The Lenovo K3 Note is undoubtedly the latest sensation in India. At Rs 9,999, it offers superb features including 5.5 inch FHD IPS display, 2900 mAh Li-Ion battery, Android Lollipop operating system, 1.7 GHz octa core processor, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB internal memory, 32 GB expandable storage slot etc. No wonder 47,000 units of the phone sold out in its first flash sale earlier this month in just five seconds.
But it is not the only phone with superb specs in the sub-Rs 10,000 segment. Micromax’s subsidiary brand, Yu, earlier this month launched the Yureka Plus with similar high end features at Rs 9,999 only.
Thus we have decided to compare the two smartphones on the basis of their features which will help you take an informed decision.
Design and Display
Both the smartphones come with 5.5 inch IPS display and that too with full high definition resolution. However, the Yureka Plus offers an additional Gorilla Glass 3 protection. However, despite offering the same display (in terms of size), the Yureka Plus is wider, taller and thicker than the Lenovo K3 Note. To be precise, the Lenovo smartphone measures 152.6 x 76.2 x 8 mm while the Yureka Plus measures 154.8 x 78 x 6-8.5 mm. There is no information about the weight of Yureka Plus but Lenovo says the K3 Note weighs 150 grams.
The K3 Note has a well finished back panel, which does not seem prone to scratches or fingerprints. The back is a vast empty space, with the camera lens in one corner, and the top middle dominated by the Lenovo logo. It comes in yellow, black and white colours. The Yu Yureka Plus comes in moon dust grey and white colours, with the rubberised back panel.
Processor & Memory
The Lenovo K3 Note is armed with a Mediatek MT6752 octa-core processor, clocked at 1.7 GHz, which runs with 2 GB of RAM. The Lenovo K3 Note has 16 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded by another 32 GB via a microSD card.
The Yu Yureka Plus is armed with a Snapdragon octa-core processor, clocked at 1.5 GHz, which runs with 2 GB of RAM. It too offers 16 GB internal and 32 GB expandable storage slots.
Here we would like to note that though MediaTek chipsets used to be frowned upon a cheap products and at the same time Snapdragon are usually associated with fine chipsets. However, many analysts have hailed the Mediatek MT6752 as the better octa core processor than the Snapdragon 615 used in Yureka Plus. We found two such favourable recommendations in favour of the Mediatek Chipset from Techradar and Gadgetshouse.
Software
The Yu Yureka Plus runs the world renowned OS – Cyanogen (based on Android Lollipop), while the Lenovo K3 Note runs on Android Lollipop with Lenovo’s own UI.
To the average user, the presence of Cyanogen will not make a difference, but for advanced users, there is only one winner in this round, the Yureka Plus.
Battery
The Lenovo K3 Note has a 3000 mAh battery, which the company says can provide up to 36 hours (3G) of Talk time or 750 hours of standby, while the Yu Yureka Plus has a 2500 mAh battery which claims to offer 8 hours of talk time or 210 hours of standby. Yu has though not specified on which network (2G, 3G or 4G) the Yureka Plus offers that back up.
But considering that manufacturers always quote their best figures, Lenovo K3 Note seems to have a better battery.
Camera
The Yu Yureka Plus has a 13 Megapixel Autofocus camera and it offers a 5 megapixel selfie taker.
The Lenovo K3 Note too has a 13 megapixel camera as well as a 5 megapixel front camera.
Both the cameras have similar specs, only a real world test will reveal which is better, so for the time being let’s call it a tie.
Connectivity
The Lenovo K3 Note is a Dual-SIM 4G phone. It has GPS with A-GPS and GLONASS; Bluetooth 4.1 LE, FM Radio, Micro USB 2.0 port with USB Host functionality, WiFi (b/g/n/ac), and WiFi Hotspot. The Yu Yureka Plus too has dual-SIM, 4G, GPS (A-GPS), FM radio, micro USB 2.0 port, WiFi (b/g/n) and Bluetooth 4.0.
Clearly, the Lenovo K3 Note with a better version of WiFi and Bluetooth, and additional USB Host functionality (known as OTG feature that allows one to use external storage devices like pen drive directly with the device) and GLONASS, scores over the Yureka Plus.
Wrapping up
The Yureka Plus and the K3 Note are both closely matched, spec for spec. However, the K3 Note has marginally superior processing ability and connectivity, and a larger battery too. While the Yureka offers Cyanogen, which understandably might sway the decision for some. However, if you are desperate for a new phone, you should buy whichever phone you can manage to get in the cart during the next flash sale.