This may be Micromax's first notch smartphone, but the industry has been saturated in the trend and ready to move on to the next phase.
Micromax is a little late to the party but better late than never right? The India-based electronics OEM has confirmed that it will be launching its first smartphone with a notched display in India. It seems like Micromax's attempt to catch on the ongoing trend, which has helped Chinese manufacturers grow significantly and dominate the mobile market share in the country.
The official invite sent to us simply has an outline of a smartphone's display with a notch up top. It says to mark the calendar for December 18, 2018, which is the day when Micromax plans to officially unveil the latest smartphone.
The "save the date" notice comes only hours after Micromax India's official Twitter handle posted a tweet saying "We are excited, the countdown has begun." The company has used the hashtag #AboveTheRest and the accompanying teaser shows a smartphone's silhouette with the notch highlighted.
There's also a tagline in the teaser that reads, "Does the powerful excite you?" which hints that there will be more than just a notch to look forward to in the new Micromax smartphone. The rest of the details about the phone, its name, specifications, features and price point – all remain a mystery.
But Micromax has been openly challenging Xiaomi through its affordable products and this upcoming smartphone could follow the similar trend. Since Xiaomi launched its latest Redmi Note 6 Pro to much fanfare, Micromax could be eyeing the premium mid-range category this time around.
The notch shown in the teasers is a traditional one, much like the one on iPhone X and the Redmi Note 6 Pro. Micromax has clearly given the smaller waterdrop-style notch a miss.
If what we are guessing is accurate, Micromax needs to be aggressive in both pricing and specifications front to take on the popularity of the Redmi Note 6 Pro, which went on open sale in India on Wednesday. The Redmi Note 6 Pro comes in two variants, 4GB+64GB and 6GB+64GB, priced at Rs 13,999 and Rs 15,999.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro makes a strong statement with its specs as it packs a 6.26-inch Full HD+ display, dual rear cameras with 12MP and 5MP sensors, a 20MP front snapper with AI Beautify 4.0, a reliable 4,000mAh battery and Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor. The handset also packs additional features such as hybrid dual SIM card slots, rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, face unlock and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Can Micromax regain its lost share from Xiaomi in India? It's hard to imagine, but the success of its upcoming phones could well be a step in the right direction. Stay tuned for updates.
