Micromax YU Yureka vs OnePlus One: Which Is A Better Cyanogen Smartphone?

December 19, 2014

Micromax has launched its highly-anticipated Yu range smartphone, Yureka, which runs on the latest version of Cyanogen OS. The Rs 8,999 Yureka is also the first home-brand smartphone to launch with the Cyanogen OS. The mouthful of a name aside, it looks like a promising Android smartphone by Micromax given the attractive specs and affordable price tag.

Cyanogen software is based on the Android operating system, popular for the host of customisation and features it provides over stock Android.

It’s no secret that Micromax is also at loggerheads with rival OnePlus, which recently launched its Cyanogen OS smartphone in India. Micromax has reportedly filed a lawsuit against OnePlus for infringing its exclusive rights over Cyanogen in India.

Now that the two phones have been launched, here’s a closer look at the specifications to find out who did a better job at making their respective Cyanogen smartphones.

Display

The Yureka features a 5.5-inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. In comparison, the OnePlus One features a 5.5-inch display with a high resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels. Both smartphones have a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for added protection against scratches.

 

The Micromax Yureka features a 5.5-inch IPS display

 

The OnePlus One has a Full HD display

Software

Both smartphones run on Cyanogen OS 11 based on Android 4.4.4.

Cyanogen OS provides a host of customisations which you may not find in official Android smartphones. Micromax has promised that Yureka will be one of the first smartphones to get the Android Lollipop OS based version of Cyanogen. OnePlus One may not get this update, if purchased in India.

Storage

The Yureka comes with 16GB of on board storage, while the OnePlus One provides 64GB for Rs 21,999. While the OnePlus is more spacious, note that it’s more than double the cost of the Yureka. OnePlus One also lacks a card slot for expanding the memory. One the other hand, Yureka allows you to boost the storage up to 32 GB using a microSD card.

Processor

Yureka runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 chipset, which is considered to be 44% faster than Snapdragon 801 in terms of the CPU clock speed and is better optimised to conserve battery life. However, OnePlus One’s Snapdragon 801 provides 133 MHz higher RAM speed, which gives a snappier performance overall. In addition, Snapdragon 801 also lets you record 4K quality videos and is faster to charge. Yureka’s Snapdragon 615, uses a 64-bit chip which will allow you to run 64-bit games and apps – something that OnePlus One can’t do. However, there are currently very few 64-bit games available on smartphones, so this feature is of little use as of now.

The Yureka is backed by 2GB of RAM, which is lower than the 3GB RAM on the OnePlus One. On average use, however, this is unlikely to show a noticeable difference in the speeds in the two phones.

Battery

The Yureka runs on a 2500mAh battery, which is a tad lower in capacity compared with the OnePlus One’s 3100mAh battery. While we can’t judge the battery life of the Yureka unless we test it ourselves, the OnePlus One excelled in our battery tests.

Camera

The OnePlus One and Micromax Yureka have almost identical cameras, with both featuring a 13MP rear camera and 5MP one on the front. As both phones run the same software, expect the same level of customisations and features in the two phones. That said, the quality of photos may vary.

Conclusion

The OnePlus One certainly has an edge over Micromax’s Yu Yureka smartphone. It’s one of the best smartphones we’ve seen this year and definitely the better of the two Cyanogen smartphones.

That said, Yureka seems like a better option in the long term for Indian users, as the phone will get future Cyanogen updates. Miromax has also promised that it will provide doorstep service and replacements and a great warranty policy.

If you purchase the OnePlus One in India, however, you won’t get Cyanogen updates and instead, receive a customised OS by OnePlus. Moreover, the Yureka provides a great deal of features and services at less than half the price of the OnePlus One.

(Tech 2)

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