Review Summary
Expert Rating
Lava has brought its dual-screen innovation to a more affordable segment with the Lava Blaze Duo. The handset is priced under Rs 20,000, offering the same key specs as some of the other smartphones within the segment along with a unique secondary display on the rear panel.
But does this unique offering make it worth the purchase, or is there more to the smartphone than meets the eye? Read Let’s find out.
Table of Contents
Verdict
The Lava Blaze Duo stands out for its dual display concept, near-stock Android experience, and performance. While it falls short in a few areas like the camera quality and charging speeds, it remains a compelling option for everyday use with a streamlined and efficient interface.
Design and displays
The Lava Blaze Duo has taken its design cues from its senior Agni 3 (review) smartphone. The handset boasts a dual-screen design, with the secondary 1.58-inch display mounted next to the dual cameras inside the large black rectangular module on the back. This secondary display can be used for various functions, such as serving as a viewfinder for taking selfies with the rear cameras, controlling music, and quickly checking the time and notifications from a limited selection of supported apps. It is not as functional as the Agni 3 secondary display, which even comes with an animated virtual puppy for an engaging experience, but gets the job done. A little more control would have been appreciated.
| Smartphones | Thickness | Weight | IP rating |
| Lava Blaze Duo | 8.5mm | 186 grams | IP64 |
| Redmi Note 14 | 7.9mm | 190 grams | IP64 |
| HMD Fusion | 8.3mm | 202.5 grams | IP54 |
The main action lies in the primary 6.67-inch AMOLED display that offers an FHD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 625 nits peak brightness, and curved edges. While these specifications are standard for its price range, the peak brightness feels somewhat underwhelming.
Outdoor visibility under direct sunlight may be challenging, but otherwise, the display impresses with its vibrant, punchy colours. Viewing angles are decent, and the contrast ratio ensures deep blacks, enhancing the overall visual experience. Similar to other budget smartphones, there are bezels around the edges of the display.
The smartphone features a single bottom-firing speaker that delivers decent power but falls short in crispness at maximum volume. In our lab test, it reached a peak of 78.9 decibels, which is lower than both the Redmi Note 14 and HMD Fusion. Among the three, the Redmi Note 14 (review) was the loudest, delivering a maximum of 83.7 decibels, followed by the HMD Fusion (review) at 80.6.
The Lava Blaze Duo is available in two colour options: Celestial Blue and Arctic White. For this review, I tested the Arctic White variant, which stands out with its subtle design, silver frame accents, and matte finish that resists fingerprints and smudges effectively. The smartphone’s plastic body contributes to its lightweight build, tipping the scales at just 186 grams. This makes it comfortable to hold and use for extended periods without causing wrist fatigue. The handset is IP64 certified, offering durability against minor splashes of water. The bottom edge is equipped with a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer.
Camera
The Lava Blaze Duo camera setup is a 64MP shooter with a 2MP macro sensor around the back. The front houses a 16MP snapper for selfies and video calling.
The cameras perform adequately in well-lit conditions, with quick focusing and decent tonality. However, the image details leave room for improvement, and the dynamic range could be enhanced for a better overall experience. The skin tones and colours also appear washed out. To gain further insight, here’s a camera comparison of the Lava Blaze Duo with Redmi Note 14, which boasts 50MP+8MP+2MP triple rear cameras, and HMD Fusion, which comes with a 108MP primary camera.
Daylight
The Lava Blaze Duo daylight image isn’t as sharp and colour-accurate as the HMD Fusion and Redmi Note 14. The HMD Fusion excels in capturing those finer details; however, it is the Redmi Note 14 which outputs an appealing image with vibrant colours and good exposure to details even around the shadowy areas.
Portrait
The Lava Blaze Duo falls behind both HMD Fusion and Redmi Note 14 in portraits as well. While the edge detection isn’t quite perfect on all three phones, the HMD Fusion excels at capturing the finer details, which is a miss on its counterparts. The Redmi Note 14’s representation of skin tones is closer to reality.
The bokeh effect is on par for all three phones.
Selfie
A similar story follows for the selfie. The Lava Blaze Duo captures overexposed images with underwhelming details and artificial skin tones. The Redmi Note 14 captures the best selfie, followed by HMD Fusion.
Night mode
You will notice that the Lava Blaze Duo takes decent shots in low light with night mode enabled. However, when put next to the HMD Fusion and Redmi Note 14’s night mode results, the handset fails to impress. The HMD Fusion’s night mode impresses the mode with low noise and good exposure to details. That said, the Redmi smartphone is better at preserving shadows.
