First Impressions: Micromax Canvas 5 Has the Budget Ring to It
Micromax is back with the Canvas 5 that has the right tools to fight with Xiaomi, Motorola and even Lenovo.
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Micromax is back in the Canvas business with the new Canvas 5 smartphone, just in time to catch the festive season in India. It’s been a while since we last saw a Canvas flagship but with changing times, the definition of budget flagship seems to have been redefined by the brand.
Priced at Rs 11,999 the Canvas 5 is now available across the country fighting for its place with phones like Xiaomi Mi 4i and Motorola Moto G (2015) among others. Does Micromax stand a chance in the crowd?
Key Specifications: Micromax Canvas 5
- Display: 5.2-inch full-HD with Corning Glass 3
- Operating System: Android 5.1 Lollipop
- Processor: 1.3GHz Octa-core Mediatek MT6753
- RAM: 3 GB
- Storage: 16 GB, expandable up to 64 GB
- Rear Camera: 13MP
- Front Camera: 5MP
- Battery: 2900mAh
It’s fairly obvious that the price-war in the smartphone arena has moved down the channel. For Rs 11,999 it has become crucial to offer features that were once available at a much higher price point. Fortunately, Micromax has done that with the Canvas 5 and after the debacle that was Canvas Sliver, that was sort of expected.
Unlike the Canvas Sliver, the brand has given Canvas 5 the right mix of hardware and design appeal. The phone lies somewhere in between Xiaomi Mi4i and Motorola Moto G (2015) in its slimness as well as weight. Micromax has continued its tradition of a faux leather body at the back that offers good grip and is, at the same time, subtly aesthetic.
New-Age Phone Size
Most phone makers now admit that ‘5.2-inch is the new 5-inch’ and combining that with full-HD resolution, Canvas 5 is a good deal for the price it comes at. The colours are decent and the quality of panels used by Micromax feels competent enough when compared with other brands. However, we would have loved for the Canvas 5 to get ambient sunlight sensors like the one we’ve seen on the Xiaomi Mi 4i.
Micromax Trusts Mediatek
Unlike its competition, Micromax has kept its faith with Mediatek and by offering an octa-core processor with 3GB RAM, their claims of making a stable performing device doesn’t sound out of context. Running on Android 5.1 Lollipop, Micromax confirmed its plans to bring Android 6.0 Marshmallow update to the Canvas 5 in the near future.
However, we noticed a lot of bloatware on the phone which not only takes up more space but also eats into the system processing speed. Hopefully, these can be removed as per choice.
Camera Power on the Front
The Canvas 5 gets a 13MP Samsung 3M2 sensor-based rear camera with dual-LED flash and a 5MP front camera with a flash as well. This is Micromax’s offering to the selfie-folks and we hope no quality compromise is made with the primary one.
Battery That Could Play Spoilsport
Vineet Taneja from Micromax spoke highly about the long-lasting battery feature of the Canvas 5, but we’re not so sure. The phone’s 2900mAh unit battery might fail to last for an entire day. Even with power-saving features, it would be hard for a full-HD running oc-ta-core phone to last long. We can’t comment on that right now but will keep an eye on it for sure.
Buy the Micromax Canvas 5?
It’s good to know that, for a change, you can buy a phone without relying on online sites and rushing to catch the flash sale frenzy. Micromax has done a decent job with the Canvas 5 and the pricing falls in line with consumer expectations – the right size, quality 1080p resolution display, power of octa-core processor and looks that falls right in your alley. The Micromax Canvas 5 is available at a store near you and if you need a quality phone that can be brought at a store, then this is a good bet.
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