Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) Review

• Overview
• Design and Build Quality
• Display
• Performance
• Software and User Interface
• Camera
• Battery Life
• Connectivity and Networking
• Additional Features
• Comparison with Other Related Phones
• Pros and Cons
• Conclusion

Overview

The Xiaomi Redmi S2, also known as the Redmi Y2, is a feature-packed smartphone that promises to deliver exceptional performance at an affordable price. With its stylish design, including a glass front and a plastic back, this device is sure to catch your eye. The 5.99-inch IPS LCD display offers an immersive viewing experience, while the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset ensures smooth multitasking. Capture stunning photos with the dual 12MP + 5MP rear camera setup, and take breathtaking selfies with the 16MP front camera. With a 3080mAh battery and upgradable Android software, the Redmi S2/Y2 is a reliable companion throughout the day. Available in Gray, Gold, Rose Gold, Mesmerising Blue, and Stunning Black, this device offers incredible value for its price range.

Design and Build Quality

The Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) features a design that is both sleek and elegant, offering a premium look and feel. With its glass front and plastic back, the device exudes a sense of sophistication. The phone has a large 5.99-inch IPS LCD display with slim bezels, resulting in a high screen-to-body ratio of approximately 74.5%. This allows for an immersive viewing experience while still maintaining a compact form factor.

In terms of dimensions, the Redmi S2 measures 160.7 x 77.3 x 8.1 mm and weighs 170 grams, making it relatively lightweight and easy to handle. The plastic frame provides sturdiness and durability, ensuring the device can withstand daily wear and tear. The back panel has a smooth texture, offering a comfortable grip and preventing accidental slips.

The construction and build quality of the Redmi S2 are commendable. The buttons and controls are well-placed and provide a satisfying tactile feedback. The device also includes a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor for added convenience and security. Additionally, the phone features a dedicated microSD card slot, allowing for expandable storage.

Overall, the Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) showcases a well-designed and well-built device. Its aesthetic appeal, compact form factor, and thoughtful construction make it a desirable smartphone. Whether it's the sleek design, premium materials used, or the attention to detail in finishing touches, the Redmi S2 stands out as an excellent choice for users seeking a balance of style and functionality.

Display

The Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) features a 5.99-inch IPS LCD display with a screen resolution of 720 x 1440 pixels and an 18:9 aspect ratio. The screen size is quite large, providing an immersive viewing experience. Although the resolution may not be as high as some other smartphones in its price range, it still offers decent sharpness with a pixel density of around 269 ppi.

In terms of display technology, the Redmi S2 utilizes LCD technology. While it lacks the deep blacks and vibrant colors of OLED displays, it still offers good color accuracy and vibrancy. The display also has respectable brightness levels, ensuring decent visibility even under direct sunlight. Additionally, the device supports adaptive brightness, which automatically adjusts the screen brightness based on ambient lighting conditions.

To protect the display from scratches and minor impacts, Xiaomi has not specified the presence of any specific display protection such as Gorilla Glass. However, additional screen protection may be advisable to ensure its longevity.

The Redmi S2's display offers wide viewing angles, allowing for comfortable viewing from different positions. It does not have an anti-reflective coating, which means it may be prone to glare in bright environments.

One notable design feature on the display is the presence of a notch, which houses the front-facing camera and sensors. The notch design allows for a higher screen-to-body ratio, minimizing the bezels and maximizing the available screen space. The device also does not have an always-on display feature, nor does it mention the inclusion of a blue light filter for reduced eye strain.

Overall, the Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) offers a large and immersive display with decent color accuracy and brightness levels. While it may lack some premium features found in high-end smartphones, it still provides a satisfactory visual experience for its price range.

Performance

The Xiaomi Redmi S2 (also known as Redmi Y2) offers commendable performance with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset and Adreno 506 GPU. This combination ensures smooth multitasking and a satisfying gaming experience. In terms of CPU benchmarks, the octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 processor delivers reliable performance for everyday tasks and app loading speeds.

When it comes to gaming capabilities, the Redmi S2 provides decent graphics scores and satisfactory gaming performance. The Adreno 506 GPU handles most games smoothly, providing an enjoyable gaming experience without significant lag or frame drops. The device's thermal management also plays a crucial role in maintaining performance during extended gaming sessions.

