Review: Micromax gets a lot of things right with the Canvas Evok

The Canvas Evok’s 5.5-inch display is ideal for reading, typing and playing games.

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Indian smartphone brand Micromax is eying the “young professionals”, those who work remotely or while travelling, with its new smartphone the Canvas Evok. Priced at Rs.8,499 and currently exclusive to Flipkart, is Canvas Evok a one-of-its-kind affordable Android phone? We aren’t entire sure on that aspect, though the overall experience is definitely quite smooth.

Software: Where is the productivity bit?

The Canvas Evok runs Android 5.1 (Lollipop) like most other budget Android smartphones. Barring a few minor changes, the user interface looks similar to the plain Android. There is a built-in location-based services feature called Around, which allows users to book cabs and flight tickets, order food and even shop from a single interface. Other notable apps include an anti-virus app called CM security and a personal payment manager app Citrus Cube which reminds users if they have a pending bill to pay. There are no customisation options here which means you can’t apply new themes or tinker with the interface at will. Also, there are no free productivity apps for professionals, which is quite surprising considering the fact that the phone is designed to entice business users—nothing on the lines of Microsoft Office, for example, which is surprising.

Design: Big and well-built

The Micromax Canvas Evok is a solidly built smartphone with a stocky form factor. It tips the scales at 170g, yet doesn’t feel heavy. We liked the coarse back panel which looks a lot like the back on Blackberry Z30. This fabric-like texture gives the Canvas Evok a sophisticated look, and it also feels good in the palm. The side panel has been beefed up with a chamfered metal frame with greyish finish on it. This blends with the phone’s black and grey shade very well. The wide speaker is powerful and is placed at the back. The back is removable and so is the battery.

Display: Scratch-resistant big canvas

The 5.5-inch display has a screen resolution of 1280x720p. The big screen is ideal for reading, typing and playing games. The colours looks a bit washed out, especially in video playback. The touch is good and the display doesn’t smudge like most budget phone displays. What gives it an edge over many in the same price point is the layer of scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass 3. The wide viewing angles are flawless and so is legibility under bright light.

Performance: Works smoothly even under stress

The smartphone runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 415 octa-core processor with 3GB of RAM. Barring the occasional stutter, the phone handled switching between apps and multi-tasking without any hiccups. Even games such as GT Racing 2 and Asphalt 8 ran without any issues or heating up on the back or edges. The occasional stutter can be on account of the slight changes made by Micromax in the interface. The smartphone offers 16GB of internal storage, which is adequate for any professional app. Users can always expand it to another 32GB using a microSD card. The dual SIM slots support 4G networks. The 3,000mAh battery impresses with its full-day backup.

Camera: Impressive in daylight

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The phone comes with a 13-megapixel camera with LED flash. It is fast and can deliver natural-looking shots with a fine amount of detail if the light is good. In indoor shots, the colours look a bit washed out. Low-light shots look blurry despite the night mode. The phone comes with numerous camera modes and filters such as action, landscape, steady and fireworks. This provides a lot of options to users. The 5-megapixel front camera can take clear selfies if the ambient light is good.

Verdict

The smartphone’s key highlight is the big screen, a dependable performance, a few apps for professionals and a good daylight camera. At this price, it’s a pretty solid option. However, for a slightly higher price tag, you can go for the Redmi Note 3 (Rs.9,999 onwards) as it offers a more powerful processor, a sharper display, a better camera, a more customisable user interface and a battery that lasts longer.

Abhijit Ahaskar

Topics: micromax canvas evokbudget smartphonebig screen phoneblackberryandroid lollipop