Price ₹ 13,999
Rating 7/10
Micromax has been on the path of restructuring and has come up with a refined new logo. At its rebranding event, we saw an array of announcements and of course we didn’t miss the hidden message in its new ad. The company grabbed eyeballs by announcing 19 new products last month, out of which 15 were smartphones, and Canvas 6 and 6 Pro took the centre stage. Both carry the same price while catering to different user segments. We’ve got our hands on the Canvas 6 and taken it for a spin in our labs.
Build and Design: 7/10
The Micromax Canvas 6 credits a few firsts for the company – a unibody metal design and a fingerprint scanner – to begin with. But the metal body ensures it isn’t among the lightest 5.5-inchers available in the market. We got the champagne gold unit, which looked pretty classy, we must add. The bezel-less design lets the display cover the entire front side, with power and volume toggle buttons on right edge, and a hybrid SIM-storage slot on the left side. There’s an audio jack on top, and speaker grilles and microUSB port on the lower edge.
Turn it around and the back sports the new Micromax logo on the lower side and a rear snapper, LED and fingerprint scanner on the upper side. It’s a good looking device, but the sharp edges may bother some users (read me) for those who prefer smoother curves instead.
Features: 7/10
In terms of specifications, there’s a lot that works for the device. To begin with, the Canvas 6 sports a metal body along with a 5.5-inch Full HD display. The internals include a 64-bit Helio X10, Tru octa-core 2.0GHz chipset coupled with 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It should be noted that the Canvas 6 Pro gets 4GB RAM and 16GB onboard storage option. It also gets a 5MP front camera, whereas, the Canvas 6 features a 13MP rear shooter and a slightly better 8MP front-facing camera. With the new device, the company also brings a fingerprint scanner, which is almost becoming a standard feature these days.
In terms of specifications, there’s a lot that works for the device. To begin with, the Canvas 6 sports a metal body along with a 5.5-inch Full HD display. The internals include a 64-bit Helio X10, Tru octa-core 2.0GHz chipset coupled with 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It should be noted that the Canvas 6 Pro gets 4GB RAM and 16GB onboard storage option. It also gets a 5MP front camera, whereas, the Canvas 6 features a 13MP rear shooter and a slightly better 8MP front-facing camera. With the new device, the company also brings a fingerprint scanner, which is almost becoming a standard feature these days.
The dual SIM device has a hybrid slot that also accommodates the microSD card expandable up to 128GB. The connectivity options include Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-fi, USB OTG, GPS and 4G LTE. It runs Android 5.1 Lollipop and the highlight is a feature called Around that brings features like booking cabs, ordering food and so on under one roof. This is Micromax’s version of Yu Televentures’ AroundYU service which we saw on the Yu Yutopia. Finally, a 3000mAh battery fuels the device.
Display: 7/10
The Canvas 6 sports a 5.5-inch display, adhering to the phablet trend, featuring Full HD resolution. There is no Gorilla Glass protection, which is a serious let down. The display reproduces bright and vivid colours. The 401 ppi puts it almost at par with others in the price range. It could handle a Full HD as well as a 720p video quite well. There is not much to complain when it comes to the display. Viewing angles are good, and it seemed good even in bright sunlight.
The Canvas 6 sports a 5.5-inch display, adhering to the phablet trend, featuring Full HD resolution. There is no Gorilla Glass protection, which is a serious let down. The display reproduces bright and vivid colours. The 401 ppi puts it almost at par with others in the price range. It could handle a Full HD as well as a 720p video quite well. There is not much to complain when it comes to the display. Viewing angles are good, and it seemed good even in bright sunlight.
Software: 7/10
The device runs Android 5.1 and you would be surprised to see the interface is maintained as close to stock Android as possible. Being a Moto X user, the interface felt familiar, though the icons look slightly different. However, it is not very slick and lags at times, especially while switching between apps. It comes pre-installed with apps such as Gaana, Amazon Kindle, Opera Max and Mini apps, M! Live, and also two casual games. You get three trials of the games – Monster Truck and Temple Paradise – with limited gameplay. While the Gaana app serves as your primary music app, you will also find VuLiv that lets you store all photos, videos and so on, alongside the gallery. Micromax also has its own Wallet app. You won’t find Micromax apps strewn around and all fall under the Trending Apps app.