Performance and software
The Lava Blaze Duo is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7025 chipset, paired with 6GB/ 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage. The storage is not user-expandable.
We received the 8GB RAM variant of the device for review, which scored over 5 lakh on AnTuTu, which measures the overall capability of the device. The score is higher than the Redmi Note 14, which features MediaTek Dimensity 7025 Ultra SoC ticking at its core. The Lava Blaze Duo also outperforms both the Redmi Note 14 and HMD Fusion in processing power, securing higher scores in both Geekbench single-core and multi-core benchmarks.
The handset’s performance under intense load on the Burnout CPU throttle test is slightly better than both Redmi Note 14 and HMD Fusion. While its gameplay experience is on par with its competitors, the Blaze Duo falls short in thermal efficiency.
In our lab tests, which involved playing BGMI, Call of Duty, and Real Racing 3 for 30 minutes each, the Lava Blaze Duo’s temperature rose by 16 degrees Celsius. In contrast, the Redmi Note 14 exhibited a marginally better thermal performance, with its temperature increasing by approximately 15 degrees Celsius under similar conditions.
The Lava Blaze Duo is well-suited for regular everyday use and occasional bursts of demanding tasks. During my experience, multitasking and running graphically intensive games were smooth, with no significant lags or performance hiccups. However, I did notice a slight delay in specific actions, such as the camera shutter button being less responsive when capturing multiple shots in quick succession. However, this is a common limitation found in most affordable devices.
| Smartphones | Pre-installed apps | OS updates |
| Lava Blaze Duo | 31 | 2 years major + 4 years security |
| Redmi Note 14 | 66 | 2 years major + 4 years security |
| HMD Fusion | 40 | 2 years major + 3 years security |
Software-wise, the Lava Blaze Duo comes with Android 14 out of the box, delivering a near-stock Android experience with no third-party apps pre-installed—a rarity for smartphones under Rs 20,000. While it does feature proprietary Lava apps alongside the standard suite of Google applications, the overall number of pre-installed apps is far lower than competitors like the Redmi Note 14 and HMD Fusion. The device is guaranteed to receive two years of major software updates and four years of security updates, matching industry standards in this price range.
Battery and charging
The Lava Blaze Duo features a 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging support. The battery capacity is 110mAh smaller than the Redmi Note 14, a difference that seems to have a significant impact on the PCMark results. The Redmi smartphone clocks roughly 9 hours more than the Lava offering on the synthetic benchmark battery test. The Lava Blaze Duo’s 10 hours and 13 minutes score is even lower than the HMD Fusion, which packs the same 5,000mAh battery.
| Smartphones | Charging speeds | Charging time (20-100 percent) |
| Lava Blaze Duo | 33W | 72 minutes |
| Redmi Note 14 | 45W | 32 minutes |
| HMD Fusion | 33W | 76 minutes |
Be that as it may, all three smartphones offer identical battery efficiency while streaming a 30-minute YouTube video – consuming 4 percent battery life. The Lava Blaze Duo battery management for heavy activities such as gaming is on par with the Redmi Note 14. Both smartphones consumed 18 percent of their battery life after playing BGMI, Call of Duty, and Real Racing 3 for 30 minutes each.
However, the Lava Blaze Duo takes considerably longer to recharge. While the Redmi Note 14 reaches a full charge in just 32 minutes, the Lava smartphone requires around 72 minutes to charge from 20 percent to 100 percent. A compatible charger is provided in the box. If you are using the phone for everyday tasks, a full charge can last roughly a day with some juice still left in the tank.
Final verdict
The Lava Blaze Duo caters to users seeking a unique design and decent day-to-day performance without breaking the bank. Its dual-screen setup and near-stock Android experience offer something different in a pool of budget smartphones. However, it’s important to consider its shortcomings, particularly in the camera, charging speeds, and brightness, before making a purchase.
Those who value superior photography, faster charging, or better speaker quality might find the Redmi Note 14 or HMD Fusion to be more suitable alternatives. That said, for casual users prioritising design, software simplicity, and general utility, the Blaze Duo is a compelling option. The handset in India starts at Rs 16,999.
Editor’s rating: 7.5 / 10
Reasons to buy
- The secondary display adds novelty with features like rear camera selfies, music playback, and notifications.
- The Lava Blaze Duo outperforms competitors in synthetic benchmarks to deliver smooth performance in everyday tasks and gaming.
- A clean interface with only 31 pre-installed apps.
Reasons not to buy
- Photos lack detail and colour accuracy.
- 33W charging solution takes significantly longer compared to competitors.
