Micromax In 1 first impressions: Poco M3 gets a solid competition

Micromax is back with another budget smartphone under its In-series, which was introduced to take on Chinese rivals last year amid the Indo-China border face-off. The Micromax In 1 has been launched in India at an aggressive starting price of Rs 9,999, though keep in mind that this is an introductory price in India till the first sale, which is on March 26 on Flipkart. After the first sale, the base storage model with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage will be priced at Rs 10,499.

Micromax sent the 6GB RAM and 128GB storage variant of the In 1 for review, which is priced at Rs 11,999 (introductory price is Rs 11,499).

With Micromax In 1, you get an FHD+ display, a 5,000mAH battery with 18W fast charging, 48-megapixel triple rear cameras, and MediaTek Helio G80 SoC. Plus, it comes with a stock Android experience and the promise of two years of software updates. With the Micromax In 1, the smartphone manufacturer aims to compete with the likes of the Redmi 9 Prime and the Poco M3. We have spent some time with the Micromax In 1 smartphone and here’s our first impressions.

Buy Micromax In 1 only on Flipkart

Design, build

Micromax In 1 gets a plastic back cover with a metallic finish and a gradient X-pattern. The design does stand out, though it might be a bit too much for some. This is due to the shiny dual tone finish and a very prominent X pattern at the rear panel. In my opinion, the phone would have looked better without the X pattern and a subtle dual-tone finish would have been nicer.

As far as the build quality is concerned, it didn’t impress me as much, especially when I see what the competitors have to offer. The plastic body feels cheap and the back cover definitely does not seem very reliable. The phone feels a bit heavy in the hands and that’s possibly due to the 5,000mAh battery backing the smartphone.

Micromax In 1 sports a 6.67-inch display, which turns out to be fairly large when compared to competitors and is good for consuming video content all through the day. However, the O-notch or hole-punch seems slightly big and intrusive. I did not like that it is placed right in the center, where it interferes with the viewing experience sometimes. I feel a centre placed notch would have helped here.

The FHD+ display offers good legibility in direct sunlight, which is rarely seen in a phone at this price point. Overall, the screen produces good colours and icons look sharp, which is great for the aggressive price it comes at.

Features, specifications

A clean Android operating software is refreshing to see on a phone at this price point. It does not come with bloatware or annoying ads and there is no customised skin that you would require to get used to. I liked that I did not have to deal with any of the pre-loaded ones as seen on phones from other manufacturers like Xiaomi, Realme, among others.
The Micromax In 1 runs a stock Android version and comes with a promise of software updates for two years. Currently, it runs on Android 10, but the company promises to upgrade the device to Android 11 by May 2021. No specific date has been provided as of yet.

Micromax In 1 sports a triple rear camera setup with a 48-megapixel main sensor, 2-megapixel depth of field camera, and another 2-megapixel Macro camera. To get it right off the bat, the camera seems good for the price.

In my limited time with the phone, I clicked a few photos in bright outdoors that look decent. I like that colours are not oversaturated and details are retained in photos captured in daylight. There’s a Night Mode as well but we are yet to test it, so watch out for our full review of the Micromax In 1.

The front 8-megapixel camera fares well as it clicks photos with good colours and details in places where there is ample light. The Portrait mode does a good job of blurring the background and sharpening the edges. We will have more on the cameras in our full review.
Processor and battery

Micromax In 1 is powered by MediaTek Helio G80 SoC that powers the Redmi 9 Prime, the Poco M2, and the Realme Narzo 10. It comes with 4GB/6GB RAM and 64GB/128GB storage variants. The internal storage is expandable up to 256GB via a microSD card slot. The smartphone is capable of handling basic day to day tasks without a stutter, though it remains to be seen how it handles multitasking and games.

The phone includes a 5,000mAh battery with an 18W fast charger in the box. It is good to see the phone pack a USB Type-C port. The battery is capable of lasting for up to two days with moderate usage, which is great. However, I’d like to point out that the phone gets warm during charging, which seems like an issue that Micromax might fix in future OTA update.