Xiaomi’s latest budget device in the popular Redmi series, the Redmi S2 has been in the news for some time now with various leaks and reports surfacing on the internet. Now, the Chinese smartphone maker has officially announced the device at an event in China.
The Xiaomi Redmi S2 is a selfie centric device and is similar in design to the Redmi Note 5 Pro. It is powered by the Snapdragon 625 SoC which has been used by the company on multiple devices including the Redmi Note 4 and the Mi A1. It runs on Android 8.1 Oreo out-of-the box and has a dedicated microSD card slot.
Xiaomi Redmi S2 specifications
The Xiaomi Redmi S2 runs on Android 8.1 Oreo with MIUI 9 skinned on top and features a 5.99-inch HD+ 2.5D curved IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18:9. Xiaomi has not revealed any information regarding display protection.
In terms of performance, the Xiaomi Redmi S2 is powered by an octa core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC coupled with a Adreno 506 GPU. In terms of memory, the device will be available in two variants – 3GB RAM + 32GB internal storage and 4GB RAM + 64GB internal storage. The internal storage can be further expanded up to 256GB using a dedicated microSD card slot.
Coming to the camera department, the Redmi S2 features a dual camera setup at the back consisting of a 12MP primary camera with f/2.2 aperture, 1.25μm pixel size, PDAF and a secondary 5MP camera. The LED flash is placed between the two cameras. On the front, the device sports a 16MP front camera with an LED flash.
The Xiaomi Redmi S2 is powered by a 3,080mAh battery and the connectivity options on the device include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS and a 3.5mm audio jack. The device features a fingerprint sensor at the back and the infrared port has been placed at the top.
Xiaomi Redmi S2 pricing
The Xiaomi Redmi S2 has been priced at CNY 999 for the 3GB RAM variant and the 4GB RAM variant has been priced at CNY 1,299. The device will soon be available in Platinum Silver, Rose Gold and Champagne Gold color options.
Taking on Oppo and Vivo
Despite its aggressive pricing, the Redmi S2 features a front facing 16MP camera, hinting that Xiaomi is trying to take on offerings from Oppo and Vivo. Additionally, the Redmi S2 also has a dual camera setup on the back, suggesting that Xiaomi is continuing with its aggressive approach in its home country.
While Oppo and Vivo have stayed ahead of Xiaomi with 18 percent and 17 percent marketshare respectively, a Counterpoint Research report suggests that the growth of both the companies slowed down considerably in Q4 2017.
