Decent hardware, software package in budget, ET Telecom

NEW DELHI: Doubling down on its efforts to drive 4G and 5G democratisation, homegrown handset maker Lava has launched the Lava Blaze 2 5G smartphone from Rs 9,999 in two variants of 4GB RAM and 6GB RAM. And, only a month in the past, the model launched the Blaze Professional 5G at Rs 12,499. So, the query is: what’s the audience of the Lava Blaze 2 5G? To start with, this smartphone and the Blaze Professional 5G have a number of commonalities, not less than on the {hardware} aspect. This consists of the octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 6020 chipset, a 50MP AI twin digicam setup on the again, and a 5000mAh battery that helps 33W quick charging.

However the Lava Blaze 2 5G has a trick up its sleeve, a ‘Ring Mild’, which is basically a hoop of blue mild that glows for sure situations, comparable to for notifications or whereas the telephone is getting charged. Nonetheless, you’re not often going to note it in actual life, and for my part, the Ring Mild didn’t show to be of a lot utility. However nonetheless, it’s a respectable differentiating issue.

That being stated, I assessment Lava’s newest 5G smartphone:

Design, show & speaker

My assessment unit got here within the ‘Glass Black’ colour. The Lava Blaze 2 comes with a glass again panel that surrounds the elevated, round digicam island – a design philosophy that has turn out to be mainstream within the sub-Rs 10,000 phase. The telephone feels effectively put collectively regardless of the mid-frame being plastic. Single-hand utilization is feasible, however the glass again is extraordinarily slippery and I’d advocate utilizing the in-box plastic cowl.

The body’s proper aspect homes the fingerprint-cum-power button and quantity rockers, whereas the left aspect homes the SIM/microSD card slot. A USB Kind-C port, mic, and a single speaker grille are on the backside. The telephone homes a 3.5mm headphone jack, at the same time as USB Kind-C-powered earphones and Bluetooth TWS earbuds have turn out to be the norm.

Swap on the 6.58-inch HD+ IPS show, nevertheless, and it turns into obvious that the Lava Blaze 2 isn’t attempting to win any races on this division. It has respectable ranges of brightness, distinction, and saturation. The bezels are par for value. In all, I really feel the show might see some enchancment. The Redmi 12 5G and the Poco M6 Professional 5G that I reviewed beforehand had related show traits, which might be partially attributed to using a budget-grade IPS panel.

The Lava Blaze 2 helps a 90Hz adaptive refresh fee. I’d recommend leaving the refresh fee setting at ‘auto’.

Lastly, the one speaker is able to punching out loud audio however it sounds flat. Elevating the amount results in distortion and a pointy drop in high quality.

Digital camera & portrait images

The 50MP most important digicam performs decently though the post-processing is quite aggressive, bumping the saturation and sharpness by a number of notches constantly even with the AI toggle switched off. Reds and greens, specifically, are affected essentially the most by oversaturation which frequently causes a lack of particulars in topics comparable to purple flowers and inexperienced leaves.

Curiously, stills get saved in 12.2MP decision by default with a usually excessive dimension (~4MB). However, the secondary digicam doesn’t appear to serve any main goal and Lava hasn’t marketed it both in Blaze 2’s launch press launch, neither the module is recognised by the AnTuTu cell utility.

Switching to the ‘UHD’ mode saves photos in 50MP decision in increased sizes (~20MB-25MB). These photos, in contrast, have a way more pure look to them courtesy of toned-down post-processing algorithms they usually have comparatively extra particulars comparatively.

The portrait images are satisfactory with good edge detection. The entrance digicam is able to clicking respectable footage with outstanding sharpening of facial options.

The Blaze 2 can shoot video in as much as 2K decision at 30fps however there is no such thing as a assist for stabilisation. There’s a Professional mode as effectively however it has restricted settings for ISO and shutter velocity, so utilizing tweaking these parameters is not going to essentially lead to higher images.

Uncompressed, high-resolution digicam samples might be accessed right here.

Efficiency & battery

The trio of the octa-core Dimensity 6020 chipset paired with a complete of 12GB RAM (6GB+6GB digital) and near-stock Android 13 OS leads to a easy day-to-day efficiency with none hiccups. There are not any noticeable lags, and the telephone didn’t freeze even as soon as throughout my utilization interval. You possibly can simply run some mild video games comparable to Subway Surfers or Temple Run, and likewise sometimes play a spherical or two of heavy video games like Name of Responsibility: Cell and PUBG on HD or decrease settings. In abstract, the efficiency mustn’t disappoint anybody.

You possibly can squeeze out a day’s value of battery again from the 5000mAh battery. It helps 33W quick charging as effectively.

Software program & UI

The near-stock Android 13 OS comes with the standard set of Google suite functions – Google Voice Assistant, Google TV, Google Telephone and Messages, Google Meet, Photographs, Google Drive, and others. Moreover, Lava has bundled the telephone with apps together with FM Radio, LAVA Care, Lava Information, and Sport Booster, together with its personal ‘Telephone’ app which helps silent name recording.

The software program & UI is typical Lava affair, with a give attention to offering a easy consumer expertise.

Opponents

The Lava Blaze 2 5G is priced at Rs 9,999 for the 4GB RAM variant whereas the 6GB RAM variant is priced at Rs 10,999. Accordingly, the most recent machine on the block from Lava competes with related smartphones such because the Redmi 12 5G, Poco M6 Professional 5G, Samsung Galaxy M13 5G, Nokia G42 5G, and others.

If you would like a bigger show, the Redmi 12 is the one to go for, whereas thePoco M6 Professional will fit your necessities for a novel design. Should you can stretch your finances, then the Tecno Pova 5 Professional 5G priced at Rs 14,999/Rs 15,999 will also be thought of because it comes with a comparatively higher show, improved digicam {hardware}, and highly effective internals such because the Dimensity 6080 5G, 16GB RAM (8GB+8GB digital), and a 120Hz adaptive refresh fee show. The Tecno smartphone is provided with mild strips that may be configured to glow for notifications, name alerts, and so on.

I’m additionally involved that equipping Lava Blaze 2 5G with the identical {hardware} as the marginally costly Lava Blaze Professional 5G might cannibalise the gross sales of the previous, provided that each telephones rating comparatively equally in AnTuTu benchmark. The Blaze Professional will get an even bigger show at 6.78-inch with a quicker refresh fee of 120Hz, and its cameras additionally carry out properly. I really feel Lava ought to have made its new 5G smartphone extra distinctive.

Conclusion

The Blaze 2 as a bundle exhibits that Lava is predominantly eyeing penetration in tier-2 cities and past, with the target of bringing plenty on to the fifth-generation or 5G wave. Notably, each telecom operators Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are aiming for widespread deployments of their 5G networks, aiming to finish the rollouts inside 4 months.

In addition to, the Lava Blaze 2 also can function a secondary smartphone to be used circumstances comparable to video conferences, occasional content material streaming, and a few mild gaming. In abstract, the telephone feels constructed to final and the specs are in sync with the occasions.