Yu Yuphoria vs Xiaomi Redmi 2 vs Moto E (2nd gen): Battle of budget phones

We take a look at how these three smartphones which are all priced at Rs 6999 stand in terms of specs and features.

Yu Yuphoria, the second device from Yu Televentures, comes at a budget price of Rs 6999. This is a 4G smartphone with a metal frame and will compete with the likes of Redmi 2 and Moto E (2nd gen) which are available at the same price. We take a look at how these three smartphones, all priced at Rs 6,999, stack up in terms of specs and features. Yu Yuphoria This newly launched device from Yu has a metal frame as its USP and thus in terms of design it stands apart from its competitors. Key features of the Yuphoria smartphone are: 5-inch 720p HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for protection, 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor with 2GB of RAM, Adreno 306 GPU and 16 GB internal storage. The Snapdragon 410 is the entry-level processor and it remains to be seen if the heating issue of Snapdragon gets heightened in this device.

The device is powered by Cyanogen OS 12 running on Android L and comes with an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front camera with a wide-angle lens. The smartphone has a 2,230 mAh battery, which Yu claims can be charged to 65 percent in flat 45 minutes. It is a dual SIM smartphone with 4G support. CyanogenMod OS 12 is a highly customisable ROM of Android and gives users a lot more control over themes, app-outlook, privacy, than stock Android. USP of the phone: Metal frame, CyanogenMod OS 12, 2GB RAM and 16 GB storage space. 

Redmi 2

The second version of the Redmi 1S, the Redmi 2 is the budget offering from Xiaomi and costs Rs 6,999 like the Yuphoria. The Redmi 2 has a 4.7-inch 720p HD IPS fully laminated display with AGC Dragontrail glass protection (no Gorrilla Glass). It has an 8 megapixel rear camera, and a 2 megapixel front camera. Redmi 2 runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat operating system with MIUI 6 skin on top. MiUi also offers users a host of features like privacy controls, themes, control over notifications, etc.

 Xiaomi Redmi 2 in this photo. (Source: Andrew Clarance)

Xiaomi’s Redmi 2 also has a 64-bit 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 CPU based on Cortex A53 with Adreno 306 GPU, 1GB LPDDR3 RAM and 8GB ROM which can be expanded up to 32GB. It is powered by a 2,200 mAh battery with Quick Charge technology.

The Redmi 2 is a 4G device as well and offers 4G on both SIM slots. With Yuphoria though it is not specified if both slots support 4G.

USP: 4G connectivity on both slots, MIUI6 which is also highly customisable and as we saw in our review, it has a stunning camera at this price point.

Moto E (2nd gen)

When the Moto E (1st gen) was launched it was revolution in the budget smartphone segment because it offer stock Android experience at rock-bottom prices.

 Moto E (2nd) has a smooth performance.

The Moto E has a 4.5-inch screen with 540 x 960 pixels resolution and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for extra protection, 1.2 Ghz quad-core Snapdragon 200 processor, 1 GB RAM, 8 GB total space (expandable to 32 GB) , a 5 megapixel rear camera and a 0.3 megapixel front camera. This is a dual-SIM smartphone which comes in 3G and 4G versions. Moto E (4G) will however cost you Rs 7999.

The Moto E has the right price point, but it pales in comparison to the Redmi 2 and Yuphoria in terms of features like camera resolution, screen size and more. It has a 2,390 mAh battery which can easily last an entire working day.

In terms of performance though, we have seen earlier that the Moto E worked fairly smoothly even though it does not have a 64-bit processor, compared to the Redmi 2 and Lenovo A6000.

USP: Stock Android 5.0 with guaranteed updates, smooth performance.