First Impression: Micromax Canvas 6

A big phone with some chinks

Micromax is fighting a fierce war with Chinese smartphone maker in the Indian market. To that end, they launched a new logo and a fancier theme: Nuts Guts Glory. 

It also unveiled two new handsets in April, the Canvas 6 Pro and Canvas 6, both priced at Rs 13,999.

The Canvas 6, with a 5.5-inch screen, has an all-metal body with a fingerprint scanner on the back. The look of the phone is spot on for the lifestyle segment but I felt it was too big to hold in my hands. 

The Canvas boasts impressive innards: 3GB of RAM (the Pro has 4GB), an octa-core MediaTek Helio X10 processor and 32GB internal memory. Unfortunately, it still runs  Android Lollipop, with the company not setting a date for the roll out of the Marshmallow update. In the little time I used the phone, it seemed nippy.

The Canvas 6 has a 13-megapixel (MP) rear camera and an 8MP front camera, though I couldn't really try them out.  It has a battery of 3,000 mAh, so battery life shouldn't be a problem.

The standout feature of the Canvas 6 and Canvas Pro is the app Around. Launched by swiping the home screen to the right, it helps you book cabs, order food, book flights etc. Thus, one doesn't need multiple apps for specific purposes.

Shubhajit Sen, chief marketing officer of Micromax Infomatics, said Around was one aspect of the phone which might make the customer to stay with the brand. The phone is available for pre-booking on the Micromax website and on Flipkart.

The Micromax Canvas 6, despite its size, looks impressive. Watch this space for a detailed review.