Lava Storm Lite 5G: The Lava Storm Lite 5G is the Indian smartphone maker’s ambitious foray into the budget 5G segment, touting great specifications, all at a price range that undercuts many well-known international manufacturers.
Amid rising local mobile manufacturing, Lava has launched this phone in a bid to attract those value-conscious phone users looking for next-gen connectivity without having to spend a fortune.
Design and Build
Storm Lite 5G is designed aesthetically with flat-frame chassis, making it a premium looking phone at this price.
The phone has a 6.5-inch LCD screen with a HD+ resolution (1600 × 720 pixels) and 90Hz refresh rate, so you get smooth scrolling and decent colours, even though it doesn’t have an AMOLED panel.
The punch-hole selfie camera and thin bezels add up to a design that never looks budget.
The phone is 8.9mm in thickness, weighing in at around 195g, considerble yet not clumsy.
On the back, you also get a unique camera module design that sets it apart from similarly priced rivals. It also has a reliable fingerprint sensor, which is seamlessly integrated into the power button for easy and fast accessibility of the device.
Performance
In terms of performance, this one runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 6080 processor, which is no flagship-grade offering but still performs fairly well in everyday use cases.
The phone is also backed by 4GB or 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which is expandable via a microSD, providing plenty of room for multi-tasking and storing apps and media.
The clean Android 13 experience should be commended, along with Lava’s promise of providing two years of OS updates and three years of security patches – something that’s not always the case at this price point.
Inclusion of no bloatware means you get better performance compared to other competitors who boat of pre-installed apps.
Camera Capabilities
The cameras include a 50MP main sensor and a 2MP depth sensor in the back and an 8MP selfie shooter.
The main cameras take detailed photos with fairly natural colors in good lighting, but its low-light capabilities are as to be expected for this price point. The camera app comes with all the basic modes such as portrait, night mode, and pro controls to give you more control over creativity.
Video recording is capped at 1080p/30fps, which is nothing that’s going to win an award, but is good enough for social media and fun run-and-gun.
Battery and Connectivity
It is fueled by a 5000mAh battery with support for all day battery life under moderate use.
Recharge times are decent, thanks to the bundled 18W charger, which although not the fastest in the segment, manages to charge the device in time without any whining.
The top range 5G connectivity is backed by a dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 and a 3.5mm headphone jack (a slowly dying but popular feature with many users).
Pros and Cons
Pros:
Low price of entry for 5G connection
Clean, bloatware-free Android experience
Good battery life for all-day use
We had decent main camera performance under good lighting condition.
Dedicated timeline for software updates
Connectivity: with 3.5mm headphone jack
Expandable storage option
Cons:
non-AMOLED LCD panel
Not many features for the secondary camera
Slower charging than some rivals
Poor low-light camera capabilities
Construction is plastic, and while sturdy, build quality is okay at best
Midwater and dust resistant
Lava Storm Lite 5G: Verdict
The Lava Storm Lite 5G is an appealing choice for budget focused consumers who are simply eager to get a taste of 5G without breaking the bank.
This is thanks to a competent performance, barebones software and acceptable battery life, putting the phone at the top of the pile for those who value bang-for-their-buck and no frills.
It’s not really standout in any category, but it also doesn’t have any deal breakers that ruin the user experience.
As a product of a domestic manufacturer, it is a testament to India’s increasing ability in the space of smartphone manufacturing and gives a strong competition to the Chinese and international brands that are currently ruling the segment.
The Lava 5G Lite stands out as an amazing no frills cheap 5G phone with all of the basics covered amidst a growing list of cheap 5G phones.
