Much like Xiaomi’s MI, Micromax YU will offer software and services, and a customised experience to the users. To achieve this, Micromax has tied up with Cyanogen Inc, the makers of hugely popular Cyanogen OS based on Android. The new brand, in partnership with Cyanogen, will focus on working with various companies to build a layer of services into the operating system itself, much like what Xiaomi is doing with its MIUI. Rahul Sharma will be leading the YU Televentures which will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Micromax Informatics. As mentioned before, all products from YU will be solely sold online, with the first set of devices being expected to be launched in December this year. Mr. Sharma had this to say: Speaking about the partnership, Cyanogen’s CEO, Kirt McMaster said: Micromax isn’t the first one to go this route. Few weeks back, Huawei announced that their HONOR series of smartphones will be solely sold online. Lenovo too has gone ‘online exclusive’ for its VIBE series of smartphone, while its new Internet services subsidiary will launch on April 1st next year. Also, many believe OnePlus is backed by another Chinese maker Oppo. Gionee too is expected to announce a completely new brand catering to the online market. Clearly, Xiaomi and OnePlus have forced many companies to think different and take an online-only route. But unlike Xiaomi, Micromax and others have considerable (and strong) offline presence, so it makes sense to separate their online business with a completely new brand.
