Micromax comes back from the dead with two new phones and a patriotic agenda - Android

Micromax, the homegrown Indian smartphone company, is making yet another effort at reclaiming its lost glory. The brand once sat at the top of the Indian smartphone market but has since been wiped out by Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, and others.

Today, Micromax announced its new IN series smartphones — the IN Note 1 and IN 1b — specifically to take on Chinese smartphone players. The two phones are powered by Mediatek chipsets, run stock Android 10 with a promise of two major OS upgrades, and have a large 5,000mAh battery each.

The Micromax IN Note 1 is the more premium of the two with the MediaTek Helio G85 chipset and a 6.7-inch FHD+ IPS LCD display. The phone gets a quad-camera setup consisting of a 48MP main camera, a 5MP wide-angle sensor, a 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth sensor. There’s a 16MP selfie shooter at the front.

In contrast, the Micromax IN 1b is powered by the MediaTek Helio G35 chip and features a 6.5-inch HD display. It has just two rear shooters — 13MP + 2MP and an 8MP selfie camera.

Both phones feature a dedicated Google Assistant button and a 3.5mm headphone jack. They also get a USB-C port and support up to 18W fast charging.

Micromax IN series price and availability

Micromax is banking a lot on the current anti-China sentiment in India to promote these phones, which it claims are designed and manufactured locally. It’s a bit ironic then that the back panel of the Green colored Micromax IN Note 1 bears an uncanny resemblance to the Honor 9X. Nevertheless, Micromax has a tough challenge ahead because the price segment it’s targeting is presently dominated by the likes of Redmi and Realme.

The Micromax IN Note 1 is priced at Rs 10,999 (~$148) for the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage version and Rs 12,999 (~$174) for the 4GB+128GB model. Meanwhile, the Micromax IN 1b will cost Rs 7,999 (~$107) for 4GB RAM and 64GB storage and Rs 6,999 (~$ 94) for 2GB RAM and 32GB storage. Both phones will be available on Flipkart starting November 24.

Also read: The best phones under Rs 15,000 in India