In terms of system optimization, the Redmi S2 offers a smooth user experience with its MIUI 12 skin on top of Android 8.1 (Oreo). The software is well-optimized, ensuring efficient processor and GPU utilization. This optimization translates into a lag-free performance and a responsive interface.

Benchmark tests confirm the Redmi S2's solid performance. In synthetic benchmarks like AnTuTu, it achieves a score of 77,488, showcasing the device's overall performance capability. In Geekbench 4.4, it achieves a score of 4,313, indicating its processor efficiency and multitasking performance. Additionally, in gaming benchmarks like GFXBench, it achieves a respectable score of 7.4fps for onscreen rendering.

The Redmi S2's performance metrics demonstrate its ability to handle various tasks with ease. Whether it's browsing the web, streaming videos, or running multiple apps simultaneously, the device provides a smooth user experience. Its processor efficiency and GPU performance contribute to a seamless usage experience.

Overall, the Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) offers a reliable and capable performance package. Its Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset, Adreno 506 GPU, and well-optimized software ensure smooth multitasking, decent gaming capabilities, and overall efficient performance. Users can expect a lag-free experience, thanks to its system optimization and thermal management.

Software and User Interface

The Xiaomi Redmi S2, also known as the Redmi Y2, runs on the Android operating system, specifically Android 8.1 (Oreo), which is upgradable to Android 9 with MIUI 12. This ensures that users have access to the latest features and security updates. MIUI, Xiaomi's custom user interface, adds a layer of customization on top of the Android OS, allowing users to personalize their device to their liking.

One notable aspect of the software on the Redmi S2 is the user-friendliness of the interface. MIUI offers a clean and intuitive user experience, making it easy for users to navigate through the various menus and settings. Additionally, the device comes pre-installed with a range of useful apps, such as the Mi Remote app for controlling infrared devices, and the Mi Drop app for easy file sharing between devices.

However, it's worth noting that MIUI does come with some pre-installed apps, which some users may consider as bloatware. These apps can take up storage space and may not be necessary for everyone. Thankfully, the Redmi S2 allows users to uninstall or disable these apps if they choose to do so, providing a level of customization and control over the device's software.

Overall, the software on the Xiaomi Redmi S2 offers a user-friendly interface with the added customization options provided by MIUI. The device comes with a range of pre-installed apps, although some may consider them as bloatware. Nevertheless, the ability to uninstall or disable these apps allows users to tailor the device's software to their preferences.

Camera

The Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) features a dual camera setup on the rear, consisting of a 12-megapixel primary camera with an aperture of f/2.2 and a 5-megapixel secondary depth sensor with an aperture of f/2.4. This camera combination allows for good depth sensing and bokeh effect in portrait mode. The primary camera has a 1.25μm pixel size, which helps in capturing more light and details, especially in low-light conditions. The camera also supports phase detection autofocus (PDAF) for quick and accurate focusing.

In terms of image quality, the Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) performs well in daylight photography, producing images with natural colors, good sharpness, and decent dynamic range. The camera's low-light performance is also commendable, thanks to its low-light sensitivity and noise reduction capabilities. The device offers a dedicated night mode, which further enhances low-light photography by capturing multiple frames and combining them to reduce noise and improve detail retention.

The camera app of the Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) comes with various features, including HDR mode for better exposure in high-contrast scenes, panorama mode for capturing wide-angle shots, and pro mode for manual control over settings like ISO, shutter speed, and white balance. The device also utilizes AI scene recognition to automatically optimize camera settings based on the detected scene.

When it comes to video recording, the Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) can shoot videos in 1080p resolution at 30 frames per second. It supports video stabilization for smoother footage and offers slow-motion and time-lapse video modes. However, it lacks 4K video recording capability.

Overall, the camera of the Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) offers a good photography experience with its dual-camera setup, AI enhancements, and various camera features. It captures detailed and vibrant images in different lighting conditions, making it suitable for both outdoor and indoor photography.

