The first line-up of Micromax smartphones under the ‘In’ sub-brand will launch in India on November 3. Domestic Indian brand Micromax is staging a comeback under a new sub-brand named In, before Diwali. Co-founder Rahul Sharma shared an emotional video rousing the sentiments of Atmanirbhar Bharat, and announcing the launch of new smartphones to take on Chinese rivals like Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Realme. The company sent out invites today confirming the launch.
The announcement is shared in the form of a video which says “Join us as we give you a bona fide Indian choice on 3rd November 2020 12 Noon”. It will likely be a virtual event that is going to be live streamed on Tuesday, 3rd November.
While Micromax remains tight-lipped about the specs and features of its upcoming smartphones, but eventual leaks have spilled it all out. According to a report by The Mobile Indian, Micromax is planning to launch at least two smartphones this year, and both of them are reportedly going to be powered by MediaTek chips, manufactured in Taiwan. They are reportedly going to be named Micromax In 1 and Micromax In 1A.
Further details about the smartphones state they will be sporting 6.5-inch HD+ display and run on stock Android out of the box. Clearly, these are going to be entry-level, mass-market smartphones aimed at the under-10k segment.
One of the smartphones is expected to be powered by the MediaTek Helio G35, the same chipset that powers the POCO C3, Realme C11 and more, coupled with 2GB RAM and 32GB storage on the base model. This same model is expected to sport a 13+2MP dual camera setup, while the more expensive offering is reportedly going to come with 3GB RAM and a triple camera setup, that includes a 13MP primary shooter. There’s expected to be a 5,000mAh battery on board as well.
There’s another smartphone that’s being reported to launch soon under the ‘In’ brand powered by the more powerful MediaTek Helio G85 SoC, but nothing more is known about this one.
The smartphones are likely going to be priced in the Rs 7000-Rs 10,000 bracket. There’s expected to be a lot more buzz around the upcoming products leading up to the launch. We just have to wait and see how well these smartphones shape up in the market.
Micromax used to be the leader of the Indian smartphone market, becoming the first budget smartphone brand in the country. However, lacking R&D and relying heavily on wholesale products bought from China, the company lost out to the Chinese brands that flooded the market in the 2010s.
However, with the sentiments now going against Chinese companies after the Indo-China border clashes, Micromax felt this would be the best time to stage a comeback. The government has also outlined the production-linked incentives scheme for smartphone manufacturers to make phones in India, and this could become the secret weapon for the company to outshine its Chinese rivals once again.