Indian homegrown brand, Lava has come up with another pathbreaking smartphone for the market. Lava Blaze Curve 5G smartphone was launched in the country last month and falls in the highly competitive sub-20k device segment. Lava Blaze Curve 5G comes with a plethora of features like a 5000mAh battery, Dimensity chipset, sleek and lightweight design, clean UI, and much more. The biggest highlight of the device curved AMOLED panel which is a rarity in the segment. I used the smartphone for a few weeks and in this review, we’ll try to find answers to questions like, will it stand the test of competition in this segment? Let’s delve in.
Lava Blaze Curve 5G Review Snapshot
Editor’s rating: 3.9/5
Design
Display
Software
Performance
Camera
Battery
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Pro
- Sleek & lightweight design
- 5000mAh battery
- Curved AMOLED display
- Clean UI
Cons
- Still runs Android 13
- The 2MP lens is underwhelming
- Plastic frame
- Intense gaming isn’t smooth
- Only 33W charging
Lava Blaze Curve 5G Price & Availability
Lava Blaze Curve 5G comes in two storage configurations-
- 8GB RAM+128GB storage- Rs. 17,999
- 8GB RAM+256GB storage- Rs. 18,999
It comes in Iron Glass and Viridian Glass colors. It is available via Amazon, Lava website, and offline outlets.
Lava Blaze Curve 5G Review: Design & Build
The Lava Blaze Curve 5G smartphone sports a minimalist design offering a matte finish for the back panel. It is available in two colors Iron Glass and Viridian Glass, out of which I received the Iron Glass version for review. The Iron Glass unit looks simple, yet stylish with three cameras juts out at the back, sans a camera module. Each camera lens being arranged neatly does enhance the overall look of the device. As soon as I opened the box of the device, the design impressed me as it gave a premium feel without trying to overdo the aesthetic. It is a mature design with unique color options, a refreshing change from the glossy and glittery devices that have become common these days.
The matte texture of the rear panel doesn’t catch smudges or dirt very easily, which is good. Lava Blaze Curve 5G feels sleek in hand (8.8mm) and lightweight (189 grams) to hold for long durations. Talking about functionality, the bottom edge houses the SIM tray, speaker grille, and USB Type-C port while the right side has volume rockers and a power button. There is a secondary speaker at the top side but you will find the actual speaker beneath the earpiece. The speakers are provided with Dolby Atmos support for good audio quality.
One of the most stand-out features of the device is the curved OLED display at the front. Moreover, the display comes with Gorilla Glass 3, making it durable and sturdy. This has been done by Lava to give a taste of technology that was previously reserved for flagship consumers only. The frame is made of plastic, which feels underwhelming but then you can’t get everything in this price range.
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Lava Blaze Curve 5G Review: Display and Audio
The Lava Blaze Curve 5G sports a curved 6.72-inch AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution. The smartphone supports a refresh rate of up to 120Hz but you can choose 60Hz to conserve battery, 120Hz for a smoother refresh rate, or Auto Select which dynamically adjusts the refresh rate as per the app’s needs. I mostly used it in ‘Auto Select Mode’ and found it convenient.
The display has moderate bezels which neither feel thick nor the thinnest. Visuals produced by the display are vibrant, rich, and detailed, with colors popping out. The viewing angles are decent as well adding to the content consumption as well as the gaming experience for the user. The peak brightness level on paper is 800 nits which might feel low, but surprisingly, the screen was visible in outdoor as well as indoor environments.
Content consumption experience, in particular, is very good on this one. It comes with Widevine L1 certification so you can stream Full HD content on OTT platforms like Prime Video, Netflix, and YouTube. The curved screen feels pretty cool while watching content and the fact that you get it without burning a hole in your pocket, feels even more exciting.
Display Settings Menu also offers options to customize like enabling Adaptive brightness, modifying AOD, setting screen timeout duration, display size, and text, enabling night light, dark theme, auto-rotate screen, and more.
The only downside is there is no accidental touch sensor for the edge of the screen which sometimes leads to unwanted options being enabled.
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Lava Blaze Curve 5G Review: Performance
Lava has powered Blaze Curve 5G with a mid-range MediaTek Dimensity 7050 chipset, supported by 8GB RAM and 256GB onboard storage. The chipset in combination with RAM ensures that daily tasks like video calling, messaging, watching videos, listening to music, social media browsing, using a camera, and more feel like a breeze. The apps open and run swiftly and even when over 20 apps are running in the background, switching between them is lag-free. Multitasking is a decent experience on this one. 256GB storage allows you to store all your important documents, memories, and playlists without any hassles.
