Lightweight with good battery power.
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: Even though Micromax came out with a slew of handset models last year, the Indian smartphone manufacturer registered a very dull 2014. The initial hype created by Micromax devices got disrupted with the arrival of other Indian smartphone manufacturers like Karbonn and Lava, and lately with the pitching in of Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi. Many tech analysts thought the honeymoon days of Micromax was over and its fate sealed. But, the company had a backup plan – project Yureka.
From the first quarter of 2014, technology websites had been talking about an ongoing project inside Micromax called “Project Eureka” but, Micromax never acknowledged it until Rahul Sharma, the co-founder of Micromax and the CEO of its new subsidiary brand Yu Televenture, unveiled its first smartphone named Yureka.
The hugely successful flash sale models pioneered by Xiaomi could have been an inspiration for the Micromax team as the same model is followed by Yu for selling Yureka, but this new device is putting a real fight, not only against Xiaomi, but also with some premium brands such as HTC and VIVO.
So what makes Yu Yureka the smartphone of a tech nerd’s dream and a nightmare of premium brands? Let’s find out.
The Yu Yureka
On holding the device in your hand, the first feeling inside you is “did I forgot to insert the battery?” this is because the device is light weight and feels sturdy with the moondust finish. Design-wise Yureka is not a jaw dropper but looking at the price the device has been made available, Yu Televentures deserves some real appreciation. The device sports a 5.5-inch IPS display with Corning Glass 3 protection. It is packed with the latest octa-core 64 bit Snapdragon 615 CPU with 4G LTE support coupled with 2GB RAM and Adreno GPU. The device features a 16 GB internal memory with 12.5 GB usable space. This can be expanded up to 32 GB using external microSD card.
What is CyanogenMod?
Yu Yureka is the first ever smartphone in India to feature CyanogenMod Operating System (OS). CyanogenMod is a customized Android firmware designed to increase performance and reliability over Android-based ROMs. CyanogenMod also offers a variety of customization options & enhancements that are not currently found in other versions of Android.
Is the camera of Yu Yureka good?
Coming to the camera department of the new Yu Yureka, it has a 13 MP rear camera with Sony EXMOR CMOS and blue lens, and a 5 MP Selfie camera for selfie enthusiasts. The camera is a real surprise considering that many Micromax devices have failed to do a good job in this segment. Daylight photography and night photography using the Yureka primary camera was far better than some of the premium brands. The color reproduction was good and the camera performed really well when it comes to macro photography. The blue lens technology produces colorful images even while facing opposite to the light source.
Video recording also has a surprise element as the device supports high-resolution slow-motion video at 60 fps – a max of 120 fps and time-lapse, which are features credited only to high-end smartphones. The Cyanogen Camera application is easy to use and users can change the filters by just sliding the screen.
Set own personal privacy policy for your apps
Even though Google asks permission before installing apps, it doesn’t give the option to set custom permission after installing the application. In the new Cyanogen OS users can edit permission of each app, for example if a photo sharing app uses the GPS to retrieve information about your location and you don’t want it to go public, then you can easily restrict the permission of the app to access the GPS. While talking to the press Rahul Sharma said, “Going ahead, it will be about software more than hardware. Customization and service will play an important role in determining the success of a brand. Yu imparts power to consumers to redefine the mobile space in the country by simply giving the control in a user’s hand.”
How good is the performance of Yu Yureka?
Without a doubt, the Yu Yureka is the best performer in its price range. The 64 Bit octa core processor is much faster than the 32 bit and adding to this, the device won’t be outdated at least for two years as the 64 bit generation of smartphones are currently in their nascent stage. The 64 bit processor uses the 2GB RAM for delivering optimum performance, thus making the Yu Yureka super responsive.
Yu Yureka supports 4G LTE, which is currently carried only by Airtel across 27 cities in India, but as said earlier, the Yu Yureka is a futuristic smartphone. It can deliver up to 150Mbps download speeds and 50Mbps upload speeds using the CAT4 based 4G LTE technology.
