Is the Micromax Canvas Knight a rebranded Wiko Highway, or is it the other way round?

Rebranded Chinese smartphones are not really a hard-kept secret if you ask me. While some operators choose to get ‘inspired’ by larger brands, others choose to simply source the very device and ‘rebrand’.

This concept of rebranding is basically prevalent worldwide, but more so in emerging markets, say for example India, Spain, etc. During the initial stages, these rebranded devices went largely unnoticed, but thanks to the advent of sites like ours people are starting to know more. Micromax is known to be a big player in this industry since quite some time now. In fact, their ex-flagship, the Micromax Canvas 4 was rumoured to come from the same facilities as the Blu Life One.

Micromax Canvas Knight

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Come 2014, and we have octa-core processors and 2GB RAM as the standard for any such manufacturer. Micromax, as expected, came up with the Canvas Knight with 8 core power just days back, and its now been learnt that the device has uncanny resemblance to another smartphones, namely the Wiko Highway.

Wiko is a French manufacturer with headquarters based in… China. This pretty much explains the mysterious similarities between the two devices. Both feature the same 5-inch 1080p display coated in Corning Gorilla Glass, 2GHz octa-core MediaTek processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage, 16 mega-pixel rear and 8 mega-pixel front cameras and a 2350mAh battery.

Wiko Highway

What are we, the everyday smartphone enthusiasts to make of this? Is the Canvas Knight a rebrand of the Highway, or is it the other way round? Is it the Chinese smartphone mafia?nbsp;Whatever it is, both companies are doing a good job of bringing solid, affordable tech to their home countries, which leaves no reason to complain.

Disclaimer: We may be compensated by some of the companies whose products we talk about, but our articles and reviews are always our honest opinions. For more details, you can check out our editorial guidelines and learn about how we use affiliate links.

About the author

Yash Garg
Yash is a blogger by profession, builder of things by passion and foodie by birth. You'll usually find him talking about technology, music, travel and the game of cricket on the streets of Pune when not busy writing or speeding his way through the country! Read more on retro handheld gaming on RETRO91
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- - Feroze Salahuddin Khan
    March 11, 2014
    same happens with every qmobile handset in Pakistan,,and we now have Kareena Kapoor in qmobile ads!
yash raj jain
March 11, 2014
- highwind
  March 11, 2014
So7t
March 11, 2014
I think they are both a rebrand from a chinese unknown producer!! :))
Here in Portugal they are delivered with Wyko brand!
- Arefin
  March 11, 2014
  Yes, I think you are right.
- LamiaLove
  June 17, 2014
Utkal R Pradhan
March 11, 2014
class ChinaParent {
public:
5-inch 101080p display coated in Corning Gorilla Glass;
2GHz octa-core MediaTek processor;
2GB RAM;
32GB storage;
16 mega-pixel rear;
8 mega-pixel front cameras;
2350mAh battery;
};
class Wiko: public ChinaParent {};
class Micromax: public ChinaParent {};
Me
March 11, 2014
- Bryan
  March 11, 2014
  - Nahúm Pérez Mesa
    March 11, 2014
    Is a place with a lot of problem now, but isn’t an emerging market… :S
Nik
March 11, 2014
- Yash Garg
  March 11, 2014
  LOL!
- Feroze Salahuddin Khan
  March 11, 2014
  same happens with every qmobile handset in Pakistan,,and we now have Kareena Kapoor in qmobile ads!
- Yash Garg
  March 11, 2014
  I’m sure even then nobody minds 😉
Dhiraj
March 11, 2014
wiko highway is the rebranded canvas knight… 🙂 Micromax Launched This phone in russia even before wiko highway was launched.
- Adam Wang
  March 12, 2014
  - Ankit
    March 21, 2014
    - sai bhagavan
      March 25, 2014
      - Ankit
        March 25, 2014
        thanks for reply..i searched for tinno shenzen..but there is no mobile for name tinno shenzen.and also do you know about Indian Zen Ultraphone 701HD???which mobile is original behind this
- deepak
  March 15, 2014
So7t
March 11, 2014
I think they are both a rebrand from a chinese unknown producer!! :))
Here in Portugal they are delivered with Wyko brand!
- Arefin
  March 12, 2014
  Yes, I think you are right.
- LamiaLove
  June 18, 2014

