Micromax IN Note 2 Review – True Budget Phone For Indian Users

With the IN Note 2, Micromax made a great comeback in the Indian smartphone market. Micromax is returning this year with a smartphone that reflects that passion more than its marketing ads. The IN Note 2 beats its predecessor thanks to a big list of improvements, resulting in the finest Micromax phone I have seen in a long time. For Indian buyers, the smartphone has a premium design, a quad back camera, a fine AMOLED display, and many other features. Micromax IN Note 2 is priced at Rs 13,490 for the single 4GB RAM + 64GB storage option, with an introductory offer of Rs 1,000 for early customers to get the device at an even lower price. Does Micromax IN Note 2 deliver on its promise of better value for money? Let’s find out.

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The single 4GB RAM + 64GB storage option of the Micromax In Note 2 is priced at Rs. 13,490 in India. The phone is available in two colours: black and oak. Starting from January 30, it is available for purchase on Flipkart and the Micromaxinfo.com website.

For a limited time, Micromax IN Note 2 will be selling at a reduced price of Rs. 12,490 as the introductory offer.

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The all-new Micromax IN Note 2 comes with the following items inside the box:

• Micromax IN Note 2
• 30W Charger
• Data Cable
• Screen Guard
• SIM Ejector Tool
• TPU Case
• User Manual

Before we talk in detail about the Micromax IN Note 2, let’s see what the on-paper specs look like:

• Display: 6.43 inches AMOLED
• Chipset: MediaTek Helio G95
• RAM & ROM: 4GB RAM 64GB Storage
• Software: Android 11
• Rear camera: 48MP + 5MP + 2MP + 2MP
• Selfie camera: 16MP
• Battery: 5000 mAh
• Weight: 205 grams
• Dimensions: 159.9 x 74.3 x 8.3 mm

Micromax has done a nice job of making the IN Note 2 seem more premium among its other handsets in terms of design. Like the iPhone 13, it sports a boxy flat-sided appearance. Micromax IN Note 2 appears unlike any other smartphone in its pricing range when it’s all wrapped up in a lovely Oak colour!

On the IN Note 2, Micromax has used a legit glass rear panel, which not only appears high-end but also gives it a heft that is only associated with premium “flagships” these days. The backside is smooth and shines brightly. It has a nice look, however, it attracts fingerprints. You’ll be constantly attempting to clean the fingerprint smudges if you’re not using a cover on this. If you haven’t already noticed, the design is quite familiar. This is due to Micromax’s use of the same design as Samsung’s current Galaxy S-series smartphones. The Galaxy S21 FE, which was just launched, offers a similar design. I don’t think going with a popular design is a bad idea, especially if it makes an affordable smartphone look more premium. The display has a hole-punch design featuring the camera cutout in the centre at the top.

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Micromax IN Note 2 features a good weight distribution in the hand, which gives it a more comfortable feel. The plastic around the camera layout does not protrude much, but it appears to be of lower quality than the rest of the design. The additional phone cover in the box also enhances the sharper edges. Overall, Micromax’s design is fantastic, and the same can be said about the build quality.

Micromax IN Note 2 sports a large 6.43-inch AMOLED display boasting a Full-HD+ resolution that is not only crisp but also full of brilliant colours, making watching movies a pleasurable experience. In comparison to the previous generation, the panel improves contrast and colour saturation to new heights. Even for a new smartphone user, this results in a significantly improved experience. The display also gets Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection.

While AMOLED is a significant upgrade. Micromax did not use a high-refresh-rate display, which is really a disappointment. More smartphones with a refresh rate of at least 90Hz are breaking into the budget phone market. The distinctive AMOLED contrasts offer fantastic video viewing. The deep blacks do improve the user’s interaction with the display on a regular basis. You’ll also get Widevine L1 support, which means you’ll be able to stream all of your favourite shows and movies in the highest possible quality. With respect to gaming, this display provides great visuals, but you won’t benefit from a high frame rate. The display is one of the best in its class. Everything appears colourful and lively, whether it’s the UI or my Instagram feed. The viewing angles are quite wide, and it gets fairly bright under the sun, reaching a maximum brightness of 550 nits. By default, the saturation of the Micromax IN Note 2 display is pumped up. There are a number of modes that can let you reduce it to a more pleasing level.

Micromax IN Note 2 has a MediaTek Helio G95 processor, which was released in 2020. It is a significant improvement over the Helio G85 of the previous generation. However, the Micromax Note IN 2 is only available in a single 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage option. The device has a dedicated micro-sd card slot that can hold up to 256GB of storage. The phone’s internal storage comes with UFS 2.1, ensuring a seamless experience overall.

Day-to-day tasks like reading emails, scrolling through Instagram for boredom, and texting my WhatsApp buddies went easily, but loading heavy applications took a little longer. However, after the app is launched, the phone reports no stutters at all. Multitasking is handled by the 4GB of RAM, but only when there are few apps running in the background.

