Display and Processor

Both the smartphones flaunt a 4.5 inch IPS LCD display carrying FWVGA screen resolution of 854×480 pixels that translate to 218 ppi pixel density. But, they lack the scratch resistant Corning Gorilla Glass protective coating that is a part of even the entry-level offerings in the market. When it comes to processor, Xolo One and Micromax Canvas A1 are powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek processor. This processor is aided by 1 GB of RAM for rendering a moderate performance to the smartphones. The performance provided by this processor and RAM combination makes the devices on par with their competitors in the space.

Camera and Internal Storage

In terms of imaging hardware, Xolo One comprises of a 5 MP primary camera with LED flash at its back with the ability to record FHD 1080p videos and Panorama and HDR shooting modes. Also, there is a VGA front facing selfie camera that will facilitate in making video calls. On the other hand, the Micromax offering arrives with a 5 MP rear snapper teamed up with auto focus, LED flash and HD 720p video recording. There is a 2 MP primary camera that will take charge of video conferencing and clicking self portrait shots. While the Micromax Canvas A1 has only 4 GB of internal storage capacity, the Xolo One has 8 GB of memory space. However, there is expandable storage support up to 32 GB with the help of a micro SD card.

Battery and Features

Both the smartphones use a 1,700 mAh battery, but the Xolo phone is rated to last up to 8 hours of talk time and 377 hours of standby time, whereas the Canvas A1 is claimed to be active for up to 6 hours of talk time and 160 hours of standby time. The Xolo and Micromax offerings run on Android 4.4.2 and Android 4.4.4 KitKat operating system respectively and they will be upgraded to Android 5.0 Lollipop. There is a bevy of connectivity options such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, 3G and dual SIM functionality on these devices.

Key Specs

Price and Conclusion

Both the smartphones arrive with almost similar specifications and pricing, but there are slight differences between the duo. The difference lies in the freebies provided with the Android One based Micromax smartphone as it comes bundled with free cloud storage space from Google and free data from Airtel users providing 200 MB of data for OTA updates for six months. Other difference is that Google will handle the software update for Android one phones and deliver all subsequent updates itself and for Xolo One only Lollipop update is guaranteed.