Micromax Dual 5 is rebranded Qiku 360 Q5

After a brief hiatus, Micromax is back on the smartphone ledger board with its promising dual camera phone, the Dual 5, which, as it turns out, is actually a rebranded Qiku 360 Q5. Both the smartphones have exactly same specifications, design and software, except the latter was launched about 8 months back for a far lesser price.

Now, rebranding a worthy Chinese handset isn’t a bad thing but a product lifted off the shelves of another vendor is far less likely to inspire customers to pay a premium or to enthuse brand loyalty, especially when the original was out months in advance.

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There are reasons for why domestic players have taken a back seat post-Chinese influx. Primarily, because they didn’t focus on improving their after-sales service infrastructure in their hay days, and now the service promises they do make feel like too little too late. And secondly, the devices that they rebrand and pull out from Chinese ODMs often feel dated and lackluster in comparison.

And that’s precisely why claims asserting that this shall be the best smartphone this year in the country and how we should be proud of this coming from a domestic manufacturer feel hollow.

Anyways, if you can look past the rebranding part, the Dual 5 holds a lot of promise, especially on the camera front.

Qiku excels in dual camera technology and the Qiku Q Terra launched last year was the first phone which we came across that used a combination of monochrome and color sensor (followed later by Huawei P9, Honor 8 and Coolpad Cool 1).

This implementation allows for the camera to capture more light and, consequently, better details. Besides, the ability to click true monochromes counts as a huge plus point in our book. And with Dual 5, you also get a very elaborate pro mode and the option to click images with shallow depth of field effect (or background blur).

The handset has full metal unibody with a curved rear that facilitates firm grip. The AMOLED display on the front has very narrow bezels around it. We couldn’t test the display much, but the 100 percent NTSC gamut could result in heavily oversaturated colors especially for the RGB content (which is almost all content there is designed for the internet).

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Another plus point is 128GB onboard storage, which could be a huge convenience for long term usage and makes your phone durable. However, had Micromax not been lifting Dual 5 off the Qiku shelves, there might have been a 64GB storage option.

If you are a security conscious buyer, Dual 5 has a lot to look forward to. Micromax terms it “theft proof”, and there are some merits to these claims. The phone asks for a password each time you unlock the SIM tray or want to power it off. And the software also has a SecureVault where you can bury your personal files securely.

There is already a lot of clamor on the web incriminating Micromax for asking a premium for the last generation chipset. The fact that this is a rebranded version of a cheaper phone will further add fuel to the fire.

The Micromax Dual 5 looks like a good phone. But even if the camera turns out to be good (which it just might), it would be hard to convince consumers to side with it in both online and offline realms.

Micromax Dual 5 Specifications