With the inception of Reliance Jio, there’s an increasing demand for 4G VoLTE smartphones. While consumers are flocked with tons of options in the Rs 5,000 – Rs 10,000 price bracket, the options are hardly limited if not any in the sub 3K segment. For the uninitiated, the Indian telecom market still consists of a major chunk of feature phones users, and there’s hardly any device apart from the recently launched Lava 4G Connect M1 that comes with VoLTE support. This is where Micromax plans to place its bet. Despite losing ground in the smartphone space, Micromax is one of the largest players in the feature phone market in India. The Micromax Bharat 1 is reported to come with 4G VoLTE support and will be priced at Rs 1,999. It goes without saying that the smartphone will come with a TFT display and alphanumeric keyboard. Just like Micromax, Reliance Jio is also rumored to launch a 4G VoLTE phone priced at just Rs 1,299. If this rumor turns out to be true, the Micromax Bharat 1 would sit right in the middle of the Reliance Jio VoLTE phone and the Lava 4G Connect M1 in terms of pricing. Apart from the Bharat 1, Micromax plans to launch a budget Android smartphone with VoLTE support. Speaking to ET Telecom at the Indian Mobile Congress, Micromax Chief Marketing Officer, Subhajit Sen revealed that the homegrown brand plans to launch it’s Micromax Bharat 1 and Micromax Bharat 2 within the coming few weeks. The Micromax Bharat 2 is said to be cheapest Google approved smartphone priced at Rs 2,999. It will come with support for mobile banking services. In fact, with the Micromax Bharat 2, the Indian OEM plans to take mobile banking to the masses. The smartphone is expected to have a backlink to mobile wallets offered by Transerv and comes with the ability to pay offline merchants via mVisa. Apart from that, not many details about the Micromax Bharat 2 is currently available. Micromax CMO Subhajit Sen confirmed that the company plans to the launch its Bharat 2 smartphone in India first. Thereafter, it will go ahead with the launch of the Micromax Bharat 1. Besides, these two smartphones Micromax is expected to launch a slew of devices in the Q2 of 2017. Rahul Sharma, one of the key founders of Micromax and YU recently conversed with TechPP wherein he revealed company’s plan to make a powerful come back to the market.
