Micromax Launches First Cyanogen

Micromax Launches First Cyanogen Powered YU Yureka Smartphone In India

Micromax launched its first YU branded smartphone in the Indian market today – YU Yureka. Micromax announced its YU brand recently as part of its partnership with Cyanogen. The device will be sold exclusively through Amazon India and is going on sale early next year. Registrations for the device have already begun.

The main highlight of the smartphone is the fact that it is running Cyanogen OS11 with lots of customization options, enhanced encryption and performance enhancements. Cyanogen OS11 is based on Android 4.4 KitKat, although it isn’t clear if the company will offer an update to Android 5.0 Lollipop in future. The hardware of the smartphone isn’t too shabby either. The smartphones comes with a 5.5-inch 1280 x 720 HD IPS display with a pixel density of 267PPI. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core 64-bit chipset clocked at 1.5GHz with Adreno 405 GPU. 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, 13MP Sony Exmor RS rear camera, 5MP front-facing camera for selfies, 4G LTE connectivity, 2500mAh battery, Dual-SIM support, and 24-bit audio support.

The specs definitely are very impressive, but what’s remarkable is the pricing. The device will be sold in India for INR8,999 ($143). There are very few sub $200 smartphones out there that offer such impressive specs. It also overshadows the recently announced Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G for the Indian market. YU Yureka is also the cheapest 4G LTE smartphone on sale in India, edging out the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G by a whisker. If you are from India and want to buy the Yureka, you will need to register on the Yureka official webpage before you can buy it. Sales are expected to commence in the second week of January via Amazon India exclusively. Micromax aims to take on Xiaomi in the Indian market with its YU brand, so it’s quite clear why they chose Amazon India instead of Flipkart, which happens to be Xiaomi’s retail partner in the Indian market. The Yureka was also the reason behind OnePlus receiving a temporary sales injunction in the Indian market against the OnePlus One smartphone for violation of Micromax’s exclusivity agreement with Cyanogen for the South Asian markets. It isn’t yet clear if Micromax will be selling the device in other markets in South Asia as well though, as the company has only announced it for the Indian market for now.