Battery Life

The Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) is equipped with a non-removable Li-Po 3080 mAh battery, which provides a decent battery life. It is capable of lasting through a full day of moderate usage. The battery capacity is not the highest in its category, but it is optimized to provide efficient power usage. The device supports 10W wired charging, which is not the fastest charging technology available, but it gets the job done. However, it does not support wireless charging options. The battery performance is satisfactory, with a good screen-on time and standby time. The device also offers battery optimization features to extend the battery life further. Users can enable battery saver mode to conserve power when needed. The battery management system ensures efficient battery usage and helps prevent excessive battery drain. Overall, the Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) provides a reliable battery backup and satisfactory battery capacity for everyday use.

Connectivity and Networking

The Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) offers a range of connectivity options to keep you connected wherever you go. It supports various network compatibility including GSM, CDMA, HSPA, and LTE, ensuring that you can use it with different carriers. The device comes with dual SIM capability, allowing you to use two SIM cards simultaneously. In terms of wireless connectivity, it supports Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Wi-Fi Direct, providing fast and reliable internet access. Bluetooth 4.2 is also available, enabling you to connect with other devices wirelessly. Unfortunately, there is no support for NFC, so you won't be able to use the device for contactless payments. For charging and data transfer, the Redmi S2 relies on a microUSB 2.0 port. It doesn't feature USB-C or support wireless charging. Additionally, the device comes with GPS for navigation purposes and has a mobile hotspot feature, allowing you to share your internet connection with other devices. Overall, the Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) offers a decent range of connectivity options, although it lacks some of the more advanced features like 5G and USB-C.

Additional Features

• Standout features: The Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) has several standout features that make it a compelling choice. Firstly, it boasts a large 5.99-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 720 x 1440 pixels, providing clear and vibrant visuals. Additionally, it sports a dual-camera setup on the rear, featuring a 12 MP primary camera and a 5 MP depth sensor, allowing for impressive photography capabilities. On the front, it houses a 16 MP selfie camera with HDR and LED flash, ensuring great quality self-portraits.


• Water and dust resistance: Unfortunately, the Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) does not come with any official water or dust resistance certifications. Therefore, it is recommended to handle the device with care and avoid exposing it to water or dusty environments.


• Advanced sensors: The Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) is equipped with a range of sensors to enhance its functionality. It features a fingerprint sensor on the rear for convenient and secure unlocking. Additionally, it includes an accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, and compass, providing a comprehensive sensor suite for various applications and functionalities.

Comparison with Other Related Phones

The Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) is a mid-range smartphone that offers a good balance of features and affordability. When comparing it to related gadgets in the market, it competes with devices like the Realme 5, Samsung Galaxy M20, and Huawei Y7 Prime 2019.

In terms of specifications, the Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) features a 5.99-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 720 x 1440 pixels. While its resolution may not be the highest, it still provides a decent viewing experience. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset, which offers reliable performance for daily tasks and multitasking. However, when compared to some of its competitors, such as the Realme 5 with its more powerful Snapdragon 665 chipset, the Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) may fall slightly behind in terms of performance.

The camera capabilities of the Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) are one of its standout features. It boasts a dual rear camera setup with a 12 MP primary sensor and a 5 MP depth sensor, allowing for good depth-of-field effects and decent low-light photography. The 16 MP front camera with LED flash is also impressive for capturing detailed selfies. Competitors like the Samsung Galaxy M20 and Huawei Y7 Prime 2019 offer similar camera setups but may not match the image quality of the Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2).

In terms of pricing, the Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) offers great value for money. It is priced at around 160 EUR, making it an affordable option for those looking for a budget-friendly smartphone. However, it faces tough competition from the Realme 5, which offers a slightly higher price but comes with better performance and a larger battery capacity.

Overall, the Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) holds its own in the mid-range smartphone market with its decent performance, impressive camera capabilities, and competitive pricing. While it may not have the most powerful chipset or the highest resolution display, it still offers a solid user experience and good value for money.

Pros and Cons

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Xiaomi Redmi S2, also known as the Redmi Y2, offers a solid package for its price range. With a large 5.99-inch display and a powerful Snapdragon 625 chipset, it provides a smooth and enjoyable user experience. The device's dual rear camera setup captures decent photos, especially in well-lit conditions, and the 16 MP front camera with LED flash is perfect for selfies. However, the HD resolution may not be as sharp as some competitors. The phone's plastic build and microUSB 2.0 port may also be considered drawbacks. Nevertheless, considering its affordable price tag, the Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Redmi Y2) is a great option for budget-conscious buyers looking for a reliable smartphone with decent performance and camera capabilities.