Micromax Canvas 5, the Indian company’s latest flagship, will be launched in India at noon today, with an effective price of Rs 11,999. Actual sticker price is Rs 14,000.
The Canvas 5 has a 5.2 inch full-HD display, an octa-core 1.3 GHz processor, 16 GB of storage memory, 3 GB of RAM and a 13 MP camera.
Of course, the above specifications have been collected from industry sources and may not be exact. For the exact details you will have to wait till 12:30 pm.
UPDATE: Confirmed specs — 3 GB of RAM, 4G, 16 GB internal storage, 13 + 5 MP camera and octa-core processor. Battery is 2.9 Ah, which should be enough for one day, given that the display is smaller.
The display comes with Gorilla Glass 3 protection, and has a very high resolution of 423 ppi. Processor is MediaTek MT6753 — a mid-range chip also found on devices like the Lenovo A7000.
The chipset supports Cat 4 LTE (150 Mbps), which is enough for Indian networks.
The MicroSD card supports upto 64 GB.
The phone is available in all retail channels, and will start being sold today.
The launch of the Canvas 5 will mark a return to rhythm for the Indian smartphone brand. The company had seen its plans and strategies totally upset over the last two years because of the shift from 3G to 4G.
As in case of any big shift in technology, the company’s suppliers — Chinese contract manufacturers — are not able to source the required components and chips as quickly as MNC brands such as Lenovo, Huawei, HTC and Sony.
As a result, Micromax was late to introduce 4G models. It was, however, able to get some models under its Yu brand after partnering with Qualcomm, which makes 4G chipsets.
Still, the Indian brand was able to transition its major sub-brands — such as Juice, Sliver and so on — to 4G only in the last 2-3 months. In comparison, big brands such as HTC started launching 4G phones a year ago.
Not surprisingly, it had to delay updating its flagship series. After yearly updates, Micromax’s Canvas series was sent into hibernation for the last two years. Canvas 4, the last phone in the company’s flagship series, was launched in June 2013.
The effective price of Rs 11,999 and a sticker price of Rs 13,999 for the new model means that the latest flagship too will be very much in the same position as the previous ones. The Canvas series has always been launched in the Rs 13,000-16,000 range.
The flagship phones from the company have a reputation for offering the best features in the market at just half the price charged by big MNC brands.
However, over the last two years, the Indian market has seen the entry of Chinese brands that too offer the same proposition. As a result, even the MNC brands like Samsung have lowered their margins, and prices.
As a result, the price difference between the Canvas 4 and an equivalent model from Samsung will not be as high as it used to be. The competitor model from Samsung will be the updated Galaxy A5, which will be launched later this month. That phone is likely to cost around Rs 21,000, and will have almost the same specifications as the Canvas 5.
Another phone that already has similar specification is the Sony Xperia M5. It is available at a price of Rs 34,000, and has far superior photographic capabilities.
The Micromax Canvas 5 — in true flagship style — has premium looks with metallic body and a faux-leather back.
Though a display size of 5.2 inches is slightly disappointing, the phone does deliver flagship quality in almost all other ways.
Battery is 2.9 Ah, while operating system is Android 5.1. Front facing camera is 5.1 MP. As expected 4G LTE is supported.
The phone is officially expected to be announced today in Delhi in a couple of hours from now.
UPDATE: The company is also offering a new service called MI Assist, which promises to repair your phone in seven days or give you a new phone. The facility will be available for all phones from the company costing Rs 10,000 or more.
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SAMSUNG GALAXY ON5, ON7
Meanwhile, Samsung has launched the two new entry-level phones — the Galaxy On5 and On7 today in Delhi. Both phones come with 720p displays, and therefore are not a direct competitor to Micromax’s Canvas 5.
The Samsung Galaxy On7 and On5 have been designed for low prices, and therefore will not be sold through normal retailers. They will be available only through Flipkart at a price of Rs 8,990 for On5 and Rs 10,990 for the On7.
The Galaxy On5 comes with a 5-inch display, while the On7 comes with a 5.5 inch screen.
Both On5 and On7 have 4G connectivity andn 1.5 GB of RAM and comes with Android 5.1.
Another difference between the two models is the rear camera resolution — which is 13 MP for On7 and 8 MP for On5. The battery on the bigger device is 3 Ah while the smaller device gets a 2.6 Ah battery.
If you are considering buying the On5 or On7, please also look at the Galaxy J5 and J7. They offer Super AMOLED displays for slightly higher prices. The J7 is priced at Rs 15,000 and the J5 at Rs 12,400.