Lava Blaze Pro 5G review: worthy of a second glance

Lava Blaze Pro 5G is priced in India starting at Rs 11,999. Here's our full review

• By Ashish Kumar -
Published On: November 14, 2023

To cater to the needs of budget-conscious 5G users in India, Lava has unveiled the Blaze Pro 5G smartphone, priced at just under Rs 13,000. Its standout features include a 5G-capable chipset, a near-stock Android operating system, a robust battery, a high-resolution primary camera, and a quick charging solution. Do all these components combine to deliver a smooth user experience in the real world? Read on this Lava Blaze Pro 5G review to find out.

Verdict

Design and display

• Even though I have seen more well-designed smartphones within the segment, the Lava Blaze Pro 5G doesn't feel out of place. It boasts a clean design, with a matte finish around the back and a couple of individual camera rings. Instead of a traditional camera module, there's a small rectangular glossy surface featuring an LED light and the etched text '50-megapixel AI camera. This gives a nice contrasty look to the device, at least on the Starry Night colour variant. The handset also comes in a Radiant Pearl hue.
• While the phone may not feel compact, its flat edges with gently curved corners make it comfortable to hold and use for extended periods. The device features a side-mounted fingerprint scanner for quick unlocking and a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer, positioned between the 3.5mm headphone jack and the speaker grille at the bottom edge. The phone only packs a single speaker, which gets quite loud but tends to muffle at maximum volume.

• Coming to the display, the Lava Blaze Pro 5G sports a 6.78-inch panel with a centred punch-hole for the selfie camera. This panel utilises IPS LCD technology and offers FHD+ resolution, along with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. However, the screen does have noticeable bezels all around. The viewing experience can be described as reasonable for the price. The default colour settings impart a slightly warm tone, and the viewing angles are somewhat restricted. In addition, there is room for improvement in terms of sunlight legibility. Nevertheless, using the screen indoors poses no challenges.

Cameras

• The camera arrangement on the Lava Blaze Pro 5G features an AI-powered 50MP dual-camera setup. The primary camera is set to produce 12.2MP images by default, and the results are quite appealing in well-lit conditions. The details and colours appear well balanced, though not exceptional, in favourable lighting, and the camera effortlessly maintains focus on the subject.

• Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for low-light cameras. Much like any other budget smartphone, it tends to produce underexposed images with a noticeable amount of noise throughout the frame, even when using night mode. When it comes to selfies and video calls, the phone relies on an 8MP camera. It manages to produce reasonably detailed results, given its price, especially in daylight. Moving on, the device employs computational skills for shooting portrait images with both the front and rear cameras. While the edge detection isn't perfectly accurate, the results are generally pleasing. Additionally, the cameras are capable of recording videos in up to 2k resolution.

Performance and software

• The Lava Blaze Pro 5G is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 6020 SoC ticking at its core. This is coupled with 8GB of RAM, which is virtually expandable up to 6GB, and 128GB user-expandable storage onboard with a dedicated slot for a microSD card. While the performance may not be exceptionally fast, you won't encounter any difficulties when performing basic tasks on the device, such as communication, social media browsing, and web surfing.

• The handset can handle graphically demanding games like BGMI, but the experience is not enjoyable due to performance drops and rising thermals. Light games are more fun to play on this device. When it comes to benchmark tests, the Lava Blaze Pro 5G scored 4,03,481 on AnTuTu and 1,961 on the Geekbench multi-core test. On the CPU Throttle test, the handset performed at 92 percent of its peak performance.

• The Lava Blaze Pro 5G runs Android 13 right out of the box, presenting a near-stock Android experience with no ads or bloatware, except for Google and Lava apps. It lacks a wide range of customisation options, similar to other smartphones with custom Android skins, but you can easily enable or disable the app drawer, adjust app icons, record screen and calls, among other features. Additionally, the animations may exhibit some jitteriness.

Battery and charging speeds

• The Lava Blaze Pro 5G has a typical 5,000mAh battery that provides a respectable eight-and-a-half hours of screen time with continuous usage. This is good enough for a phone to last a day and then some between charges depending on your usage. On the PC Mark battery test, the handset returned with a score of 9 hours and 45 minutes.
• Charging-wise, the Lava smartphone takes approximately 1 hour 30 minutes for a full charge using its 33W charger provided in the box.

Final verdict

In comparison to its competitors, the Lava Blaze Pro 5G falls short in certain aspects. The Samsung Galaxy M14 5G (review) stands out with its software support and diverse camera setup at a similar price point. Meanwhile, the  Redmi 12 5G (review) seems to offer better value for money, starting at Rs 11,999.

Be that as it may, the Lava Blaze Pro 5G manages to distinguish itself from the competition with its clean design, relatively fast charging support, dependable performance, and a near-stock Android experience. While the cameras and display might not exceed expectations, they remain acceptable in most scenarios. Overall, the Lava Blaze Pro 5G is a competitive choice for budget-conscious users seeking 5G functionality.

Editor's rating: 7.5 / 10

Reasons to buy

• The cameras capture pleasing images in areas with ample lighting conditions.
• The device's performance is good enough for most basic tasks.
• The software is relatively clean with only Google and Lava apps pre-installed.
• The phone provides a respectable battery life with its 5,000mAh cell.

Reasons not to buy

• The viewing angles are somewhat restricted and the sunlight eligibility is not that impressive.
• The phone weighs 203 grams and is not ideal for single-handed usage.