India is one of the world’s largest consumer of smartphones and is quickly growing as a manufacturer as well. However, no India-based company has contributed to this boom. Micromax aims to rise up to the occasion and compete with the established players.
Soon after its inception, Micromax was the biggest smartphone seller by 2015, boasting of a 22% market share when India was just getting warmed up to the concept of smartphones and 4G. This was largely driven by the success of the Canvas series which was known to offer very competitive specs for the price.
The same opportunity was seen by Chinese smartphone companies, who quickly entered India with even more competitive offerings, slowly eating into Micromax’s share. Eventually, it was reduced to an insignificant level where the Indian company scaled back its operations.
While Chinese companies now controlling the majority of the smartphone market, recent border tensions reminded India to reduce its dependence on its neighbour. Initiatives like Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat were introduced to encourage companies to increase their local sourcing and investments.
Hello everyone, yeh hai meri aur micromax ki ek choti si kahaani. We are ready to comeback, India ke liye. Are you IN for India? #MicromaxIsBack #AatmaNirbharBharat #INMobiles https://t.co/8PvVf4rMnvOctober 16, 2020
Riding on the wave, Micromax confirmed that it will once again launch new smartphones in India later this year. An announcement from the company’s co-founder shed some light on that. Rahul Sharma took to Twitter to share that the company will be coming with a new range of devices — In Mobiles. It’s unclear if it is a sub-brand or just a new series or a visual identity.
Rumours from a few months ago suggest that up to three devices will be launched in India in the coming months. Based on the information currently available, the phones will be priced in the Rs 7,000 to Rs 15,000 price segment. Gaming performance and a clean software experience are going to be the key features. Addressing rumours of the phones being powered by the MediaTek Helio G25 and G35 chipsets, Rahul said "you can expect better."
Of course, there is still a need to address the elephant in the room. Which relates to how truly Indian these phones will end up being.
Micromax’s dream run was fueled by rebranded ODM devices from China. With the company being out of action for years, it remains to be seen how its localization efforts will be ramped up this time. Essential components such as the chipset, camera sensors, displays and batteries still have to be imported, leaving little room for higher Indian sourcing.