Micromax DUAL 5
Micromax Dual 5 review: a solid comeback but faces an uphill battle
The indigenous company is betting big on the rise of dual camera smartphones, which is why it’s decided to launch the Dual series. So let’s begin with the camera capabilities of the Micromax Dual 5. It comes equipped with two 13-megapixel sensors at the back, with one of them capturing images in the normal RGB mode, and the other one capturing them in monochrome. The camera viewfinder is feature-rich with various options such as Photo, Video, Beauty, and of course, Dual to harness the potential of the twin shooters. You also get the HDR and professional mode, among others.Dual 5’s implementation of the two rear cameras ensures enhanced colour reproduction (as they can capture up to four times more light), and we’re quite impressed by the vibrant images it captures. The device also nails the details, which remain sharp even when zoomed in. The camera does justice to landscapes as well as close-ups. However, the HDR mode doesn’t seem as effective in all the situations. You also get a depth-of-field effect with the option called Blurry (we know, it doesn’t sound like a name of a feature). The effect works really well, and delivers pleasing results, though you might notice softening of edges around the blurred areas. Another mode offered by dual cameras is Night, and that seems to be quite powerful when compared to images taken in street light normally. Talking about low-light, the dual-tone LED flash does come in handy by illuminating the scene. While the device can lock the focus quickly thanks to PDAF support, it takes the time to process HDR or dual-camera modes. Let’s take a peek at the images clicked by the Micromax Dual 5.
Design and display: following the metallic herd
Micromax is pitching the Dual 5 as a premium offering (especially, when compared to its previous offerings), and that starts with its design philosophy itself. Clad in metal, the smartphone certainly seems classy and also feels quite sturdy. It has rounded corners and dual curves at the rear allowing one to hold it ergonomically. While it might not be the slimmest or lightest phone around, it does offer a solid in-hand feel. The design is anything but original, yet we’re glad that the company has moved towards an all-metal body for its latest flagship.
The fascia of the Micromax Dual 5 is dominated by the display, which is flanked by an earpiece, a front-facing snapper and a couple of sensors above and row of capacitive keys below. These buttons follow minimal design aesthetics but stick to the Android’s navigation guidelines.
The Micromax Canvas Dual 5’s window to the world is a 5.5-inch 2.5D display. The AMOLED panel flaunts a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, and it’s able to ensure sharp and crisp text as well as images. The colours are also vibrant, and viewing angles are sufficient too. While brightness levels are impressive, the display does turn slightly reflective under direct sunlight. Acting as a layer of protection against scratches is Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3.
Software: promising a 360-degree experience
If there’s one aspect where Micromax hasn’t been able to make strides in – it’s the software. From using stock Android to using custom icons along with a few preinstalled apps, and from offering Indus OS (on its budget offerings) to the highly-customisable CyanogenMod OS (with the YU smartphones) – the company has tried it all. The experiment continues with the Dual 5 too, as it comes with 360 OS – featured on QiKU Q Terra, launched in 2016. QiKU has now changed names to 360, and we won’t be surprised if Micromax’s latest offering is rebranded version of a phone from 360’s portfolio in China.
The 360 Security is a tuneup app which lets you boost the phone’s performance, check for the apps that are sucking the battery life, clean junk files, etc. The 360 Health Guard is an interesting app… if you feel like you’re addicted to your phone, then this will show you the data to highlight the same by mentioning how many times you’ve locked and unlocked your phone along with the timings, so that you know the frequency too. It also displays the apps you’re using the most.
Hardware: delivers high-octane performance
While Micromax might have flirted with MediaTek chipsets more often than not, this time around, it has chosen to go the Qualcomm way. At the heart of the Dual 5 lies the Snapdragon 652 SoC, which is available in an octa-core configuration comprising of two quad-core processors running at 1.8GHz and 1.2GHz respectively. The chipset has proved its worth in quite a few smartphones, and we found it to be quite efficient in case of the Dual 5 too. There was nary an instance of lag, and to ensure smooth multitasking, there’s 4-gigs of RAM. The Adreno 510 graphics unit takes care of the graphics rendering, and we loved the impressive graphics while racing in Asphalt Nitro or playing as a first person shooter in Modern Combat 5.
The OnePlus 3 (review) comes first to the mind, which might be slightly old, yet seems to be a worthy flagship killer with its price tag of Rs 27,999. There’s the modular Moto Z Play (review) too which has a marathon battery life, along with the ASUS ZenFone 3 (review). If dual cameras are what excites you, then the Honor 8 (review) also poses a stiff challenge to the Micromax Dual 5. Even in the offline segment, it seems that Micromax’s effort is a little too late, considering brands like OPPO and vivo are ruling it. In fact, the vivo V5 Plus (review) boasts a similar spec sheet – although with dual sensors at the front, instead of the back.
