Indian smartphone maker Micromax has recently announced a new smartphone sub-brand called IN. The new IN series phones are to be made in India, in order to take on Chinese brands, amid the border tension between the two countries. Today, the Indian company launched two new budget phones in its IN series- Micromax IN Note 1 and Micromax IN 1b.
The Micromax IN Note 1 is the costlier one between the duo and comes with features like a 6.67-inch FHD+ screen, Helio G85 processor, 48MP Quad Camera, stock Android and 5000mAh battery with 18W fast charging. The Micromax IN Note 1 price in India starts at Rs. 10,999 and it will be available via Flipkart soon.
Also, read | Micromax IN 1b: Is it Better than Chinese Phones in the Segment?
If we look at these specs and prices, it will give tough competition to similar phones from Xiaomi and Realme, esp Narzo 20 and Redmi Note 9 which have the same chipset. So, let’s take a look at Micromax IN Note 1 Vs Other phones in this segment to find out if the latest Indian smartphone is worth it or not.
Micromax IN Note 1 Vs Other Phones
Design: Same Build with Different Looks
Being a budget phone, the Micromax IN Note 1 comes with a plastic body and has two color options- Green and White. The green color variant offers an X gradient pattern just like we have seen on Realme phones. Also, the quad-camera module looks like the latest Galaxy M series phones from Samsung. On the front, it has a punch-hole screen.
So basically the new Micromax phone looks like a fusion of Realme and Samsung smartphones in terms of design.
Coming to Narzo 20, this Realme phone has a basic design like other Realme budget phone and has a plastic body with a shiny back panel that changes colors with light and shows a V sign. Its camera module is square-shaped and it also has a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. On the front, it has a mini notch display.
Lastly, Xiaomi’s popular Redmi Note 9 comes with a premium-looking curved back panel which the company calls Aura Balanced design. Its quad-camera module is different than others and forms a rectangular shape with a fingerprint scanner in it. In the front, it also has a punch-hole screen with a side-mounted hole.
Overall, in terms of design, there is no major difference between the three.
Display: FHD+ Vs HD+ Vs FHD+
The IN Note 1 sports a 6.67-inch Full HD+(1080×2400 pixels) display with 450 nits max brightness. The company didn’t mention any protection on the screen.
The Narzo 20, on the other hand, sports a 6.5-inch HD+(1600 x 720 pixels) mini-drop display. It comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
The Redmi Note 9 also sports a 6.53-inch Full HD+(2340 × 1080 pixels) display with 450nits max brightness and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection.
Hardware: Parallel Performance
All three phones are powered by the MediaTek Helio G85 12nm processor. This is a budget range chipset which has 2x 2GHz Cortex-A75 and 6x 2GHz Cortex-A55 CPUs with up to 1000MHz ARM Mali-G52 2EEMC2 GPU.
IN Note 1 and Narzo 20 pack 4GB LPDDR4X RAM and up to 128GB eMMC 5.1 storage. Redmi Note 9, on the other hand, also comes with a 6GB model and has up to 128 GB storage. All three have expandable storage.
Software: Stock Vs Custom UI
The new IN Note 1 comes with a stock Android experience just like Google, Motorola, or Nokia phones. This means you won’t see any bloatware or ads on this phone. Moreover, Micromax has promised two years of software updates for its new phones.
The Narzo 20 and Redmi Note 9 come with their proprietary skin on top of Android. Realme UI and MIUI both come with some bloatware apps and you will also see ads in these UIs.
Cameras: Similar Rear and Higher Res Selfie
IN Note 1 and Redmi Note 9 sport a quad-camera setup at the back with a 48MP main sensor with f/1.8 aperture. The IN Note 1 has a 5MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro camera, and a 2MP depth sensor. It has a 16MP selfie camera.
The Redmi Note 9 has an 8MP ultra-wide 2MP macro and a 2MP depth sensor. It sports a 13MP selfie camera.
The Narzo 20 has a triple camera setup and has a 48MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide, and a 2MP macro camera. It has an 8MP selfie camera.
Battery and Charging: Almost Similar
The IN Note 1 packs a 5000mAh battery which has become a standard size on even budget phones these days. It also comes with 18W fast charging and reverse charging support.
The Narzo 20 packs a slightly bigger 6,000mAh battery and it also has 18W fast charging support.
The Redmi Note 9 also packs a standard 5,020mAh battery and has similar 18W fast charging support. But it comes with a 22.5W fast charger in the box. It also 9W reverse charging.
Connectivity and Other Features
All three phones come with all necessary connectivity options like 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio, Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5, and GPS + GLONASS. These also come with all the sensors as well.
But only the Redmi Note 9 has an infrared sensor. These also pack dedicated card slots. Also, IN Note 1 has a dedicated Google Assistant button.
Pricing: Very Competitive
The IN Note 1 is priced at Rs. 10,999 for the 4GB+64GB version and the 4GB+128GB version costs Rs. 12,999. It will be available via Flipkart starting from November 24.
The Narzo 20 is priced at Rs. 10,499 for the 4GB+64GB version and the 4GB+128GB version costs Rs. 11,499. It is available via Flipkart.
The Redmi Note 9 is priced at Rs. 11,999 for the 4GB+64GB version. Its 4GB+128GB version costs Rs. 13,499 and the top-end 6GB+128GB version is priced at Rs. 14,999. It is available via Amazon.in and Mi store.
Final Words
So as you can see in the above Micromax IN Note 1 vs other phones’ spec comparison, Micromax’s new IN series phone is on par with other Chinese phones in the segment. It has all the standard features in the budget segment these days like a big display, the most popular budget hardware, a 48MP camera, standard size battery with fast charging, and most importantly the stock Android, which is lacked by many.
So, if you are looking for a new budget phone and do not want to buy Chinese phones anymore, Micromax IN Note 1 could be the right choice for you.