Guest
March 11, 2014
class ChinaParent {
public:
5-inch 101080p display coated in Corning Gorilla Glass;
2GHz octa-core MediaTek processor;
2GB RAM;
32GB storage;
16 mega-pixel rear;
8 mega-pixel front cameras;
2350mAh battery;
};
class Wiko: public ChinaParent {};
class Micromax: public ChinaParent {};
Guest
March 11, 2014
So now Spain is an emerging market…
- Guest
  March 11, 2014
  exackty what I was thinking
- Nahúm Pérez Mesa
  March 11, 2014
  Is a place with a lot of problem now, but isn’t an emerging market… :S

Guest
March 11, 2014
wiko highway is the rebranded canvas knight… 🙂 Micromax Launched This phone in russia even before wiko highway was launched.
- Adam Wang
  March 12, 2014
  nobody rebranded anybody. both branded from one OEM in shenzhen, China, friend.
- Guest
  March 15, 2014
- Do you know that which is that Shenzhen OEM???
- Guest
  March 25, 2014
  dude its name is tinno shenzen….
- Ankit
  March 26, 2014
  thanks for reply..i searched for tinno shenzen..but there is no mobile for name tinno shenzen.and also do you know about Indian Zen Ultraphone 701HD???which mobile is original behind this

yogi
March 11, 2014
rebranded Wiko HighwayShameless Micromax .
they even call themselves
Nothing like anything.
But from when was Spain an emerging market???
- sai bhagavan
  March 12, 2014
  Fact is that Tinno mobile corp…which used to be the micromax’s original oem and continues to be bought Wiko company in 2011..in 2009 mmx announced that they are going to open up an R&D center in shenzen which i think is the same which Tinno claims as their R&D center…so as of now what my research told me is that mmx engineers work jointly with Tinno to design their products for both MMX and Tinno….note that most of the smart phones by MMX are unique and are not rebranded..(u can check and compare each product on both MMX and wiko site and only canvas 4,canvas turbo and turbo mini are the same as with MMX and also with BLU where the rest are different for different brands as Tinno used to be the OEM for BLU also and that now BLU has changed its OEM to GIONEE ) I think Tinno took the same design to their new phone from MMX…..so that concludes MMX is not rebranding knight as per my knowledge..(though u can find canvas hd listed as their own product on Tinno mobile site with a name HALO hd).
  - Adam Wang
    March 12, 2014
    Hello, brother. I work in Shenzhen so i will speak here. Tinno is a big company with lots of design people here. They do ODM like many companies here, including mine. What they do is that they make one model in sample, then show it to all top brands in different countries, so top local brands like BLU, MICROMAX, QMOBILE, SYMPHONY in their respective countries all buy that same model then branded with lots of ads in their country. Wiko brand itself belongs to Tinno company, just operated independently by French people.. Our company supply tablets to Qmobile in Pakistan, we also sell some of the the same model to Lava, Karbonn, and brands in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, etc. Things work this way as always. Period.
  - Adam Wang
    March 12, 2014
    if you check qmobile qtab x50 and BLU life view tab, they are the same model from Tinno. if you check BLE life pure model and Symphony(Bangladesh no 1 brand) flagship model on their website, you will likely find out that they are the same model from Tinno. What we do is that we make one model, and sell to all brands in different markets.
    - sai bhagavan
      March 12, 2014
      O thank you for your info and all my douts have been cleared now….thats why i tried to mention in the comments the condition that if i am correct…thanks once again and if u can pls help me on one thing…mmx told that they are working on a windows device…can u pls guve any info about it if u dont mind…
      - Adam Wang
        March 12, 2014
        This year 2014 for windows phone platform, here are a few companies
        that will join on the stage,Foxconn, Gionee, HTC, Huawei, JSR, Karbonn, Lenovo, LG, Longcheer, Nokia, Sumsung, ZTE, XOLO/LAVA. Mostly team China and team India. MMX is not there. LG later quit said its returning to Android, will no release windows phone now.
        If Microsoft opens the platform to many other oems,then you can see MMX launch windows models from tinno or other vendors.
        
        sai bhagavan
        March 12, 2014
        ok thank you very much…but do u know the other OEM of MMX apart from Tinno coz i found a lot of phones which seems like not outsourced from Tinno..and if at all these brands make any international entry where these designs already exist how will they manage the design clash between them as i also came to know that OEMs licenses these designs to be sold in their own local market.
        
