Micromax IN 1B Review

Micromax recently made a comeback in India and launched two new devices for budget smartphone users. The Micromax IN 1B was one of the smartphones that was launched in India and the device comes with a 6.52-inch HD+ display with 1600 x 720 pixels screen resolution and a 20:9 aspect ratio.

The device is powered by a MediaTek Helio G35 chipset which is further coupled with 2GB RAM with 32GB Internal Storage and 4GB RAM with 64GB Internal Storage. The 2GB RAM model for the device is priced at Rs.6999 whereas the 4GB RAM model is priced at Rs.7999. Is the device worth your money? Let”s find out.

Micromax IN 1B Specifications

• Display: 6.52-inch HD+ 20:9 mini drop display with 1600 x 720 pixels resolution
• CPU: MediaTek Helio G35 processor
• GPU: PowerVR GE8320 GPU
• RAM: 2/4 GB LPDDR4x RAM
• Storage: 32/64 GB eMMC 5.1 storage; expandable up to 512 GB
• OS: Android 10
• Rear Camera: 13 MP main camera with f/1.8 aperture + 2 MP depth sensor
• Front Camera: 8 MP
• Others: Rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
• Connectivity Options: Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS, and USB Type-C port
• Battery: 5000mAh battery with 10w charging

Design, Display and Build

Talking about the design, the Micromax IN 1B comes with a plastic body and weighs around 190 grams. Since it isn’t very heavy the device feels good when you hold it in your hands. We got the Purple variant to play around with but Micromax also sells the device in Blue and Green color options. Out of all the three colors, the Purple variant looks the best since it comes with a dual-tone finish on the plastic back panel. The upper part of the device is light pink in color whereas the lower part comes in Purple.

You get the camera module on the back along with a fingerprint scanner right next to it. Along with this, you also have the Micromax branding at the bottom of your back panel along with the speaker grill on the right. These days it’s very rare to find a smartphone that comes with speakers on the back however Micromax does a great job here. The audio output from the speakers is too good considering the price it comes at. If you are someone who streams a lot of media then the speakers on Micromax IN 1B surely won’t disappoint you.

The Volume Keys and the Power Button is placed on the right and users can easily reach them when they are using the device with a single hand. The device also has a dedicated Google Assistant key on the left side that allows users to bring up the Assistant with a single click. Along with that, there is a triple card slot right next to it.

There is a USB Type-C port on the bottom and Micromax also gives a 3.5mm headphone jack right next to it. It’s nice to see a Type-C port in this price range because most of the companies often ditch it in this price range and give the regular Type-A port. You can have a look at the Micromax IN 1B in the images below.

Moving on to the Display, the Micromax IN 1B comes with a 6.52-inch HD+ mini drop display with 1600 x 720 pixels resolution and a 20:9 aspect ratio. The display on the Micromax IN 1B is quite bright and you don’t have any issues while using the smartphone in harsh lighting conditions. Even though it’s an HD+ Panel the text on the smartphone is easily visible when you are using the device outdoors in the daytime.

Since this is an HD+ Panel the maximum supported resolution for videos is 720p and that’s what you get when you are buying a phone in this price range. Thanks to its big screen and the amazing speakers on the back, streaming videos on YouTube and Prime Video gets fun and you enjoy the content you are watching.

Overall when it comes to the display, the Micromax IN 1B manages to get the job done well.

User Interface and Software

The people who love Stock Android are in for a treat with the Micromax IN 1B since the device runs Android 10 straight out of the box without any custom skin. The device doesn’t come with any bloatware and the only preinstalled Apps you get on the device are from Google. Since it’s running on Stock Android and doesn’t have any bloatware you don’t get any ads on the device.

In our everyday usage, the UI worked fine and there were no App Crashes or bugs. Dark Mode is present on the device however for features like Dual Apps, App Lock and more you have to install third-party apps from the Play Store. It also comes with a gesture-based feature that allows you to bring up the notifications by swiping down from your fingerprint scanner.

