Lava Blaze Pro 5G Review: An easy pick

Lava Blaze Pro 5G Review: The demand for 5G smartphones is expected to grow significantly in the coming days. While there are several Chinese smartphone makers are trying to tap into the growing users, the only homegrown brand that is making its presence felt is Lava. The good thing is that Lava is offering affordable 5G phones - the recent being Blaze Pro 5G - with features that Chinese smartphone manufacturers are offering in a higher price band. 

Here we are going to review the Lava Blaze Pro 5G smartphone to find out how capable this device is in real-world usage.

Lava Blaze Pro 5G Review: Price and variant

Lava Blaze Pro 5G is available in only one RAM and storage variant of 8GB + 128GB and is priced at Rs 12,9499. The smartphone is available in two colours - Starry Night and Radiant Pearl. Here I am using the former one as the review unit. 

Lava Blaze Pro 5G Review: Design  

The Lava Blaze Pro 5G has a plastic frame and back with a matte finish. So you need not worry about fingerprints and smudges. It has a slightly curved frame at the back, making it comfortable to hold. However, the smartphone weighs 203 grams and is also 8.96mm thick. 

It has volume rockers and a power button, which doubles up as the fingerprint sensor, on the right side. The fingerprint sensor is quite responsive. On the left, you will get the SIM tray. The smartphone does come with a 3.5mm audio jack at the bottom. USB Type-C port and speaker grill are also placed on the bottom. The secondary microphone is on the top.

Lava Blaze Pro 5G Review: Display

The Lava Blaze Pro 5G comes with a 6.78-inch FHD+ display that supports 120Hz refresh rate - better than other smartphones in this price range. It has a punch-hole design for the selfie camera. The smartphone has slightly thicker bezels. There is nothing great about the display but it manages to justify the price. The good thing is that the smartphone is Widevine L1 certified so you can enjoy HD content on most of the OTT platforms. 

Lava Blaze Pro 5G Review: Performance and Software

The best thing about Lava smartphones is that they offer a bloatware-free and near-stock Android experience. In terms of processor, the smartphone is powered by is powered by an Octa-Core MediaTek Dimensity 6020 7nm chipset. It has been paired with 8GB + 8GB RAM and 128GB UFS 2.2 storage. There are several Chinese smartphones that are powered by the same chipset but are priced higher than Lava Blaze Pro 5G. 

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The overall performance of the smartphone has been satisfactory and there's no noticeable lag. Though this is not a gaming smartphone, you can enjoy some light games like Subway Surfers without any lag. You can even try heavy games but not with low graphics.  

Lava Blaze Pro 5G Review: Battery and Charging

The Lava Blaze Pro 5G packs a 5000mAh battery and supports 33W fast charging. It can easily last for a day for regular users. The smartphone can be juiced up from zero to 100 per cent in around 1 hour and 45 minutes. 

Lava Blaze Pro 5G Review: Camera

The smartphone has a dual camera setup at the rear with a primary camera of 50MP. It can click decent images in daylight but low-light images are not good. The situation is somewhat similar when it comes to an 8MP selfie camera. In a nutshell, these phones won't let you experiment much with cameras. 

Lava Blaze Pro 5G Review: Verdict

The Lava Blaze Pro 5G definitely has an edge over Chinese smartphones available in this price range as it offers an absolutely bloatware-free experience, and comes with a 120Hz refresh rate and capable chipset. But the camera can be a let-down for some. Overall, it can be an easy pick for those looking to buy a 5G smartphone for around Rs 12,000.