Review Summary
Expert Rating
Lava has been churning out some compelling smartphones as of late, with a good combination of hardware and accompanying software. Its newest offering, the Lava Blaze X features the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 SoC, a 3D curved AMOLED display and an enviable design. The phone starts at an affordable price of Rs 14,999 and competes against quite few noteworthy phones. Let’s find out in this review if the phone manages to eke out a spot for itself in this super competitive price point.
Table of Contents
Verdict
The Lava Blaze X’s key highlights include its stunning 3D curved AMOLED panel, stock Android-like UI, and lovely design. The phone, however, competes in a heavily contested price segment and may not stand out as much compared to its peers. Its performance output is adequate, and the cameras, while decent, may not be the best in this price range. If you value a good display and love a sleek design, the Lava Blaze X can be a good choice.
Design and display
| Lava Blaze X | Redmi 13 5G | CMF Phone 1 | |
| Thickness | 8.45mm | 8.3mm | 9mm |
| Weight | 183g | 205g | 202g |
| IP Rating | NA | IP53 | IP52 |
The Lava Blaze X’s design is refined yet quite minimalistic. The rear panel comes in a matte finish with curved edges, which makes it quite comfortable to grip. The panel doesn’t gather too many smudges and fingerprints. The cameras are enclosed in a massive circular dial along with the flash unit. The volume controls and power button are placed along the right spine.
These are also placed comparatively lower than some other smartphones I’ve tested out, which makes them easily accessible with your thumb, something I’ve come to love and wish all manufacturers would adopt. The phone lacks a 3.5mm headphone jack, although the brand does give you a Type-C connector in the retail box. The phone is a tad bit slippery, so it is best to use it with a case on.
The device flaunts a 6.67-inch 3D curved AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution (1,800 x 2,400p), 120Hz refresh rate and 800nits of peak brightness. While it’s not the best display in the bracket, the AMOLED panel brings out the deep inky blacks and adds a lot of depth to the visuals. The panel also offers good legibility both indoors and outdoors, thanks to the 800nits peak brightness. The phone comes with an in-display fingerprint sensor, which helps swiftly unlock the device.
| Lava Blaze X | Redmi 13 5G | CMF Phone 1 | |
| Display | 6.67-inch curved AMOLED | 6.67-inch IPS | 6.67-inch sAMOLED |
| Peak brightness | 800nits | 550nits | 2000nits |
Cameras
The smartphone features a dual rear camera setup, which includes a 64MP primary camera paired with a 2MP macro sensor. For selfies and video calls, the device features a 16MP front camera. The cameras perform well in daylight scenarios and output images with slightly saturated colours and a decent level of detail.
The selfie camera works similar to the rear camera and is best used in surroundings with ample light. The low-light photography on the phone isn’t as good, and the images appear quite soft with a lack of detail and sharpness. I compared the phone’s cameras with those of its direct competitors, and here’s how it went:
Daylight
I compared Lava’s daylight shots with Redmi 13 5G. If you look at the images below, there’s a clear difference between the colour science of both images. The Lava Blaze X’s image has a cooler hue, but it appears washed out due to overexposure, and the detail level isn’t as good. The Redmi 13 5G in comparison presents better exposure control and punchy colours, which makes the image look more appealing.
Comparing the image against the CMF Phone 1, the results appear quite similar. The colours still appear washed out in Lava’s image compared to the CMF Phone 1, which offers a more balanced colour reproduction. Compared to the CMF Phone 1, the detail level and dynamic range are also lacking.
Portrait
When it comes to portrait shots, the Lava Blaze X takes a clear lead. The phone has a very subtle bokeh effect with slight issues in edge detection. On the plus side, it doesn’t overprocess the skin colour and preserves facial details. The Redmi 13 5G’s image is overexposed, which makes the image appear hazy and the skin colour has been saturated.
CMF Phone 1 faces similar challenges as the Redmi 13 5G. The image also suffers from overexposure and has issues with edge detection. The phone also smooths out the entire face, which leads to a loss of detail. The portrait shot from Lava Blaze X looks more appealing in comparison.
