Lava Delivers Yet Again: Blaze X Amazes With Design And Performance
MediaTek Dimensity 6300 SoC, 8GB+6GB RAM, UFS 2.2 memory, curved AMOLED display and a 64MP camera among the phone's offerings
Right from attending the press briefing for the Lava Blaze X to the point of unboxing the phone, I realised that this is more than a gadget. This is the company’s fighting spirit neatly packed into a 6.67-inch, 183-gram smartphone with features that put it on par with its international counterparts. The thing that really impressed me, however, was how clean the whole experience was while using this smartphone.
This is my account of the Lava Blaze X. First impressions as well as the in-depth review of the made-in-India smartphone that carries a price tag of Rs 14,999.
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The Lava Blaze X package contains the following things:
The box originally came inside another larger box with a huge ‘X’ logo on top of it. Upon opening it up, we saw yet another visually stimulating neon ‘X’ emphasising the name of the smartphone. The primary box comes with the standard bunch of basics. The 33W adapter is appreciated and so is the transparent TPU phone case. Lava even provides users with a type C to 3.5mm converter which is rare. Not only this, but the box clearly lets users know about the company’s doorstep service policy for phone repairs.
After unboxing, I usually put the phone aside to check out the other stuff but in the case of the Lava Blaze x, it was different. The phone just felt too good to touch and I was compelled to break my typical workflow for unboxing such devices. The bootup speed was decent and after a few minutes to get over with the usual steps in the setup stage, I was ready to use the Blaze X.
The phone in its entirety looks absolutely classy. I received the cream colourway which I must say is the most suave one in this launch. Be it the user interface, the design or the overall aesthetic, Lava seems to be very clear on what kind of image they want to portray in front of consumers. There are no unnecessary apps in the phone pre-installed, which is always a huge turn-off. Companies like Xiaomi, Oppo, Poco, Realme, Infinix and even OnePlus are still struggling to do so and the fact that Lava is actually listening to its buyers is applaudworthy.
As mentioned earlier, the design is neat, clean and very well thought out. The camera module at the back is definitely an eye-catcher. It straight away reminded me of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra at first glance. The large circular camera island is centre-aligned at the very top and looks gorgeous. Not only that it also gives the phone a strong masculine look.
Lava chose to opt for very slim buttons. So, you’ll see that the power button and the volume rockers are extremely sleek. At the bottom, we have the USB Type C port, the mic, the speakers and the SIM slot.
The display is sharp and crisp and makes you forget for a second that this phone is priced under Rs 15,000. The 6.67-inch 120Hz curved AMOLED display has a resolution of 1080 x 2400 and a brightness of 800 nits. What impressed me about the display are the bezels. The thin bezels really add to the viewing experience and offer a premium feel.
The touch sampling rate on the display is 240FPS which is good for gaming and an overall better user experience. Now, although the display is 800 nits bright, it does feel brighter while actually using it. Furthermore, despite there being no complaints about the brightness whatsoever, when compared to the competition such as CMF Phone 1's 2000 nits of peak brightness, the Lava Blaze X doesn't stand out as much.
This is an area where the Blaze X really comes into its own element. The phone is brilliantly made and looks fantastic. The camera island is definitely the crown jewel of the smartphone’s design. As mentioned above, the huge circular camera island reminds me of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, except that the Blaze X’s camera is nowhere near as powerful. It is, however, decent for the price. The dual camera cohort comprises a 64MP primary shooter with a Sony IMX sensor and a 2MP depth assist camera.
The camera island is not the only talking point of this phone, though. The Blaze X tries to offer a very suave design that rivals some of the more expensive smartphones in the market. The Power button as well as the volume buttons are placed a bit lower than usually seen on devices which, in my opinion, is a great move. Handling is much easier as it takes less effort to press the buttons simply because they are well within reach. The funny thing here is that this kind of design tweaking often goes unnoticed and unappreciated.
The Lava Blaze X runs on the much talked about Dimensity 6300 (6nm) which clocks a maximum speed of 2.2 GHz. It is clearly evident that the phone is not meant for graphics-heavy tasks. It’s just not made for heavy gaming and video editing. The processor does a fabulous job though in making the user experience flawless.
The CPU cuts through everyday tasks with ease causing no distress. Sending messages, forming emails, listening to music, streaming content on OTT platforms and even playing games. It’s all doable and that too effortlessly. Given that the AnTuTu benchmark score of the Dimensity 6300 is around 4,20,000, everyday tasks should never be a problem for the Blaze X.
While playing graphics-intense games, the smartphone does start showing its flaws. While casual and semi-casual games like Clash of Clans and Clash Royale have no issues whatsoever, games such as Call OF Duty Warzone and BGMI can only be run on low graphics settings for a good gaming experience. The fact that the Blaze X comes with UFS 2.2 memory does help the cause. the 128GB storage in the Blaze X is not expandable.
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The 5000mAh battery in the Lava Blaze X proves to be a worthy candidate for it to be your daily driver. The phone runs one whole day on a full charge. For the price, 33W fast charging doesn’t seem bad at all. The phone’s competition such as the CMF Phone 1 and the Iqoo Z9 Lite offer 25W and 15W charging, respectively. The Z9 Lite does come cheaper though despite having the exact same Dimensity 6300 chipset.
