YU launched Yureka Plus to deliver a high-end looking specs at a budget price, and also to compete in the Indian market which is really hot for sub-ten thousand range of phones. However, we have seen that just bumping the specs, doesnt help. Let’s find out of YU actually delivered a phone worth the money.
Note: Since Yu Yureka and Plus version are almost the same, I am emphasising more on differences. Check out our Yureka review here for rest of the information.
Design & Build:
If both Yu Yureka Plus and Yureka are kept side by side, it will be hard to differentiate between them. The only only noticeable change in the Yureka Plus is the white matt finish rear case which looks good for a change. Rest of the things are exactly same as the original Yureka.
When it comes to build, Yu has put in a brand new chassis which reinforces rigidity making sure that the phone is even more sturdy to accidental bumps and falls. The metal looking rim around the edge also makes it look a lot better.
Display
Like Yuerka, the Yureka Plus sports a 5.5-inch display, but it now comes with a higher 1080p resolution display with Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3. The display looks sharp and its software has been optimised to take better advantage of the higher resolution screen.
One thing I noticed that brightness level is low, and when taking a look at pictures it doesnt look pretty. Sunlight readability is not impressive either. The blackness levels are low and you might have to push the brightness to max for best experience.
Software
Yureka Plus runs on Cyanogen 12 OS / Android 5.0.2 out of the box . The experience of Cyanogen will be pretty amazing both for new and existing consumers. The interface is very smooth and fluid and the OS offers plenty of customisation options. Some of my personal favorite features on the phone include changing the brightness level by swiping finger on the status bar, double tap to wake as well as to put the phone to sleep, and the Yu theme manager.
Camera
The Yureka Plus houses a 13 megapixel Sony IMX135 rear camera with 24fps burst mode, an f2.2 aperture and a 5 megapixel front camera. While the front camera is decent enough for video calls, the rear camera is stunning for daylight and macros. The autofucs is fast, and colour reproduction is great.
Compared to Yureka, Yureka Plus has an improved version of Sony Sensor which has led to an improvement in its low light photography, colour reproduction and sharpness. The phone still records videos at 1080p resolution but the quality has now improved, especially in low light.
Download the sample images from here
Performance
As the hardware specs of the Yureka and the Yureka Plus remain exactly the same, and there is no major difference in performance between them as well. However, under load, the device heats up a lot. I played Asphalt 8 for 15 to 20 mins, and the device got unbearably hot.
Battery
Yureka comes with a gigantic 2500mAh removable battery. It will easily last for 24 hours straight with 3.5 to 4 hours of screen on time. When I tested this with 4G network, the battery SOT dropped by an hour.
Conclusion:
At a price of 8,999 Yureka Plus is actually a great deal. The phone is sturdy, comes with 1080P display, Gorilla Glass 3, improved camera and performs decently. It will also keep getting updates from Cyanogen for next 2 years. The only caveat here is the heating issue while gaming which can be fixed via a software future update.
