Review Summary
Expert Rating
The POCO M6 Pro (review) and iTel P55 5G (review) emerge as rare 5G smartphones available in India under Rs 10,000. Lava aims to challenge these contenders with its new Blaze 2 5G. While sharing several features with its pricier counterpart, the Lava Blaze Pro 5G, the Blaze 2 5G makes strategic adjustments to fit the budgets of entry-level smartphone buyers. Do these adjustments make or break the smartphone? Let’s find out in this Lava Blaze 2 5G review.
Table of Contents
Verdict
The Lava Blaze 2 5G emerges as a compelling choice in the budget smartphone market. Despite its conventional budget-friendly aesthetics, the device distinguishes itself with the inclusion of the ‘Ring Light’ feature. Additionally, the phone delivers reliable performance for everyday use, and its commendable battery life adds to its appeal. The display and cameras could have been better though.
Design and display
The Lava Blaze 2 5G boasts a distinctive design, highlighted by its large elevated camera module that incorporates a blue ‘Ring Light’, which illuminates for notifications and calls. You can also enable it for charging, but this comes with a higher battery consumption warning. While the feature is appreciated, I wish the light was brighter, multi-coloured, and had more customisation options.
Other than that, the phone has a typical look and feel in line with its affordable asking price. The phone comes with a shiny glass back, which is susceptible to fingerprints and smudges, and a plastic frame. The handset does feel a bit broad, but thanks to its flat edges, it remains manageable for single-handed usage. While the device weighs a little over 200 grams, the Blaze 2 5G maintains a non-bulky feel. Holding it while paying a lengthy 20-30-minute YouTube video did not pose much difficulty.
Talking about the viewing experience, it holds up well considering its price point. The Lava Blaze 2 5G ships with a 6.5-inch display with HD+ resolution, 90Hz refresh rate, and a centrally placed punch hole for the selfie camera. The screen is capable, especially in indoor settings with subdued lighting. While the colours are decent, if not particularly vibrant, the contrast and viewing angles are average.
As for I/O, the Lava Blaze 2 5G sports a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a single speaker – all on the bottom edge. The right spine of the phone is equipped with a fingerprint scanner that works quite accurately and seamlessly unlocks the device.
Cameras
In the camera department, the Lava Blaze 2 5G boasts a 50MP primary unit coupled with a 0.8MP depth lens. The images exhibit a certain budget-friendly charm. They fall short of capturing the true essence of the scene. The phone’s AI tends to overprocess images, resulting in an overly sharp effect, and unnaturally saturated colours. The highlights are also crushed, but at least the details look good in daylight. The dynamic range is acceptable for the price as well.
Talking about the front camera, the Lava Blaze 2 5G ships with an 8MP shooter which excels in capturing well-detailed selfies in adequately lit environments. Nevertheless, there is a noticeable issue in skin tones, which is on the warmer side. However, the smartphone’s portrait mode exhibits near-perfect edge detection and delivers a natural-looking bokeh effect.
The smartphone’s low-light performance is, at best, average. Visible noise is present across the frame, and the images lack sharpness, particularly when using night mode.
Performance and software
The Lava Blaze 2 5G performance is on par with other smartphones within the segment such as the POCO M6 Pro. The handset is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 6020 chipset paired with up to 6GB RAM and 128GB user-expandable storage. Its synthetic benchmark scores don’t disappoint. The handset scored 4,16,551 points on AnTuTu, whereas its Geekbench scores stand at 723 and 2,058 in single-core and multi-core tests respectively.
In the real world, the Lava Blaze 2 5G delivers smooth performance for all essential activities. Additionally, navigation and multitasking with a limited number of background apps posed no hiccups or lags. The handset proves capable of casual gaming, handling BGMI at low graphics settings without issues. However, for enthusiasts, it may leave them yearning for more.
On the software side of things, Lava has opted for simplicity, providing a near-stock version of Android 13 with the Blaze 2 5G. There are no third-party apps pre-installed or spammy notifications. The UI is relatively clean and easy to use, with only Google and Lava apps. The smartphone still packs all the features expected from an Android ecosystem, including screen recording, call recording, and more.
Battery and charging speeds
The Lava Blaze 2 5G houses a robust 5,000mAh battery and boasts 18W fast charging support. The latter accomplishes a full charge from 0 to 100 percent, in approximately two to two and a half hours. Once fully charged, the handset should easily last for more than a day with basic activities. However, engaging in more demanding tasks such as navigation or gaming might lead to some reduction. Nevertheless, you can expect to end the day with around 20-30 percent of battery capacity remaining.
On the PC Mark battery test, the Lava Blaze 2 5G achieved a respectable 10 hours and 57 minutes.
Final verdict
The Lava Blaze 2 5G is priced in India at Rs 9,999 for the base 4GB RAM variant, while the 6GB RAM option costs Rs 10,999. In terms of performance, it competes closely with rivals like the POCO M6 Pro and iTel P55. However, if an enhanced viewing experience is a priority, the POCO smartphone, with its FHD+ screen, promises superior picture quality. The cameras on the Lava Blaze 2 5G may seem slightly underwhelming.
Nevertheless, this smartphone boasts a distinctive design and a unique ‘Ring Light’ feature. Coupled with a clean Android experience and commendable battery life, the Lava Blaze 2 5G emerges as a decent contender for those in search of a budget-friendly 5G smartphone with no frills.
Editor’s rating: 7.5 / 10
Reasons to buy
- The Lava Blaze 2 5G excels in delivering smooth performance for all essential activities.
- The software is clean and easy to use.
- The smartphone’s battery life is commendable.
Reasons not to buy
- Lava Blaze 2 5G display quality could have been better.
- Camera performance feels a bit underwhelming.
 | Rs. 9,999.00 | Go To Store |