Low light
Smartphones in this price bracket are rarely capable low-light shooters, so it’s no surprise that both the Lava Blaze X and Redmi 13 5G struggle to take night shots. The images on both phones are quite soft, with a significant amount of grain. The Redmi 13 5G is in a slight lead with better dynamic range.
The CMF Phone 1 manages to click better low-light images. The images are sharper and have better illumination compared to the Lava Blaze X. There are obvious issues with the CMF Phone 1 image as well, but it does a marginally better job than the Lava Blaze X in low-light scenarios.
Selfies
When it comes to selfies, Lava’s image appears slightly washed out and the skin colour is substantially lighter compared to real life. The Redmi 13 5G maintains a near-accurate skin colour with good detail level and sharpness.
The colour reproduction is inaccurate in both Lava Blaze X and CMF Phone 1’s images. While the former has washed-out colours, the latter oversaturates the colours. The CMF Phone 1, however, offers better clarity and thus takes better selfies compared to the Lava Blaze X.
Performance and software
The Lava Blaze X features the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chipset at its core, paired with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage. The storage is not user-expandable, which would require some careful planning, lest you fill it up quickly. The device delivers good performance for basic day-to-day tasks and is capable of casual gaming at best.
The phone can play some demanding games like BGMI & COD: Mobile, but it’s best to temper your expectations and drop the graphics to low for a comfortable gameplay experience. The performance output is quite average for the segment, and there are others in the segment that can outperform the Lava Blaze X.
If you’re looking for smartphones that offer a more robust performance output, the Realme P1, CMF Phone 1 and iQOO Z9x are some options to consider. They feature better chipsets and are better gaming devices compared to the Lava Blaze X.
| Pre-loaded apps | OS updates | |
| Lava Blaze X | 31 | 1 OS upgrade + 2 years of security |
| Redmi 13 5G | 60 | 2 OS upgrades + 4 years of security |
| CMF Phone 1 | 29 | 2 OS upgrades + 3 years of security |
One of my biggest gripes with the device is its limited software support. The Lava Blaze X will only receive one additional Android upgrade and 2 years of security updates, which is lower than the standard software support in this price segment.
Battery and charging
A standard 5,000mAh battery fuels the smartphone and comes with 33W fast charging support. The phone registered a score of 11 hours and 35 minutes on our battery benchmark test, which is slightly below average for the price bracket. The battery registered a total drain of 26 percent during our intensive tests, which lasted roughly 2 hours in total.
The result is on par with the rest of the segment so rest assured, the device delivers reliable battery life for day-to-day usage. The paired 33W charger takes about 90 minutes to recharge the device completely from its 20 percent battery capacity. The charging time could have been slightly better, but it is overall an acceptable time frame.
| Lava Blaze X | Redmi 13 5G | CMF Phone 1 | |
| Battery capacity | 5,000mAh | 5,030mAh | 5,000mAh |
| Charging time | 90 minutes (33W) | 86 minutes (33W) | 63 minutes (33W) |
Final Verdict
The Lava Blaze X carries a starting price of Rs 14,999 for the 4GB+128GB variant and goes up to Rs 16,999 for the 8GB+128GB variant. For that price, you get a beautiful curved AMOLED display, reliable day-to-day performance, and a stellar design. The key competitors of the device include the Redmi 13 5G (review) and the CMF Phone 1 (review).
The Redmi 13 5G offers comparable performance output but better cameras, longer software support, and better battery life. The CMF Phone 1 edges ahead of the Lava Blaze X in all key aspects, be it performance, battery life, charging speed, or camera capabilities. Both the Redmi and CMF phones also offer longer software support, which ensures the device stays up-to-date and offers optimised performance.
All said and done, the Lava Blaze X has its strengths even if it can’t stand out among its peers at this price point. Its display is good, the design feels premium, and the stock Android UI makes for a pleasant usage experience. If these aspects sound appealing to you, the device is worth exploring.
Editor’s Rating: 7.5 / 10
Reasons to buy:
- The smartphone features a beautiful curved AMOLED display.
- The design of the smartphone is easily among the best in the segment.
- The phone’s UI is clean and offers a near-stock Android experience.
Reasons not to buy:
- The phone’s cameras are not up to par compared to its competitors
- The smartphone offers limited software support.
- The phone does not come with expandable storage.