I didn't run any particular tests on the battery. I simply used the smartphone till it ran out of juice and as per my experience the Lava Blaze X can easily give a 12-hour run time with light to medium usage.
Lava has definitely tried its best to make this smartphone look appealing to the masses. The user interface is a breeze and a delight to operate. The stock Android UI did remind me of Motorola’s older UI. For notifications, the phone has something called Edge Lighting, which is essentially the screen lighting up when the user gets a notification. The Blaze X also offers an Always on Display feature which again, is neat for the price. Lava will be offering just one year of OS updates and two years of security updates for the Blaze X. That's probably one of the only few things about this device that upset me.
This is hands down one of the prime offerings of the Lava Blaze X. Apart from the grand-looking camera island, which makes a good first impression, the sensor too does a good job. The photos are not bad at all. As a matter of fact, the photographs from this Sony IMX660 sensor were better than I expected. The photographs were vibrant with an adequate amount of contrast and highlights. There is no funny AI enhancement that makes photographs look artificial. Even when zoomed in, the photographs did not disappoint as they had an ample amount of detail. I would, however, state that the photographs from the 64MP sensor do often get overexposed. Below are a few samples of the photographs that I took with the Lava Blaze X.
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I tried a bunch of things with the Blaze X's camera. Knowing that I didn't have too many options, I stuck with the basics. For photography, I stuck with landscapes and street shots both during the day as well as nighttime. I did make some key discoveries while I was fiddling around. When it comes to daytime photography, the Lava Blaze X does a decent job. The results were better than I expected. The colours were neutral and not at all saturated like the ones we see in Chinese budget phones with AI-enhanced cameras. That being said, there is AI enhancement, however, it is highly controlled. In broad sunlight, the skies are not overexposed, a common trouble with budget smartphone cameras. The blues are retained and so are the clouds. There is attention to detail to elements such as leaves and bushes. The blacks and mid-tones are decent as well.
My experience with close-ups and food photography wasn't bad either. The colours were decent and there no funny business with the saturation or the contrast. The photos did appear a bit on the dull side but that's nothing that can't be fixed during editing.
Low-light photographs were interesting. If you were to take photos without tampering with the exposure meter, the camera tends to take exposed pictures. The highlights are way high which means if you are trying to take photos of a light source, let's say a signboard, it will be a bit blown up. The solution is simple. You need to play around with the exposure meter to find that sweet spot.
When it comes to video, though, it is a different story altogether. The Blaze X is capable of shooting 2K video at 30 FPS via the primary 64MP sensor while the front camera can shoot up to 1080P (FHD) video.
On the front, we have a 16MP camera which is decent, to say the least. Not to forget, the second camera at the back is a depth sensor as well as a macro camera which is great on paper but it is practically of no use unless you like taking super close-up shots of flowers, bugs and the human eye.
Camera Modes:
The Film Mode option lets users take photos in various filters which was quite fun, to be honest. The Pro Video mode, as the name suggests, provides more control compared to the traditional video mode. Lastly, the one mode I really enjoyed using was the UHD mode. You see, standard photos are 12MP as a result of pixel binning. However, in UHD mode, you get the entire 64MP and hence, a much better resolution.
There are plenty of those in the Lava Blaze X smartphone. Along with 5G support, we have Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth v5.2. And guess what? The phone comes with an in-built radio. Although it has almost become a relic, the FM Radio is now a good addition.
Regarding protection and overall toughness, it is good to know that the phone is IP53 rated, which means that there is decent protection against dust particles but not so much water resistance. Compared to the competition, this is more or less on par. However, I would have loved the Blaze X to have an IP54-rated protection.
The Lava Blaze X is a value-for-money budget smartphone and that is undeniable. The amount of features it offers at the sub-15k price range is difficult to ignore. The phone is packed with interesting features that make it a worthy daily driver and it comes in a rather classy-looking body.
Affordability, dependable performance and a classy design are what the Indian smartphone manufacturer is banking on for selling the Blaze X to consumers. There are plenty of good things in this phone and all of them are utilitarian. Be it the stock-like Android UI, the curved AMOLED display, the UFS 2.2 memory or the 64-megapixel camera, the entire stack makes the Blaze X a suitable everyday companion.
There is, however, the issue of no expandable memory and only one year of OS update from Lava. The former is still manageable with careful data management. The latter, however, does stick out like an eyesore.
Nonetheless, if segment-best aesthetics and design, dependable CPU performance and a bright and vibrant display are among your must-haves in a smartphone, you need to go for the Blaze X. Lava is making one thing absolutely clear it is not here to fool around. It is hyperfocussing on making world-class products that can stand toe to toe with international smartphone brands. In a recent interview, Sunil Raina, Executive Director, Lava International stated that the company aims to decolonise the Indian smartphone industry and while doing so, gain the customers' trust.
The Blaze X is a ‘no non-sense’ product that goes heavy on design and dependability. Oh, and don't forget the price tag starting at Rs 14,999. Sounds like a deal to me.
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