The device runs Android 5.1 and you would be surprised to see the interface is maintained as close to stock Android as possible. Being a Moto X user, the interface felt familiar, though the icons look slightly different. However, it is not very slick and lags at times, especially while switching between apps. It comes pre-installed with apps such as Gaana, Amazon Kindle, Opera Max and Mini apps, M! Live, and also two casual games. You get three trials of the games – Monster Truck and Temple Paradise – with limited gameplay. While the Gaana app serves as your primary music app, you will also find VuLiv that lets you store all photos, videos and so on, alongside the gallery. Micromax also has its own Wallet app. You won’t find Micromax apps strewn around and all fall under the Trending Apps app.
Swiping downwards will bring all your notifications along with the ability to adjust screen brightness. Audio controls are clubbed in one cluster. Needless to say, you can’t fiddle with the notifications directly from the lockscreen. If you are on the homepage, then swiping right wards from the left edge of the screen will take you to a feature the company calls Around. It brings quick access to cabs, hotel, travel, train (PNR) status, mobile recharge and so on. However, we noticed that in spite of the Uber app installed, the cab options didn’t include it. The company has also tried to push in its wallet services. It is encouraging users to set up an account.
Performance: 6.5/10
Let’s start with the most basic feature – call quality. For a phone that has tried to get most features right, the call quality seemed just about OK. There were instances when the voice was muffled and unclear on both sides. Browsing seemed like a breeze and we did try multitasking which surprisingly was decent to some extent. But, it does fall short of being called buttery smooth. Switching between apps did see some lag at times too. One of the most common issue these days with phones in this price range is overheating. Surprisingly, we didn’t face any extreme issues, but the device did warm a little while gaming and watching videos, but not uncomfortably so.
Let’s start with the most basic feature – call quality. For a phone that has tried to get most features right, the call quality seemed just about OK. There were instances when the voice was muffled and unclear on both sides. Browsing seemed like a breeze and we did try multitasking which surprisingly was decent to some extent. But, it does fall short of being called buttery smooth. Switching between apps did see some lag at times too. One of the most common issue these days with phones in this price range is overheating. Surprisingly, we didn’t face any extreme issues, but the device did warm a little while gaming and watching videos, but not uncomfortably so.
The benchmark scores place it well behind the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (which carries a lower price tag) and also the LeEco Le 1s. The company has bundled earphones with the device that give a decent fit, and the sound quality is just abut fine. The speakers are decent, but not enough to fill a small room. In the past couple of months, we have got our hands on several phones featuring a fingerprint scanner, and some even priced a couple of thousands less. But the Canvas fingerprint scanner did face a few hiccups. It wasn’t quick to detect and asked us to retry a multiple times.
Camera: 7/10
The Canvas 6 is better armed than 6 Pro on the camera front with a 13MP rear shooter that comes with PDAF (Phase Detection Autofocus) support and an 8MP front-facing camera. The outdoor images in bright light are good, and landscape images also look decent, but not very detailed. The whites looked blown out at times. The device comes with the HDR feature that worked quite well. Images in low light looked very noisy, but macro shots are impressive.
The Canvas 6 is better armed than 6 Pro on the camera front with a 13MP rear shooter that comes with PDAF (Phase Detection Autofocus) support and an 8MP front-facing camera. The outdoor images in bright light are good, and landscape images also look decent, but not very detailed. The whites looked blown out at times. The device comes with the HDR feature that worked quite well. Images in low light looked very noisy, but macro shots are impressive.
Coming to the camera app, the user interface is decent and all the features are handy, right there. However, this may differ from person to person as some may find it cluttered. There is motion tracking and a feature called Live Photo that shoots a quick 7-second clip. Let’s us not forget the beautification feature, but most of these seemed like a gimmick. It lets you manually set exposure and there are modes like Sunset, Party, Auto, Night and so on. You will also find Face detection, Anti-shake, Shutter sound and so on, that can again be tweaked manually.
Battery: 7/10
The Canvas 6 comes equipped with a 3000mAh battery. In our battery test with the display brightness kept at almost 50 percent we got 7 hours 10 minutes as the battery time. On an average use, one should be easily able to get through a day.
Verdict and Price in India
If Micromax is looking to make a comeback of sorts with a new image, then it has succeeded to a great extend. The Canvas 6, priced at Rs 13,999, has the classy look with a metal body, inclusion of fingerprint scanner, and a good display working in its favour. However, on the other hand, the camera still leaves a large room for improvement and the fingerprint scanner seems buggy at times, and the device doesn’t offer a buttery smooth performance.
While it comes with a fair share of pros and cons, the price is what makes a huge difference. The fierce competition in this price bracket easily places the Redmi Note 3 and the Le Eco 1s ahead of the Canvas Pro
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