Micromax Canvas 6 Pro #ExpressReview: Being ‘Pro’ is not a cakewalk

Micromax claims it is aiming for glory, and the Canvas 6 Pro is supposed to be the first salvo in this grand attempt at rejig. But does the Canvas 6 Pro live up to the hype of nuts, guts and glory ? Here’s our review

Micromax Canvas 6 Pro

Micromax Canvas 6 Pro’s rear cover is removable as is the battery and users can insert a nano-SIM, a micro-SIM and a microSD card in the back

If Canvas 6 Pro was the only device that Micromax had launched, it would have been an okay smartphone. But here’s the deal: next to the Canvas 6, which is priced the same and yet to hit the stores, the Pro seems outright over-priced.

Why? Canvas 6 is all metal and comes with a fingerprint scanner, while the Pro’s big USP is the extra RAM, 4GB to be precise). It also has an all plastic body, less storage space (16GB vs 32GB in Canvas 6) and no fingerprint scanner.

Given that the mid-budget market has options like Redmi Note 3, Le 1s, etc with a fingerprint scanner, all metal body and 32GB storage space, Canvas 6 Pro might not be the first choice for the well-informed buyer.

When it comes to looks, Canvas 6 Pro’s design is nothing revolutionary. It’s the same plastic body, prone to fingerprint smudges, with the Micromax logo bang in the middle of the rear body. Frankly, this phone looks very 2013.

The smartphone’s rear cover is removable as is the battery, and users can insert a nano-SIM, a micro-SIM and a microSD card on the back. The speakers are on the bottom of the back cover and it’s a slightly curved design.

Specs: 5.5-inch full HD display | MediaTek Helio X10 octa-core processor | 4GB RAM+ 16GB storage space (expandable) | 13MP rear camera + 5MP front camera | Android 5.1 Lollipop | 3000 mAh battery | Micromax Canvas 6 Pro full specs

Price: Rs 13,999

Watch: Micromax Canvas 6 Pro Video Review

So what’s good?

The Canvas 6 Pro is one of the few Micromax smartphones to sport a 5.5-inch full HD display. It works fine inside a room and in sunlight, and has pretty good viewing angles. Micromax has done a good job on this count. Only word of caution would be that this display collects a lot of fingerprints. Use a screen-guard with this one.

According to Micromax, this phone is all about performance thanks to the 4GB RAM along with Helio MediaTek Helio X10 Tru-octa processor. The phone’s performance is decent, but nothing spectacular. In the Antutu tests we ran, the Canvas 6 Pro came in at number 21 below the Le 1s, Meizu MX5.

Benchmark tests aside, the Canvas 6 Pro is capable of handling multi-tasking for your regular day. However, a longer session of the gaming leaves the phone pretty warm around the top part, and there were times when I felt a noticeable lag on the phone, especially when trying to clear too many tabs.

Around, which is the company’s aggregated services platform, is an interesting idea that does solve some problems. Users have to swipe right and the Service shows up with options to order Food (via Zomato app), do some Shopping (powered by Scandid), book cabs, buses, flights, hotels, or train tickets, all from this one place.

These are services that lot of users might try and access, and Around lets them do it without having to open too many apps. However, there are issues, which I’ll discuss next.

What’s not good?

Around is not entirely accurate or well built. For instance typing ‘red shoes’ for the shopping option, shows books, music, etc on top before actually getting to the shoes. When I tried clicking on a pair of red heels, the page linked to ShopClues website. I kept tapping buy, but nothing happened, so I gave up.

The food bit in Zomato lets you directly call a restaurant, but there’s no menu or any other tab that you can open, meaning you’d still be dependent on the app, unless you know the menu by heart. Given that Zomato now lets you order online from app itself, ‘Around’ leaves out a crucial element.

Micromax has already installed quite a few apps on their smartphone

The camera on this smartphone is nothing impressive either. While the 13MP rear camera is pretty fast, the colours are washed out. The selfie camera just doesn’t feel like 5MP.

A Pro smartphone needs a battery that can last and sadly that’s not the case with the Canvas 6 Pro. In our battery tests, it lasted around 8 hours, which is not acceptable in this price range where the competition is offering 24 hours battery life, often at lesser price. Even with moderate usage the battery life is around 8-10 hours and for most users that won’t be enough. Micromax’s Canvas 6 Pro is also prone to heating at times, which again makes it harder to gauge the battery performance.

Verdict

Overall, the Canvas 6 Pro is a decent smartphone from Micromax, but nothing exceptional. The bigger problem in recommending this smartphone is that on paper, the Canvas 6 has more storage space (32GB), a better selfie camera (8MP front camera), better design (all metal body) and a fingerprint scanner.

Plus options like the Redmi Note 3, Le 1s offer much better specs and performance and are cheaper than the Canvas 6 Pro.

For users who might be considering a Micromax, the Canvas 6 Pro might not be that appealing. After all most users don’t buy a phone simply because it has 4GB RAM.