        Adam Wang
        March 13, 2014
        1. For flagship models, MMX order from its long time ODM partner Tinno,Huaqin, Gionee(now discontinued OEM except for Qmobile in PK); for mid and low range smartphones and feature phones, MMX order from many other companies, and all those companies sell the same design to other countries. 2.Mobile phone companies like Tinno usually keep a low profile on their websites, they don’t even update their website, never put new products on the site. 3. design clash is not likely to be avoided if MMX launch to a major market unless, the choose models to launch.
        Alessandro Sala
        March 23, 2014
        Hi,
        just to ask the planed roadmap about the software for these phones: the Kitkat update will be sourced by Tinno or Micromax?
        I’ll add a difference that anyway nobody noticed between the 2 models : the Wiko Highway has only 16 gb of memory while the Micromax Canvas Knight (A350) has 32 Gb of memory so, whatever similar, are not the same model (and for sure a different price too cause different taxation and cost of CE/EU compilance)
        BR
        Alex
  - Adam Wang
    March 12, 2014
    if you have more questions, i will be glad to help. my email id is adam.find@gmail.com
  - Adam Wang
    March 12, 2014
    If you have ever been to TINNO, you will not find MMX R&D people there. the R&D center is Tinno’s and Tinno works for many brands including mmx, thats it.
    - Rebranded?
      June 27, 2015
      I’m guessing MyPhone also sells rebranded phones from Tinno as well. (i.e. MyPhone Rio/Micromax A120/Wiko Rainbow/Blu Studio 5.0CHD/QMobile i9 – they’re all the same)
  - JeffAshe
    April 24, 2015
EDDY LEE
March 11, 2014
rebranded Wiko HighwayShameless Micromax .
they even call themselves
Nothing like anything.
But from when was Spain an emerging market???
- sai bhagavan
  March 12, 2014
  Fact is that Tinno mobile corp…which used to be the micromax’s original oem and continues to be bought Wiko company in 2011..in 2009 mmx announced that they are going to open up an R&D center in shenzen which i think is the same which Tinno claims as their R&D center…so as of now what my research told me is that mmx engineers work jointly with Tinno to design their products for both MMX and Tinno….note that most of the smart phones by MMX are unique and are not rebranded..(u can check and compare each product on both MMX and wiko site and only canvas 4,canvas turbo and turbo mini are the same as with MMX and also with BLU where the rest are different for different brands as Tinno used to be the OEM for BLU also and that now BLU has changed its OEM to GIONEE ) I think Tinno took the same design to their new phone from MMX…..so that concludes MMX is not rebranding knight as per my knowledge..(though u can find canvas hd listed as their own product on Tinno mobile site with a name HALO hd).
- Adam Wang
  March 12, 2014
  Hello, brother. I work in Shenzhen so i will speak here. Tinno is a big company with lots of design people here. They do ODM like many companies here, including mine. What they do is that they make one model in sample, then show it to all top brands in different countries, so top local brands like BLU, MICROMAX, QMOBILE, SYMPHONY in their respective countries all buy that same model then branded with lots of ads in their country. Wiko brand itself belongs to Tinno company, just operated independently by French people.. Our company supply tablets to Qmobile in Pakistan, we also sell some of the the same model to Lava, Karbonn, and brands in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, etc. Things work this way as always. Period.
- Adam Wang
  March 12, 2014
  if you check qmobile qtab x50 and BLU life view tab, they are the same model from Tinno. if you check BLE life pure model and Symphony(Bangladesh no 1 brand) flagship model on their website, you will likely find out that they are the same model from Tinno. What we do is that we make one model, and sell to all brands in different markets.
- Adam Wang
  March 12, 2014
  if you have more questions, i will be glad to help. my email id is adam.find@gmail.com
- Adam Wang
