Six months after Xiaomi revolutionized India’s 4G market with Redmi Note 4G, the biggest Indian mobile brand Micromax has launched its first self-branded 4G LTE phone – Micromax Canvas Knight 2, priced at Rs 16,000.
UPDATE: The phone is available from Infibeam for Rs 15,111.
The phone, equipped with a 720p AMOLED display and powered by Snapdragon 615 processor, is available in the market as well as online in India.
Apart from the fact that Canvas Knight 2 is Micromax’s first 4G phone, there is nothing much to get excited about in the model considering the price and the competition.
The Indian market is full of LTE phones from Chinese companies and Asus that are cheaper than the Knight 2. Examples are the Xiaomi Mi 4i (5 inch), the Asus Zenfone 3 (5.5 inch), Lenovo A7000 (Rs 9,000), Lenovo A60 (Rs 13,000) and so on. The Moto G 3rd Generation, priced around Rs 14,000, will also come with a full-HD LCD display by the end of the month.
AMOLED SPLENDOR
However, the saving grace of Canvas Knight 2 is the fact that it comes with an AMOLED display. None of the competitors mentioned above come with AMOLED displays, which offer richer colors.
As such, it looks like the Knight 2 will is the cheapest 4G phone with an AMOLED display in India.
However, that alone is unlikely to help the Knight rack up sales. For Rs 2,000 more, you can get the Samsung Galaxy E7 (price Rs 18,000) which also offers 4G as well as a bigger AMOLED display.
Another example is the new Micromax Canvas Hue 2, which does not come with 4G, but has an AMOLED display, and is priced at just 11,700. Similarly, the Samsung Galaxy E5, which has an AMOLED display and no 4G, is available at Rs 15,000.
In addition, many Lumia phones, like the 730, come with OLED displays, which are similar to AMOLED displays. They too offer vibrant colors and pure blacks, unlike LCD/LED displays.
The drawback of choosing AMOLED displays at these price points is that the resolution will be only 720p — half of what LCD-based mid-range phones such as Mi 4i offer. As of now, the cheapest full-HD AMOLED display phone looks to be the Gionee S7, priced Rs 24,500.
PRICE CORRECTION
The reason why Knight 2 can be exciting is the possibility of price declines over the coming weeks.
The phone, even if officially launched next week at Rs 16,000, will be available online at around Rs 15,000 in a couple of weeks and should see its price approach the Rs 13,500 mark in about 6-8 weeks from now.
At Rs 16,000, practically the only notable thing differentiating the Canvas Knight 2 from Yu Yureka (price Rs 8,999) is the display technology. Would you pay Rs 7,000 more to ensure that your phone has an AMOLED display and not a LCD display?
Other highlights of Canvas Knight 2:
- 2,260 mAh Battery
16 GB storage memory
2 GB RAM
Android Lolipop
Cirrus Logic Wolfson Stereo audio tech
5MP front camera
13MP Rear camera
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