Review Summary
Expert Rating
Unlike many of its competitors, Lava takes a modest approach to its smartphone launches. The domestic smartphone maker introduces a limited number of devices, with many, particularly in the Blaze series, proving to be quite enticing. A recent add-on to this lineup is the Lava Blaze Curve 5G – priced below Rs 18,000. It competes against popular smartphones in the market such as the Redmi Note 13 (review) and Realme 12.
Read this Lava Blaze Curve 5G review for details on the smartphone’s real-world performance, camera capabilities, battery life, and more.
Table of Contents
Verdict
The Lava Blaze Curve 5G is a compelling buy for anyone looking for an affordable smartphone for multimedia purposes. Other than its vibrant display and stereo speakers, the handset flaunts an attractive design, dependable performance, and reliable battery life. The phone’s cameras may not rank among the best, but that should not deter users whose main priority lies outside of photography.
Design and display
The Lava Blaze Curve 5G likely earns its name from its curved screen design, which helps it stand out among the sea of flat-screen smartphones within the segment. This feature not only enhances its aesthetic appeal but also contributes to a sleeker profile compared to its counterparts, albeit making it slightly slippery to hold. The latter could be countered with a case. The rear panel of the smartphone features a glass layer atop a plastic chassis. The glass has a matte finish, providing a premium look and feel while effectively repelling fingerprints and smudges.
The power button and volume rockers are placed on the right spine of the phone and are accessible without resorting to finger gymnastics. As for I/O, the handset sports a USB Type-C port on the bottom for charging and data transfer alongside the speaker grille. The speaker on the top edge helps provide stereo output. The audio gets quite loud, although it does lack crispness at maximum volume. For security, the handset boasts an in-display fingerprint scanner. Barring the position which feels a bit too low, I didn’t face any other issues with the scanner, which takes a fraction of a second to unlock the device.
The Lava Blaze Curve 5G sports a centre punch-hole 6.72-inch AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and 800 nits peak brightness. The bezels might not be razor-thin, but they don’t interfere with the overall viewing experience, which is pretty impressive for the price. The colours look vibrant and contrasty, with deep blacks. The handset is Widevine L1 certified, meaning it can stream content in FHD resolution from streaming platforms.
The accidental touch niggles usually associated with curved screens are present, but don’t significantly hinder your experience. What may hinder your experience is the relatively low sunlight legibility. You might have some trouble reading text on the screen under direct sunlight.
Cameras
The Lava Blaze Curve 5G camera setup includes a 64MP main sensor, an 8MP ultrawide lens, and a 2MP macro unit. The images are not particularly impressive but should suffice for casual users, especially the ones shot in well-lit environments. While the dynamic range may appear underwhelming, the colour calibration looks good. Additionally, the handset often overexposes shots, resulting in fuzzy details.
The ultrawide images offer a wide 120-degree field of view but suffers from colour distortion and reduced sharpness. The 2MP macro sensor also doesn’t provide promising results. In averse lighting conditions, the camera performance deteriorates, making it a less than ideal choice for photography. The front camera of the phone has a 32MP sensor for selfies and video calling. It captures images with good exposure to facial details and near-accurate skin tones. Additionally, portraits turn out well, displaying a nice depth of field and likeable edge detection.
Performance and software
The Lava Blaze Curve 5G performs admirably, owing to its MediaTek Dimensity 7050 SoC, 8GB of RAM, and either 128GB or 256GB storage onboard. Since there is no microSD card slot on the device, storage needs to be considered beforehand. The handset achieved 5,75,509 on AnTuTu. Additionally, on Geekbench, it returned a score of 1,103 points on the single-core test and 2,628 points on the multi-core test. These are respectable benchmark scores for a sub-Rs 20,000 smartphone and also outshine those from its competitor, the Redmi Note 13.
Everyday usage is a breeze on this smartphone. The Lava Blaze Curve did not stutter or freeze while scrolling, browsing, and multitasking. As for gaming, the handset successfully handled graphically-intensive games such as Call of Duty, BGMI, and Real Racing 3 with moderate graphics settings. There was a minor spike in temperature, roughly five degrees after every game, which is acceptable given it is not a performance-centric smartphone. The CPU Throttle test, with 50 threads for 30 minutes, shows the smartphone can run at 89 percent of its peak performance when stressed. This means that the handset should run fine even under strenuous load.
The Lava Blaze Curve 5G runs Android 13 OS out of the box. The platform might be a bit dated, but you get close to stock Android experience with no third-party apps pre-installed. Even the proprietary Lava apps are limited. Additionally, the lack of ads and push notifications makes the device easy to use and navigate. The handset is expected to receive at least two major software updates, with the Android 14 update expected later this year.
Battery and charging
Keeping the lights on is a 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging support. A compatible charger is provided in the box, which can refill a nearly empty battery to 100 percent in a little over an hour. After a full charge, the handset can last a full day. Running our 4K YouTube test with 50 percent brightness and volume level for half an hour only resulted in a 5 percent drop in battery. The handset achieved a healthy score of 16 hours and 39 minutes on the PC Mark battery test.
Final verdict
The Lava Blaze Curve 5G impresses with its affordable price tag and solid performance for multimedia users and casual gamers. Among the alternatives, the Redmi Note 13 might provide you with better camera performance, whereas the Realme 12 comes with faster charging speeds on paper. However, the Lava Blaze Curve 5G makes a strong case for itself thanks to the curved screen design and sleek profile. It even provides reliable battery life and, more importantly, clean software – bereft of any bloatware and ads.
All these factors make the Lava Blaze Curve 5G a worthy option for its price. The handset is selling in India at Rs 17,999 for the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant, while the 8GB RAM + 256GB variant costs Rs 18,999.
Editor’s rating: 7.5 / 10
Reasons to buy
- The handset flaunts a curved screen design, helping it stand out among the sea of flat-screen smartphones within the segment.
- The display provides a crisp visual experience with vibrant colours and a high contrast ratio.
- Everyday usage is a breeze on this smartphone, and the software is close to stock Android.
- The handset lasts a full day of regular usage on a single charge.
Reasons not to buy
- The cameras are good, but not as impressive as some of its counterparts.
- The handset runs slightly dated Android 13 OS out of the box.
 | Rs. 17,999.00 | Go To Store |
 Lava Blaze Curve 5G | vs |  Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 |
| Lava Blaze Curve 5G | vs |  realme 12 |