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Lighter games, such as Subway Surfers and Temple Run runs flawlessly, whereas heavy multiplayer games continue to run smoothly in low graphics. Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) and Call of Duty: Mobile run smoothly in low-medium graphical settings with frame rates at smooth. Despite the use of liquid cooling technology, the IN Note 2 gets hot after only 40 minutes of gaming on average. Frame drops are obvious in such cases, and the device gets a little warm to the touch. Anyway, things didn’t end out too badly, and the overall game experience was still enjoyable, if not outstanding. Micromax IN Note 2 handled day-to-day work and even short gaming sessions well in our testing. There are no complaints regarding the smartphone’s performance.

Finally, I’ll talk about my favourite aspect of this phone: the software. Micromax has become one of the few brands in this price range that offers a stock Android experience. The device runs on entirely stock Android 11 with no UI skin on top of it. This also means a simpler setup process and fewer unwanted permissions to access essential smartphone functions like the phone and camera. The best part, the Micromax IN Note 2 comes with no bloatware apps. Google apps such as Gmail, YouTube, Maps, and others are the only apps available. It’s good stuff; I only wish more smartphone companies in this price range chose this option.

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You’ll get Android 11 on your Micromax IN Note 2, which means you’ll have access to the latest up-to-date features. The smartphone has a bunch of features like dark mode, advanced privacy controls, digital wellbeing and more. But what’s even better is that Micromax thought to include some useful features like anti-fake touch mode, three-finger skid, and flip to silence among others, to improve the user experience.

Coming to the camera, Micromax chose to go with four cameras in Micromax IN Note 2. This includes a 48MP primary lens, a 5MP ultra-wide-angle lens, a 2MP portrait sensor, and a 2MP macro lens. The front camera has a 16MP camera and is housed inside the display’s punch-hole cutout. I will be honest here, the smartphone’s camera isn’t very good, and Micromax needs to improve it. They can’t just add multiple camera sensors and think it’s going to be great; the camera must be optimised for the Indian environment. I felt the camera app to be quick to focus, and taking photos was easy.

Photos taken with the 48MP main camera have a nice warm tone to them, although there’s some over-sharpening going on. When the natural light levels drop, it struggles to keep details, although you can still get usable photos. Low-light photographs are lacking in detail, and an artificial HDR-like effect is applied to lighten up the darker areas.

Despite its highly saturated tones and lack of clarity, the ultrawide camera captures nice images in daylight; nevertheless, it is barely usable in low-light conditions and at night. When you move to a wide angle, the quality of the image drops noticeably.

The portrait lens on the back camera does a good job of highlighting the subject. The portrait lens helps in the creation of the bokeh effect in photographs, however, the edge detection could be improved. In strong daylight, the macro images were good, but in low light, they were unusable. With this sensor, I had a lot of fun taking shots of flowers and small objects. This macro camera is ideal for those who love experimenting with photography.

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In comparison to the rear camera, the Micromax IN Note 2’s front camera is rather good. If you usually use the front camera for video calls, the footage is fairly clear and will never leave you wanting more. This camera will not disappoint you if you are a selfie enthusiast who takes a lot of selfies, but at the same time, it’s not the best front camera I have seen in this price range. The rear camera of the Micromax IN Note 2 support 4K recording, however, the front cameras can only record at 1080p. Overall, if you’re thinking of buying the IN Note 2, don’t expect much from the cameras; they’re acceptable.

Micromax IN Note 2 sports a big 5,000 mAh battery that supports 30W fast charging. I spent the day doing routine tasks. Throughout the day, I would check my emails, play various games, take random photos, watch an hour-long episode of The Witcher on Netflix, and also use WhatsApp for conversing, and the battery would easily last a day. If you are a light user, the big 5000mAh battery would last even longer. Even heavy users, however, do not need to be concerned because the device charges from 0 to 100 per cent in just over an hour with 30W fast charging.

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The included 30W fast charger in the box is a big help. Overall, the battery will give you a whole day backup on average, but if you’re a heavy user, expect to charge the phone twice.

Micromax has given a mono bottom-firing speaker in place of dual speakers. Despite the fact that the single speaker gets loud enough to watch videos on youtube or movies without earphones, Micromax should have included stereo speakers. A secondary noise-cancelling microphone is also included. Overall, the sound and call quality are great, and there are no issues.

Micromax In Note 2 has Wi-Fi 802.11, Bluetooth v5.00, GPS, USB Type-C, 3G, and 4G as connectivity options. You get a side-mounted fingerprints scanner on the Micromax IN Note 2. The fingerprint scanner works flawlessly and unlocks the phone instantly.

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Pros

• Improvised Camera
• Memory Card Compatible
• Charges Immediately
• AMOLED Display

Cons

• Heavy Weight
• Normal refresh rate
• No 5G connectivity