  March 12, 2014
  If you have ever been to TINNO, you will not find MMX R&D people there. the R&D center is Tinno’s and Tinno works for many brands including mmx, thats it.
- Guest
  March 12, 2014
  O thank you for your info and all my douts have been cleared now….thats why i tried to mention in the comments the condition that if i am correct…thanks once again and if u can pls help me on one thing…mmx told that they are working on a windows device…can u pls guve any info about it if u dont mind…
- Adam Wang
  March 12, 2014
  This year 2014 for windows phone platform, here are a few companies
  that will join on the stage,Foxconn, Gionee, HTC, Huawei, JSR, Karbonn, Lenovo, LG, Longcheer, Nokia, Sumsung, ZTE, XOLO/LAVA. Mostly team China and team India. MMX is not there. LG later quit said its returning to Android, will no release windows phone now.
  If Microsoft opens the platform to many other oems,then you can see MMX launch windows models from tinno or other vendors.
- sai bhagavan
  March 12, 2014
  ok thank you very much…but do u know the other OEM of MMX apart from Tinno coz i found a lot of phones which seems like not outsourced from Tinno..and if at all these brands make any international entry where these designs already exist how will they manage the design clash between them as i also came to know that OEMs licenses these designs to be sold in their own local market.
- Adam Wang
  March 13, 2014
  1. For flagship models, MMX order from its long time ODM partner Tinno,Huaqin, Gionee(now discontinued OEM except for Qmobile in PK); for mid and low range smartphones and feature phones, MMX order from many other companies, and all those companies sell the same design to other countries. 2.Mobile phone companies like Tinno usually keep a low profile on their websites, they don’t even update their website, never put new products on the site. 3. design clash is not likely to be avoided if MMX launch to a major market unless, the choose models to launch.
- Alessandro Sala
  March 23, 2014
  Hi,
  just to ask the planed roadmap about the software for these phones: the Kitkat update will be sourced by Tinno or Micromax?
  I’ll add a difference that anyway nobody noticed between the 2 models : the Wiko Highway has only 16 gb of memory while the Micromax Canvas Knight (A350) has 32 Gb of memory so, whatever similar, are not the same model (and for sure a different price too cause different taxation and cost of CE/EU compilance)
  BR
  Alex
- JeffAshe
  April 24, 2015
  Do you have an address for Micromax’s Shenzhen research center? Thanks!
- Guest
  June 27, 2015
  I’m guessing MyPhone also sells rebranded phones from Tinno as well. (i.e. MyPhone Rio/Micromax A120/Wiko Rainbow/Blu Studio 5.0CHD/QMobile i9 – they’re all the same)

EDDY LEE
March 12, 2014
anybody bought this model?
Harish
March 17, 2014
actually micromax launched canvas knight in russia eons before wiko was able to launch in europe, so most probably Wiko rebranded canvas knight from micromax
Harish
March 17, 2014
actually micromax launched canvas knight in russia eons before wiko was able to launch in europe, so most probably Wiko rebranded canvas knight from micromax
Vikhyath Kamath
April 13, 2014
I think it depends on which is a bigger brand among the two. If Wiko is the smaller one and if they have rebranded micromax then they would have brought them to court. Also Micromax’s history shows how “original” they are. I was once proud of the success of micromax being an Indian but then their rebranded canvas 4 news shocked me. I seriously think its better to buy a real chinese phones like gionee,oppo than buying the rebranded ones.
Vikhyath Kamath
April 13, 2014
I think it depends on which is a bigger brand among the two. If Wiko is the smaller one and if they have rebranded micromax then they would have brought them to court. Also Micromax’s history shows how “original” they are. I was once proud of the success of micromax being an Indian but then their rebranded canvas 4 news shocked me. I seriously think its better to buy a real chinese phones like gionee,oppo than buying the rebranded ones.

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