Since its running on Stock Android, it makes use of Phone by Google and Google Messages to manage your texts and calls. However, the Camera App on the device isn’t Google Camera which means that you miss out on some features that Google Camera offers. As soon as you take out the smartphone from the box, you already have a software update that updates your security patch to November 2020.

There is hardly any smartphone in the market that offers Stock Android in this price range so the Micromax IN 1B becomes a great choice if you want a clean experience.

Hardware, Performance, & Gaming

Micromax IN 1B is powered by a MediaTek Helio G35 processor which is further coupled with a PowerVR GE8320 GPU. It comes with 2/4 GB LPDDR4x RAM and 32/64 GB of eMMC 5.1 storage which is expandable up to 512 GB via MicroSD card. We got our hands on the 4GB RAM variant and if you are planning to buy one we’d recommend you to go for the same since getting a device with 2GB RAM and 32GB Storage in 2020 will get you in problems in the longer run.

In our everyday usage, the Helio G35 managed to run every app we threw at it however the experience isn’t super smooth and there are some delays while loading up things and switching between multiple apps. Talking about the Gaming performance, we tried playing Among Us, Free Fire, and Hill Climb Racing on the Micromax IN 1B and there were no frame drops or lags while running the game on the device. While normal games like this can be played easily, the Micromax 1B can also run Call of Duty Mobile at Low Graphics Settings. You will notice a few frame drops while playing COD on this however, it’s good to see that it’s still playable on the device.

Talking about the Connectivity options the Micromax IN 1B supports Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5, and GPS + GLONASS. The device comes with all the sensors including the Gyroscope sensor and since PUBG is coming back soon in India you’ll be able to use the Gyroscope sensor to improve your gameplay experience.

Moving on to the benchmarks,  we ran a couple of benchmarking apps on this device including Geekbench 5, AnTuTu, and Androbench. The device managed to get some pretty decent scores and the results for the benchmarking tests are listed below.

• AnTuTu Benchmark: 105521 defeated 1% of users.
• Geekbench: 167 Single-Core, 885 Multi-Core
• Androbench Storage Benchmark: 248 MB/s Maximum Read Speed, 138 MB/s Maximum Write Speed
• PCMark Work 2.0: 5540 Work 2.0 Performance Score.

Cameras

Micromax IN 1B comes with a dual-camera setup at the back which consists of a 13 MP main camera with f/1.8 aperture + 2 MP depth sensor. On the front, there is an 8 MP shooter that takes care of your selfies. The camera manages to get good photos in daylight conditions however you’ll see it struggling at night. The daylight shots you get from the Micromax IN 1B are good enough for your social media profiles and come with vibrant colors. The front camera also works well and using it for video calls won’t be an issue if you are sitting in an area with good light.

The Camera App is simple. Manual Mode isn’t present on the device however you still get Night, Beauty, and Portrait Mode. In addition to this, there is also a Panorama Mode present on the device. If you are looking for a feature-loaded camera app, the stock camera app on this device will disappoint you and hence we’d suggest you to download a third-party app from the play store. You can have a look at the images shot using Micromax IN 1B below.

Battery

Micromax IN 1B comes with a  5000mAh battery that supports 10w charging. The battery life on the Micromax IN 1B is great you can easily get through the day with a single charge and even if you are a heavy user. The device easily has 25 to 30% of Battery Life remaining at the end of the day even when you use it on the maximum brightness for watching videos and more.

It takes about 2 hrs to charge the device up to 85% and that is enough juice to get you through the day. Overall when it comes to the Battery Life, the Micromax IN 1B doesn’t disappoint.

Verdict

The Micromax IN 1B is a really good device for the price and it offers you everything you need. There are some minor performance issues in everyday usage sometimes other than that the smartphone works pretty well. The display is pretty good and the 5000 mAh battery is something that will attract a lot of people. If you are planning to buy this then go for it since it’s a really good smartphone under Rs.8000. However, make sure you pick up the 4GB RAM and 64 GB Storage variant if you don’t want to have any problems in the longer run.