Lava recently added another member to its Blaze series – the Lava Blaze X. This is the first smartphone with a curved display in the sub-Rs 15,000 price segment; Lava’s second smartphone in the Blaze series. The first curved display in the series came in the Lava Blaze Curve which was launched in March this year at a starting price of Rs 17,999. Now, Lava has introduced the curved display in an even more affordable price segment.

I have been testing the Lava Blaze X for the past week. The phone’s display, design and battery performance are excellent. However, the phone has its flaws too. Here is a detailed look at the pros and cons of the Lava Blaze X.

Thin and light design

The Lava Blaze X has a slim and lightweight design. Out of the box, the smartphone weighs 183 grams and is 8.45mm thick. I switched from the iPhone 13 to review the device. While I think the iPhone 13 is a compact device, the difference in weight is evident. But let’s make the comparison more fair. In the same price range, we reviewed the Redmi 13 5G a few weeks ago, and it is heavier. Having said that, the Lava Blaze X is definitely not the lightest smartphone in this segment. The CMF Phone 1, for instance, is just 8.2mm thick.

The Lava Blaze X comes in two colour options: Starlight Purple and Titanium Grey. I got the latter for review. The rear panel is plastic. It has a smooth texture and metal frame, which feels premium. It has a large circular camera module at the back, which covers a third of the panel. From the back, it looks somewhat similar to the OnePlus 12.

However, the combination of slim and smooth texture also means that the device is slippery. But Lava has provided a clear case in the retail box which fixes this problem.

Curved display in less than 15 thousand price

The Lava Blaze X has a stunning 6.67-inch curved-AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. This is the only device under Rs 15,000 to have a curved display. Curved displays are great. They look premium and offer a more comfortable viewing experience. However, curved displays are also notorious for accidental touches. I have been using the Lava Blaze X for the past week and the experience here is no different.

Another issue is the phone’s auto brightness feature. I prefer to keep auto brightness on so that the display automatically adjusts based on the environment. But the Lava Blaze X struggles with it. For instance, in direct sunlight, the device lacks readability, and that’s especially when the brightness level is set to the highest.

Overall, the display is quite responsive. The in-display fingerprint sensor is also efficient and responds quickly. It has a punch-hole notch design and has thin and uniform bezels.

Above average performance

After using the device for a week, I found the Lava Blaze X to have better than average performance. It has the new MediaTek D6300 processor and runs on Android 14. Daily life activities like scrolling social media, making calls, and texting work fine on the device, but multitasking isn’t really its forte. I also noticed occasional lag while using the phone.

To push the limits of the Lava Blaze X, we ran a few benchmark tests to get a quick overview of its performance. In the single-core benchmarking test on Geekbench, the device scored 798. In the multi-core test, the device scored 2076. Even in the 3D Mark Wildlife test, which is a gaming test, the phone achieves a stability score of 99.5 percent and a best loop score of 1,373. While benchmark scores aren’t everything, the numbers give us an idea about how they compare to other smartphones in the same segment. The Redmi 13 5G is just slightly above this mark. But the CMF Phone 1 tops the list with 1022 in the single-core test and 2975 in the multi-core test.

In a week of testing the device, I did not notice any excessive heating, neither while gaming nor while multitasking or charging. The Blaze X comes with Android 14 with an assured upgrade to Android 15 and two years of software updates.

Another impressive thing is that there is no bloatware, and this is of course in addition to the pre-installed Google services.

Camera

The Lava Blaze X sports a 64-megapixel primary camera with a Sony sensor setup, a 2-megapixel macro camera and a 16-megapixel front camera. Like most smartphones under Rs 15,000, the Blaze X camera also supports AI feature. However, you have to turn it on manually. I experimented with clicking pictures with AI on and off. I feel the AI ​​adds more texture to the images compared to the other modes.

Portrait mode is up to par with its specifications. Edge detection on the Lava Blaze X is surprisingly good. This is surprising because even higher-priced smartphones struggle to get this feature right. This is true for both the rear and front cameras.

Photos clicked in low light also turned out well. While the pictures are vivid and clear, the saturated colours don’t correspond to real life. But this also means there’s no need to apply Instagram filters before posting them. The front camera is good but it doesn’t always focus correctly. Sometimes, when you tap to focus on a subject while taking a picture, the camera prompts that it has focused on the object, but the final output is sometimes a blurry image. We think the problem is due to the slow shutter speed.

3x zoom is great. Look at the India Today logo clicked at 1x, 3x and 10x.

The front camera also takes good pictures. Like most devices, the Lava Blaze X also has a beauty filter, but I prefer taking selfies without turning it on.

Overall, the camera delivers good pictures, especially considering the price under Rs 15,000. Apart from losing focus sometimes, the Lava Blaze X does a good job when clicking pictures.

Excellent battery life

I wasn’t expecting great battery life from the Blaze X, but 60 percent battery lasted a full day even with moderate to heavy usage.

The Lava Blaze X packs a 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging support. It takes just an hour to charge the device from 0 percent to 100 percent. And after fully charging it, the next charging session comes after a day and a half. Interestingly, the charger supports Type-C to Type-C charging. This technology is more efficient and offers faster charging time than other combinations.

Lava Blaze X: Is it worth it?

The Lava Blaze X is an entry-budget smartphone with a curved display – a first in this price segment. The smartphone is available in three variants: 4GB for Rs 13,999, 6GB for Rs 14,999 and 8GB RAM for Rs 15,999. All variants come with 128GB of storage. With a great display, decent cameras and great battery life, I think the Lava Blaze X is a good smartphone. However, at this price, we also think a smartphone like the CMF Phone 1 is better value for money.