Micromax Dual 5 on hand

Micromax is responding with the launch of a new smartphone series called Dual, and the first model to launch is called the Dual 5. On paper, the Micromax Dual 5 packs a lot of punch in terms of specifications as well as some software enhancements. The company also claims that the Dual 5 sports the best camera in its segment.

Micromax plans to use this new series to achieve a 10 percent market share in the premium smartphone category (phones above Rs. 20,000), but the road ahead won't be easy

Micromax Dual 5 design

The Micromax Dual 5 has an all-metal body with chamfered edges, and it feels solid right away when you hold the device in your hand. 2.5D curved-edge glass on the front adds to the overall appeal and makes this device feel premium. This phone looks familiar from the rear, with antenna bands running across the top and bottom. You can also find the two cameras, dual-tone LED flash, and fingerprint scanner at the back, all arranged in a symmetrical column down the middle. A Micromax logo can be seen lower down, and we quite like this minimal branding, as the phone looks neat without multiple logos. The curved edges offer good grip and also help the phone fit comfortably in your palms. Micromax calls it an "Arc design."

The power and volume buttons are on the right, and there's a customisable "smart key" on the left. The hybrid dual-SIM tray is also located on the left. There is a 3.5mm audio socket and an infrared emitter for controlling electronic appliances on the top. The bottom packs a USB Type-C port and speaker grille. The Dual 5 has capacitive buttons for Android navigation right below the display.

Despite featuring a 5.5-inch display, the Micromax Dual 5 was manageable in terms of holding and using with just one hand, though our recommendation would be to use it with both hands because the metallic back panel can be a little slippery. Considering its screen size, the Dual 5 is light in weight at 164 grams.

In our opinion, the Dual 5 is one of the best-looking smartphones that Micromax has ever launched. It definitely looks appealing compared to other phones in its price segment.

Micromax Dual 5 specifications and software

The Dual 5 is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor, which has four Cortex-A72 cores clocked at 1.8GHz and four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.4GHz. There's 4GB of RAM and a massive 128GB of storage, which is one of main highlights of this device as there aren't many options in this price segment with that much in-built storage. Xiaomi Mi Max Prime is another handset with 128GB storage and Snapdragon 652 processor, but these are the only things common with the Dual 5.

It also features a 5.5-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) Super Amoled display with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Micromax says that this screen can reproduce 100 percent of the NTSC colour gamut. Additionally, the Dual 5 supports storage expansion using a microSD card (up to 128GB) if you forego a second SIM. Connectivity options include 4G with VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, and Bluetooth 4.1. The phone also has an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, gyroscope, infrared sensor, and proximity sensor. It packs a 3200mAh battery and supports Quick Charge 3.0, which the company claims enables the smartphone to be charged to 95 percent in just 45 minutes

This phone runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with the company's own UI on top. Micromax has developed a new UI which is likely to be seen on more devices in the future. The new interface doesn't have an app drawer which means all the apps are placed on the home screen. App icons, quick setting toggles, and the Settings app have received a complete makeover. The new skin packs a lot of animations, and we especially liked the look of the preinstalled Speedup memory management app. You can set "smart key" to launch any app without having to unlock the phone first.

Micromax Dual 5 camera performance

The Micromax Dual 5 gets its name from its defining feature - dual 13-megapixel cameras at the back. Both the cameras capture photos simultaneously, and then the phone's software processes their output into a single image. The two sensors are used to capture focus and depth-of-field information. Both cameras have f/1.8 apertures, and support phase detection autofocus (PDAF). You can achieve a bokeh effect, a feature that has lately been seen on a lot of phones.

The camera app is set to dual-sensor mode by default, though you can change this manually. The biggest strengths of the Dual 5's cameras are colour reproduction, details, and sharpness. In well-lit conditions, the phone managed to take great photos, especially close-up shots. We were impressed with Micromax Dual 5's ability to focus quickly, but it takes a long time to process images, which might irritate users. We were surprised that the camera took the same amount of time in regular mode as it took in dual mode. We hope that Micromax can improve this time with future software updates.

Low-light shots on the Dual 5 varied depending on the source of light around. Some shots were impressive, but areas in the dark tended to be lost. We found a lot of noise in low-light samples taken with the Dual 5, although textures and colours were somewhat preserved. Shots looked great on the phone's display but the noise was evident when seen on larger screens.

The Dual 5 also has a 13-megapixel front camera with an f/2.0 aperture. The app has a SmartBeauty mode to enhance selfies. We found that the Dual 5 can take some decent selfies with good colour reproduction and details in the daylight, but ones taken at night don't have the same quality.

The phone's camera app offers plenty of modes and tweaks. The Pro mode lets you adjust White Balance, ISO, focus, as well as shutter speed manually. The Macro mode is for close-up photography. The camera supports 4K video recording as well as slow-motion, GIF, and time lapse videos. There are also a few filters to choose from.

This is a good option for premium smartphones at affordable prices.

Source : gadgets.ndtv.com