Micromax, Karbonn, Lava coming back. (Express Photo: Shruti Dhapola)
Micromax, Karbonn, and Lava are preparing to make a comeback in the Indian smartphone market amidst the growing anti-China sentiments in the country following the India-China border dispute. All three brands have either confirmed to launch new devices in the country next month or have hinted at their imminent arrival in the market again.
The Indian smartphone market is currently dominated by Chinese smartphones. Samsung, Google, and Apple are the only major brands in the country, which are non-Chinese. At one point in time, Micromax, Karbonn, and Lava were big names in the Indian smartphone market but these are nowhere in the spotlight anymore, at least right now. Here’s what we know about the new innings of the three brands:
Micromax: Three new smartphones coming
The official Twitter handle of Micromax, while replying to a user’s tweet, said that the company is “working hard” and will soon “come up with something big”. Responding to another user, it said that Micromax is coming is preparing a “device with premium features” that will be budget-friendly as well.
The Micromax Infinity N12 was launched for Rs 9,999 with a glass-like finish at the back.
A report by Gadgets360 claims that Micromax is going to launch three new smartphones in India, including a budget phone with premium features. All these phones will be under Rs 10,000 price point and unveiled via soft launches. Notably, Micromax has a record of selling rebranded Chinese phones in the past. The last phone from the company was iOne Note that went on sale in October last year.
Karbonn: Two new smartphones launching
Karbonn has been making feature phones for a while now, however, the company looks set to re-enter the smartphone territory. Sashin Devsarre, Executive Director, Karbonn Mobiles told The Mobile Indian in an interview that the company will be launching two new smartphones in the country in August. Both of these will be reportedly priced under Rs 10,000.
Karbonn had launched 4G smartphones back in the day.
Devsarre also confirmed to launch a smartwatch from Karbonn as well as other connected devices, some of which “have not been launch in India by any other brand”. Devsarre also said that Karbonn has been working on its phone software to make it robust and secure by adding an “extra layer of security to prevent data leakage”. He also said that the Karbonn UI will not have advertisements.
Lava Mobiles: Launch of two new smartphones
A Geekbench listing of a Lava phone — Lava Z66 — hints at the upcoming smartphone launch from Lava. As per the listing, the phone has 3GB of RAM and runs Android 10 operating system. The phone is powered by a Unisoc processor with 1.2GHz clock speed. The chipset indicates the phone to be an entry-level device with its single-core score of 153 and a multi-core score of 809.
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As per a report by India Today Tech, Lava Mobiles is planning to launch two smartphones in India across price ranges by July 2020. Lava had launched the Lava Z53 in February. The device runs Android Pie (Go Edition) and the rumoured Lava Z66 will probably follow suit.