The bruising battle for the entry-level 4G market just got bloodier with the launch of Yu Yunique, which will now tie with Phicomm Energy as India’s cheapest 4G phone with an HD display. The Phicomm Energy has a 5-inch display while the Yu Yunique comes with a 4.7-inch one.
The fight for marketshare at the lower end is likely to bleed the margins of not only the participants, but of all other smartphone makers as well.
However, what is going to be more interesting is to see how Lenovo — which recently overtook Micromax (Yu) to become India’s largest-selling 4G brand — reacts to the development.
For the record, the Yu Yunique has a a 1.2 quad-core Snapdragon 410 CPU and an 8-megapixel rear camera supported by a 2-megapixel one at the front. Battery is slightly on the lower side at just 2000 mAh. The Yunique also has Corning Gorilla Glass protection.
Sale of the Yunique will start on September 15.
However, will Lenovo sit quietly and watch?
No, according to our sources.
In fact, when Lenovo was launching its K3 Note a month ago, Yu ambushed the Chinese company’s plans by launching a largely similar model — the Yureka Plus — first at the same price, and then at Rs 1,000 lower.
So, what are we expecting from Lenovo to take on the Yu Yunique?
A price cut on the A6000 Plus — the most successful 4G phone in India ever — according to our sources.
The A6000 Plus is currently priced at Rs 7,499. Pricing the phone at Rs 5,999 or even at Rs 6,499 would take the fight to Yu Yunique as the Lenovo model has twice as much RAM as well as storage compared to the Yunique.
Another competitor in this range is Coolpad Dazen 1, which is available on Snapdeal for Rs 5,999.
Meanwhile, Lenovo announced that the A6000 and Plus models are now being given over-the-air updates to move them from Android KitKat to Lolipop.
