After the YU Yutopia, which was their most expensive smartphone, Micromax’s YU brand is back in their stronghold with the new Yunicorn smartphone. Priced at Rs.12,999 (introductory price valid for a month), the new phone will be available only on Flipkart from 7 June through registration only. The phone will be available at Rs.14,999 after the first month.
The Yunicorn has all the elements of which we have come across in other budget smartphones in the range of Rs.12,000 to Rs.15,000. It faces a direct head-on with the Lenovo’s Zuk Z1 (Rs.13,499) and the Moto G4 Plus (Rs.14,999).
Design
The all-metal exterior and the brushed finish over it adds a dash of premiumness to the YU Yunicorn. It also grips better than phones with shiny metal or glossy plastic finish. However, the phone tips the scales at 204g which is a lot even for a 5.5-inch screen smartphone. Even the Zuk Z1, which has a metallic exterior weighs 175g. The Moto G4 plus is the most impressive of the three with its laser-etched back that offers solid grip over the phone and its ultra-light (155g) form factor. All the three phones come with a front-facing finger print sensor. While the Moto G4 Plus and the Yu Yunicorn have a micro USB connector, the Zuk Z1 is equipped with the Type-C standard which allows faster data transfer and quick charging.
Display
The Yu Yunicorn’s 5.5-inch screen packs in a screen resolution of 1920x1980p with a layer of Gorilla Glass 3, which puts it at par with the likes of both the Moto G4 Plus and the Lenovo Zuk Z1. Another area where the Yunicorn seems on parity with the Zuk Z1 is in terms of features. While the Zuk Z1 automatically changes the colour of the display based on the amount of light available, in Yunicorn you have to set it manually. You can also switch between the standard and vivid mode in the Yunicorn. What the Yunicorn doesn’t have is the option to change the resolution of the display, a rare feature which is available in the Zuk Z1.
Software
The Yunicorn runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) with a slightly modified version of stock Android developed by Yu. The phone doesn’t run on Cyanogen OS, which means you won’t get those cool customisation options which we saw in the first few YU smartphones and the Yu Yutopia. What Yunicorn has is a location based feature called Around YU which allows users to order food, book cabs and even flight tickets through a single window. The latest addition to the Around Yu is the option to recharge your DTH and prepaid/postpaid connection with it. The Moto G4 Plus runs the latest Android Marshmallow (6.0.1) but doesn’t have the customisation features of the Cyanogen.
Power
Yu has used MediaTek’s latest Helio P10 octa-core processor to power the Yunicorn and paired it with 4GB of RAM. The Moto G4 Plus runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor which is paired with 3GB RAM and the Zuk Z1 is driven by a slightly older Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor with 3GB RAM. This is a close one. In terms of storage, the Zuk Z1 has an edge over the duo as it offers 64GB of internal storage, while the other have only 32GB of storage. However, you don’t get expandable storage on the Zuk Z1 which is available on the Yunicorn as well as the Moto G4 Plus. In terms of battery capacity, the Zuk Z1 and Yunicorn are more at par with each other with their 4,000mA battery. While the Moto G4 Plus has a smaller 3,000mAh battery.