We also tried playing heavy games like Asphalt 8 and GTA, which ran smoothly without any lags, thanks to the Adreno GPU and 2GB Ram. We experienced zero heating issues while gaming and this is mainly because the Snapdragon 615 processor is optimized for energy efficiency.
We also did a performance test using various tools that gave high rating for Yu Yureka when compared to its immediate rival Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G
Benchmark | Yu Yureka | Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G |
Antutu | 30,866 | 22,059 |
Geek Bench 3 | 663 | 436 |
3DMark Ice Storm Extreme | 5,629 | 2,952 |
PCMark (Work) | 3,338 | 3,038 |
How long will Yu Yureka’s battery last?
One of the most highlighted cons of Yu Yureka after the launch was its 2500 mAh battery. But, our performance test has proved that 2500 mAh battery of Yureka performs equally good as the 3100 mAh battery of Redmi Note 4G. All the credit for this goes to Snapdragon for manufacturing a processor that is less power hungry. We were able to play 4 hours of graphic heavy games and three HD movies in Yureka for a single recharge cycle. Even though there is no battery saver app inbuilt like in Sony devices, users can download the Snapdragon Battery saver app to optimize the battery of Yureka.
After sales service
Yu, for the first time in India, is offering door-step service for Yureka smartphones. If users encounter an issue with the device, they can raise a ticket online and the technician will reach their door-step, get it repaired or take it for repairing and bring it back, free of any extra charges.
When coming to the software front, during the launch event Rahul Sharma said that Yureka will receive at least one OS update very month for the next two years and the device will be the first to get the Android L update among Cyanogen based devices.
Who should buy Yu Yureka?
Unlike other stock Android versions used in smartphones, the Cyanogen OS in Yu Yureka offers users heavy customization option. Also, Yu has promised root-free warranty for the device, literally asking users to hack the smartphone in their own ways. So, basically the device is for techies who wish to have complete control over their smartphone.
How can you buy Yu Yureka?
Yu Yureka is sold via Amazon India via flash sale that happens on every other Tuesday, thus putting in tough competition to Xiaomi, which also sells smartphones on Tuesday flash sales via Flipkart. Users have to register in advance for participating in the flash sale. Amazon.in was criticized after the first sales of Yu Yureka as registered users encountered server errors and price discrepancies while checking out. Hopefully, the Indian sub domain of the world’s largest e-retailer will come up with fixes for these issues during the next sale of Yu Yureka scheduled for 22nd Jan.
12 Comments
The phone is really good. It has been over a month of running heavy games and applications and still it doesn’t lag. of course no words for CyanogenOS Extremely Good!! I would suggest people to buy Yureka if their budget is Rs 10,000 cause no other phone is nearly as good as this.
Buy YUREKA at 8999/- the only phone which you can get at this price!!!
its an amazing phone in a budget of 8999. it boasts its octacore processor and it works really well the phone has a good camera and the gaming experience with this phone is great
The Yureka is a very smooth touch phone and is amazing for such a low price. It has some really good features and a 13 MP camera. Performs exceedingly well, looks really good and refined.
the yu yureka is fast with smooth touch experience but it lags a bit while viewing photos in the gallery apps and the camera app(gives a minor lag while loadind the initial 1-2 pics) also but this could be easily ignored considering the great camera it offers!
It’s certainly the best smartphone available for less than Rs 10,000 especially considering that it also supports 4G connectivity.
Great value for money phone! Good build Good camera Great Performance!
The phone is just amazing and one should not buy any other phone if his budget is less 10,000
this phone has become one of the best budget phones of the year indeed. the features are massive and iam really happy with this phone! Yu is great!
Is yureka a reliable choice??
YU can surely rely on Yureka its the best phone. I have had this phone and i am completely satisfied with its work.
Bravo
Go Great MMX
Wud like to see you at in Top Brands of World