The Lava Blaze 5G: A Budget 5G Challenger
Once a dominant force in the Indian smartphone market, Lava had been eclipsed by the rise of global giants like Samsung and cost-effective Chinese brands such as Realme and Redmi. However, Lava marked its return in 2021 with the Lava Z series and further solidified its comeback with the launch of its first 5G phone, the Lava Agni 5G in 2022. Now, with the widespread rollout of 5G in India, Lava is aiming to entice budget-conscious consumers with the allure of 5G by releasing the Lava Blaze 5G. This smartphone currently holds the distinction of being the "most affordable 5G smartphone" in India, boasting a MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC, a "glass-back design", and a triple-camera setup. But is the Lava Blaze 5G worthy of your hard-earned money? Our in-depth review will help you decide.
Lava Blaze 5G Price in India
The Lava Blaze 5G is offered in a single configuration: 4GB RAM + 128GB storage. The device comes in two color options – Glass Blue and Glass Green. Upon its release, it was available for an introductory price of Rs. 9,999 in India. However, its current retail price is Rs. 10,999.
Lava Blaze 5G Design
Despite its budget positioning, the Lava Blaze 5G impresses with its glass back panel, which feels premium in hand. However, it does feel slightly heavy at 207g. The Glass Green variant we reviewed features a matte finish, making it particularly appealing for those who prefer a subtle, pastel hue. While the back boasts glass, the flat frame surrounding the phone relies on plastic materials.
The phone sports a USB Type-C port, nestled between the bottom-firing single speaker and the headphone jack. On the right edge sits the power button, which doubles as a fingerprint scanner. The volume buttons on the left edge offer good tactile feedback. The phone also features a hybrid-SIM slot with support for up to 1TB of expandable storage via microSD card.
The Lava Blaze 5G boasts a dual-tone rectangular camera module on the back, which doesn’t protrude excessively. Up front, the Blaze 5G features a water-drop notch at the top of the display. While the side and top bezels are relatively thin, the device maintains a typical budget smartphone aesthetic with a thick chin bezel.
Lava Blaze 5G Display
The Lava Blaze 5G flaunts a 6.5-inch IPS LCD with an HD+ resolution (720×1600 pixels). The screen also boasts a 90Hz refresh rate, providing slightly smoother animations and scrolling experience. Surprisingly, the viewing angles are quite good. The screen achieves a decent level of brightness, making it readable in daylight if you max out the brightness setting. While the Lava Blaze 5G comes with a WideVine L1 certification, our review unit only detected WideVine L3 certification for Netflix streaming.
Lava Blaze 5G Specifications and Software
The Lava Blaze 5G, as its name suggests, positions itself as a budget-friendly 5G phone. It is equipped with a MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC, a chipset we’ve seen in other budget smartphones under Rs. 15,000 in India, including the recently released Redmi 11 Prime 5G. The device packs a 5000mAh battery and supports 15W fast charging. However, the phone comes with a 12W dual-USB port charger in the box. Connectivity features include Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS, and more.
The Lava Blaze 5G offers a clean, bloatware-free software experience powered by stock Android 12. We experienced no noticeable lag, and the overall performance for everyday tasks was quite smooth. The company has pledged to roll out the Android 13 update, but the timeline remains unspecified. Lava has also promised quarterly security updates for two years. Our review unit, at the time of writing, had the September 2022 Android security patch.
Lava Blaze 5G Performance and Battery Life
The Lava Blaze 5G smoothly handles basic, everyday tasks like scrolling through social media or switching between apps. While RAM management wasn’t overly aggressive, some heavy apps running in the background did reload when we switched back to them, even with approximately 2GB of available RAM according to the multitasking window.
In benchmark tests, the Lava Blaze 5G achieved 507 and 1588 points in Geekbench’s single-core and multi-core tests respectively. The Redmi 11 Prime 5G, also powered by the same SoC, scored 521 and 1757 points in comparison. In AnTuTu, the Lava Blaze 5G secured 2,69,416 points, considerably lower than the Redmi 11 Prime 5G’s score of 3,37,683 points.
We also tested a few games on the Lava Blaze 5G. Surprisingly, Call of Duty: Mobile took slightly longer than usual to load. The game supported Medium graphics and High frame rate settings, resulting in an average framerate of about 40fps. While the overall gaming experience was decent, stutters occasionally occurred. For casual gamers seeking a passable experience, the Lava Blaze 5G can suffice.
The Lava Blaze 5G’s 5000mAh battery easily lasted for more than a day, thanks to the power-efficient SoC and HD+ display resolution. In our battery loop test, the Lava Blaze 5G ran for only 11 hours and 56 minutes, surprisingly below average. The bundled charger took over three hours to fully charge the phone from zero to 100 percent.
The Lava Blaze 5G features a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, which is quick and responsive for authentication. It also supports AI face unlock, which, despite being swift, is less secure than the physical scanner.
Lava Blaze 5G Cameras
The Lava Blaze 5G sports a triple-camera setup on the back, but only one sensor is actually practical. It features a 50-megapixel main camera sensor alongside a 2-megapixel macro camera and a VGA sensor. For selfies, the phone offers an 8-megapixel front camera.
The main camera delivers decent performance in daylight photography. While dynamic range is limited, the sensor captures good detail. However, the camera tends to boost colors excessively. Another noteworthy observation is the overexposure of highlights in an attempt to retrieve detail in shadows. In low-light scenarios, the main camera manages to capture decent photos if some ambient light is present. However, the absence of any stabilization leads to shaky images with some detail loss.
We found the front camera more favorable, displaying accurate skin tones. Though it does slightly smooth out skin textures, portrait mode performance was also quite impressive for a phone priced at Rs. 10,999.
The Lava Blaze 5G can record up to 2K videos using the rear camera, while the front camera captures 1080p videos. Videos captured on the Lava Blaze 5G overall exhibit slightly boosted colors with decent detail. The dynamic range is surprisingly good for a phone in this price bracket.
Verdict
The Lava Blaze 5G excels in many aspects for a budget 5G smartphone. While camera performance is its weakest link, it scores high marks for its design and performance. Battery life, while adequate in real-world usage, underperforms in our video drain test. The device also offers a robust eight 5G bands for widespread network compatibility in India. The display experience is also above average for a smartphone within this price range.
Lava’s target market for the Blaze 5G is individuals interested in trying out 5G without breaking the bank. While there are a few minor drawbacks, considering the price tag, it’s tough to complain too much. The Lava Blaze 5G delivers a solid overall experience, proving that Lava is back in the game.