When it comes to performance, gaming is a very important aspect of any smartphone. Talking about gaming on the Lava Blaze Curve, the device can handle light gaming seamlessly. Games like Candy Crush, Burger Shop, Township, Tile Fun, Goods Sort, and many more could run for hours without a single glitch. However, when it comes to heavy titles like Asphalt 9 and COD Mobile, the game will start well and continue to run for around 20 minutes without an issue, but post that, the smartphone not only warmed up but also there was a drop in frame rate and graphics. Multitasking while running heavy titles isn’t particularly lag-free so try playing heavy titles with no other apps running in the background if you want a better experience. Overall, gaming can be called a mixed bag on this one, which is mostly the case with all mid-range devices. Benchmarking results are below-
- AnTuTu score- 575,509
- Geekbench single core- 1103
- Geekbench multi-core-2628
- GFX bench Manhattan- 3554
- GFX bench T-rex- 3359
- PC Mark battery-16 hours 40 minutes
Coming to the software part, it runs Android 13 which might feel outdated on paper but still gives a good experience. It is a clean UI with almost no bloatware and is fun to use with options for customizations and personalization as per needs. All in all, one can say that even though Lava Blaze Curve does miss out on the latest version of OS, in terms of experience it doesn’t disappoint at all. Lava has promised two Android updates and three security patches which means you’ll soon be using the latest version too.
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Lava Blaze Curve 5G Review: CAMERA
The Lava Blaze Curve 5G comes with a triple camera setup at the back. Talking in terms of specs, there is a 64MP main camera, along with an 8MP wide-angle lens and a 2MP macro sensor. At the front is a 32MP selfie shooter for social media enthusiasts who love to capture and share memories.
The 64MP main camera captures decent shots in daylight with natural-looking colors and fine details loaded. The sensor has a large pixel size helps to capture more light even in low-light situations.
An 8MP wide-angle lens is meant for a larger field of view. It allows you to capture landscapes, group photos, architectural shots, full-length views, and more to fit more into a single frame. The quality of ultrawide shots is ok but not as good as the main sensor. You will find some kind of distortion and softness around the edges and there is noise as well. For this price segment, a wide-angle lens is strictly ok.
The dedicated 2MP macro lens is meant to click close-up shots (As close as a few centimeters) of the subjects. Although the overall shot is decent, when you zoom in, you realize details are lost and clarity is less, even when shots are clicked from some close quarters. Using the primary camera to click close-up shots might be a better option.
The 32MP selfie camera at the front clicks detailed portraits and ensures that no details are missed even in the most tenacious situations. The skin tone feels real and there are no unnecessary filters applied as long as the user does so himself/herself.
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Lava Blaze Curve 5G Review: Battery Life and Charging
Lava Blaze Curve 5G packs a 5000mAh battery which easily lasts over a day on a single charge. This was when I used the device as my primary smartphone, usage including social media browsing, using the camera, calling, texting, reading articles, and more. At the end of the day, the device still had 15% battery remaining. This means, that on days you have light usage, you can use the device for two days without charging.
Inside the box is a 33W adapter that takes 1 hour and 30 minutes to recharge the phone from 0 to 100%. The charging time feels long, but then this is mostly what companies offer in this price range.
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Review Verdict: Should you buy the Lava Blaze Curve 5G?
The Lava Blaze Curve 5G has been launched in a highly competitive market of under 20,000 INR devices. The smartphone comes with a sleek and lightweight design, AMOLED display, 5000mAh battery, 64MP camera, clean UI, and much more. With all these features, it does make a great case for itself. Although it still runs Android 13, has a plastic frame, and is not meant for heavy gaming, but all then you can’t expect a sub-20k device to give you all. With its premium-esque design and packed features, Lava Blaze Curve 5G can surely be your choice amongst competitors like Realme, Xiaomi, Poco, and Samsung.
Reasons to buy
- Sleek & lightweight design
- 5000mAh battery
- Curved AMOLED display
- Clean UI
Reasons to not buy
- Still runs Android 13
- The 2MP lens is underwhelming
- Plastic frame
- Intense gaming isn’t smooth
- Only 33W charging
