Micromax Canvas 6 review: Decent attempt, but still needs some work

Plus data shows that the Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 price band has grown more in Q1 2016, and now accounts for a greater share in the market, compared to earlier dominant budget category of Rs 6,000- Rs 8000.

Watch our video of Canvas 6  

Canvas 6 is priced at Rs 13,499 and can be seen as a potential competitor to LeEco Le 1s, Redmi Note 3, Moto G3 (although Moto G4 is out soon). Here’s our review of the Canvas 6.

Specs: 5.5-inch full HD display | MediaTek Helio X10 octa-core processor | 3GB RAM+ 32GB storage space (expandable) | 13MP rear camera + 8MP front camera | Android 5.1 Lollipop | 3000 mAh battery | Micromax Canvas 6 full specs

Price: Rs 13,499

Canvas 6

Canvas 6 is Micromax’s first metal unibody designed smartphone. I don’t think the overall design is anything new, although the gold and black look is an improvement on the Canvas 6 Pro. All metal smartphones at this price-point have become quite the rage, and it’s good to see Micromax join the trend. I feel though that the company could have added an oleophobic coating on the display, given that this one is a fingerprint magnet and gets dirty really fast.

Overall the build quality is nice, and those with bigger hands might find the Micromax Canvas 6 better suited to their needs.

Micromax Canvas 6 has a metal unibody design and a fingerprint scanner on the back.

What’s good?

Micromax has done a good job on the display of this phone. Like this Canvas 6 Pro, this one too comes with a 5.5-inch Full HD display, and should appeal to those who like big-screened devices with good resolution. The display is sharp and crisp, and it works well even in bright sunlight.

The smartphone accepts only nano-SIMs and has a hybrid slot. It comes with 32GB storage space with support for micro-SD slot, which will appeal to users. In terms of call quality and 3G connectivity, this device didn’t give me any trouble.

Micromax’s Around service which also includes live cricket scores.

Micromax has finally gotten rid things like ‘Trending’ apps in the new Canvas 6. While the smartphone does come with a lot of pre-loaded apps, a number of unnecessary widgets are gone, which is good.

In terms of general performance, the Canvas 6 doesn’t really set the benchmarks on fire. However, it is capable of handling your daily web browsing needs, social media activities, etc well. It didn’t give me too much trouble with the regular apps, although playing Asphalt 8 on this was definitely laggy. I’m not sure this is the best phone for high-end graphics gaming in this price band.

Canvas 6 comes with 32GB storage space.

Canvas 6 also comes with Around service, which a lot of people might appreciate given that it aggregates food, hotel, flight ticket bookings, cab, etc all in one place. The advantage in the cab feature is that it has numbers for offline cabs as well so in case you can’t get an OLA or Uber, you can try a direct number. It might work better in smaller towns like say Lucknow, where I’ve had trouble getting an OLA in the past, and usually rely on direct numbers. But this feature is work in progress at the moment.

On the camera front, the positive bit is that it takes shots quickly. The camera also works well in ample light, but details are missing in the pictures though, especially the ones taken inside a room.

Sample shot taken in HDR Mode. (Image resized for web)

Sample shot taken in HDR Mode. (Image resized for web)

The fingerprint scanner is fast, when it works. This phone doesn’t seem to like my right hand and prefers the left. When I used my right hand to set it up it wasn’t detecting the scan at all, but with the left it works fine. Time to change my finger, I guess.

What’s not so good?

There is a lag on this smartphone, and it’s not the best for high-end gaming. It heats quite easily and has crossed 50 Celsius for me with just a long session of Facebook browsing or even a two-minute call. It also means the battery drain is faster, and I find the levels dipping very quickly. This phone goes from 10 per cent to 1 per cent in a matter of seconds at times.

Sample shots. (Image resized for web)

Sample shots. (Image resized for web)

Micromax needs to update software to fix the overheating, something they have done in the past with phones in the YU series.

The selfie camera results are nothing exceptional, and even the rear camera lacks detail in final pictures. The pictures are bit dull, especially with colours like blue and it can’t handle reds. I feel the camera continues to remain an opportunity lost for Micromax.

The software optimisation on the fingerprint scanner is still missing at some points. For instance, even when I have managed to unlock the phone, the message ‘Please Scan Again’ will linger on.

Around is a decent aggregator for services, but lacks finesse especially in the shopping section. Relevant results don’t often come on the top. But then Micromax must be working on the software to fix these issues. Of course, getting a search engine to work perfectly does come with a learning curve. Also every time I tried to book an OLA cab, the app kept crashing for me.

Micromax Canvas 6 is a decent phone if you’re looking for a device for just general browsing, and aren’t too much into gaming.

Should you buy?

Micromax Canvas 6 is a decent phone if you’re looking for a device for just general browsing, and aren’t too much into gaming. The company is also focusing on services like Around, which will hopefully improve over time given the focus Micromax brass has been putting on it. After all, no other Indian smartphone maker is working on offering anything similar.

But given the competition in this price band, Micromax will have to fix its overheating and lag issues soon to stay ahead of the race. Do note that the first unit we got was replaced as the fingerprint scanner wasn’t working, so this review is for the second device.   

I’d say more demanding consumers will probably consider the Redmi Note 3 or Le 1s over the Canvas 6. And it helps that those phones are a bit cheaper too.

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

Also see: Micromax Canvas 6 Pro review blog: The competition is far ahead