Micromax Comeback: Can Micromax ‘In’ Phones Work? Should Xiaomi, Realme, Oppo, Vivo Worry?

Micromax Informatics is now preparing for a new war against Chinese smartphones and companies as Xiaomi, Realme, Vivo, Oppo.

Micromax will be keeping it simple this time and all-Indian. With the current government initiatives to boost manufacturing, Micromax In phones will counter the cheaper imports from China. It lost majority of its market share since then, and the newer brands from China went on to become the new leaders with value for money mobiles at cut-throat pricing.

New Micromax ‘In’ Brand: Can Micromax In Phones Work?

Micromax co-founder Rahul Sharma shared an emotional video announcing the company’s re-entry in the smartphone space. The video shared Micromax’s journey from being the number one smartphone brand to losing almost everything and the mistakes the company made.

Sharma plans to put a stop to use of Chinese smartphones in the Indian market. The new Micromax brand will be called ‘In’.

The company is said to be already working on the new segment of products for around 8-9 months now, and the new Micromax In mobiles will focus in the budget and mid-range section.

Also, the co-founder confirmed that Micromax will no more be manufacturing phones worth Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000. Upcoming Micromax In phones will fall in the range of Rs 7,000 to 10,000, Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000 to 25,000 categories respectively.

Micromax In mobiles availablity is yet to be confirmed, but its expected to tease features and models from early next month.

The upcoming entire Micromax lineup will fall under the latest ‘In’ brand. The phones are said to be ready, and the Micromax In mobiles will most probably hit the market by the end of the year. Not only phones, Micromax In brand will also sell connected devices under the same brand as Micromax ACs, TVs and other products.

Micromax ‘In’ Mobiles Launch: Will They Work?

With the border tensions growing, probably the anti-China sentiment will see a rise in the upcoming months. While Micromax had confirmed that it is not trying to cash in the sentiment, but with the government’s call for an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and the company’s focus on homegrown devices may work for Micromax in long-term.

All the top five smartphone companies in India by market share or total number of shipments are not for India.

Micromax does have an opportunity here to put this to use to bring back the brand, but quality phones with good features at value for money pricing is going to be the key factor here. Unless the In phones are truly competitive in nature, Micromax hardly will be able to stand against the likes of Xiaomi, Realme, Vivo, Oppo or Samsung.

Micromax ‘In’ mobiles may launch by the end of 2021. The company also confirmed that it’s all set to invest Rs 500 crore in expanding local manufacturing and research and development (R&D) operations. The Micromax comeback plan includes a huge plan to make everything happen in the country and Indianize the smartphone market.

Can Micromax In Beat Chinese Mobile Manufacturers?

Micromax will use the new PLI scheme to balance out the Chinese players. Government is offering support a 6 percent as incentive. Also Micromax is said to be raising money at the same time as well, so it will invest heavily to market offer phones at a strategic pricing. Introduced in April, the PLI scheme from the government focuses in the electronics manufacturing segment.

Under the National Policy on Electronics (NPE) 2019, the scheme aims to position India as a global hub for Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM).

Industry body ICEA also said multiple foreign companies have committed to invest more than Rs 11,000 crore in India under the PLI scheme. ICRA represents top mobile phone makers as Apple, Foxconn, Wistron Lava and others. The new PLI scheme with the investments will surpass manufacturing estimates by more than 2.5 times. 

Under the PLI scheme, the government will give out a 6% incentive to the eligible electronics companies.

This includes incremental sales of manufactured goods i.e mobiles, electronic accessories and electronic components. The components mean the very-important printed circuit boards (PCBs) and sensors. The incentives will be applicable for five years starting from 1 August. If Micromax can use the incentives to its advantage and with five years in hand, it has a good chance make a grand comeback.