Indian phone maker Micromax has made yet another attempt at cracking the budget smartphone ecosystem, with the Canvas 5 which offers features of a mid-range smartphone. At Rs.11,999, It competes against the recently launched Moto G Turbo (Rs.14,499).
.jpg "The rough and well-made back cover gives the device a rugged look and a user better grip")
Design: Good looking and handy
The Canvas 5 is a good looking smartphone with a rough and well-made back cover that almost looks and feels like leather. It gives the device a rugged look and a user better grip. The display is slightly tapered around the edges like in some high-end smartphones. At 143g, it is lighter than the Moto G Turbo, which weighs 155g. However, the Moto G Turbo has a slightly better back that makes it handier. It is also water and dust resistant, which the Canvas 5 isn’t. This makes the former better bet for rugged and clumsy users.
Display: Sharp and bright
The phone’s 5.2-inch display has a screen resolution 1920x1080p. This is a sharp and vivid looking display. It handles colours well and looks natural while watching videos and photos. It is perfect for reading and watching movies. The Moto G 3rd Gen has the same screen size but the screen resolution (1280x720p) is lower. It isn’t as sharp as the Canvas 5, but is no less in terms of brightness and colour reproduction. There is a slightly yellowish tint in the screen of Moto G, which gives it a slightly warmer look. The Canvas 5 has an edge over the Moto G as its sharper and looks more natural.
Software: Custom UI with few customisation options
The smartphone runs the old Android 5.1 (Lollipop) with a slightly modified custom UI. Most of the differences are on the surface only and deep down, it looks and works like plain Android. For example, the app icons have been fitted into a square shape to add some visual element to the rather plain looking Android interface. Clearly, it doesn’t succeed as the icons are just placed in a square box and not redesigned. There are hardly any options for customisation, which means you can’t change it if you don’t like it. Clearly, the Moto G, which runs Android 5.1, with its material design interface, looks a lot more clutter-free and easy to use.
Performance: Smooth but struggles with heavy games
The Canvas 5 is powered by MediaTek’s MT6753 octa-core processor which, with the pairing of 3GB of RAM, is powerful enough to handle most day to day chores with ease. Switching between apps, multi-tasking with eight to 10 apps running in the background doesn’t slow it down like budget smartphones. The only areas where the phone struggle is with graphically demanding games like the FIFA 16. The phone runs on a non-removable 3,000mAh battery that can muster more than a day’s backup with ease. The phone offers 16GB of internal storage which a user can expand to up to 64GB using a micro SD card. The Moto G Turbo runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor and has been paired with 2GB RAM. It delivers stutter free performance and handled all games with ease.
Camera: Fast but inconsistent
Though the 13-megapixel camera is fast, it is inconsistent. While shots taken in daylight look sharp and detailed, the colours don’t look very natural. It looks a bit dull, in a nutshell. Also, one has to tap on the screen multiple times to get the focus right. Pictures taken in low-light look blurred and washed out. The Moto G Turbo’s 13-megapixel camera is fast and quite good with colours in outdoor conditions but struggles when it comes to capturing detail. Also, like other Moto G phones, it relies on auto-focus instead of manual focus, which is common in budget smartphones.
Verdict
The Canvas 5’s key highlight is the display, good design and battery backup. However, it lacks the simplicity and performance of the Moto G Turbo, which is also water and dust proof.
