest Tech News, Video & Photo Reviews at BGR India