Lava Blaze 5G Bold: A Budget 5G Smartphone That Will Let You Do More With Less In the market ruled by global bigwigs, Indian smartphone company Lava made a valiant comeback with its Blaze series.
The newest such entrant is the Lava Blaze 5G Bold that focuses on the budget segment of the market for those who don’t want to splash out big for the next generation of connectivity.
Billed as an affordable 5G handset and a clean Android affair, the Blaze 5G Bold offers a serving of usability, style, and future-proof connectivity.
It may not be feature-rich, but it nails the basics, delivering real value for what you are paying.
Design and Build Quality
On the outside, the Lava Blaze 5G Bold doesn’t immediately look cheap. It’s simple but elegant for its price.
The back panel is made of glass-infused plastic, and it’s matte finish that feels very nice to the touch and looks good while resisting fingerprints.
The clean lines and vertical dual-camera arrangement on the rear, along with minimal Lava logo, makes the phone look nice and elegant.
It’s a budget device, but it feels solid in the hand. It has curved edges and is quite slim, which makes it comfortable enough to hold.
Weight distribution is well controlled as well – it doesn’t feel heavy even during long hours of use.
The Blaze 5G Bold is offered i sober and vibrant color options, catering to the young who are looking for something fancy, but to keep a check on things.
Side-mounted fingerprint scanner on the power button makes unlocking your phone (and keeping it unlock) a cake-walk.
And it also has a dedicated headphone jack and a USB-C port, so it’s not lagging behind the times.
Display Quality
The Blaze 5G Bold comes with a 6.5-inch HD+ IPS LCD display having 1600 x 720 pixels resolution and 90Hz refresh rate.
It’s not Full HD, but the screen is plenty sharp for daily tasks — browsing, social, video streaming, light gaming.
Colors are fairly rich, viewing angles are good, and the 90Hz refresh rate gives scrolling a smooth feel. But outdoor visibility is poor in bright daylight, as brightness is only average.
However, given the price category, Lava has done well to produce a smooth viewing experience.
Performance and Software
Powering the Blaze 5G Bold is MediaTek’s Dimensity 6020 chipset, an octa-core budget 5G chipset.
It is combined with 6GB of RAM (expandable for 3GB of virtual RAM) and 128GB of UFS 2.2 internal storage of the device, which will be offering a super-smooth multitasking experience for daily uses.
Apps open relatively quickly, and moving from app to app doesn’t lead to significant slugishness.
Casual games such as Subway Surfers and Free Fire can be run without any hiccups but if you are running more demanding titles like BGMI or Call of Duty Mobile then beyond medium settings things won’t be as quick as you would expect.
Software experience is one of the strengths here. Have no fear, the Blaze 5G Bold is powered by stock Android 13 (Hikaru) with absolutely zero bloatware, ads, or any heavy custom skin.
This gives a cleaner interface and updates faster. The lack of unnecessary pre-installed apps it not only speed performance up, but also frees up more space for storage, which is a great advantage in this price level.
Camera Performance
The Lava Blaze 5G Bold houses dual rear camera configuration that comprises a 50MP main sensor along with a secondary AI lens. On the front is an 8MP selfie shooter in a waterdrop-style notch.
In good light, the 50MP camera takes solid shots with plenty of detail and accurate colours. The dynamic range is not bad and the auto HDR is working when it needs to.
Closeups look good with nice natural depth and clarity. But the phone is not great in low-light photography.
There’s plenty of grain and details are lost in low-light surroundings, although Night Mode tries to make things slightly better.
Front camera selfies are fun to share on social media in good light. Portrait mode on both the front and rear cameras works, though edge detection can be hit or miss.
Video capture tops out at 1080p, and it’s fine for general use, but it doesn’t stabilized.
Battery Life and Charging
The Lava Blaze 5G Bold is driven by a 5,000mAh battery, and depending on your usage, you can expect a full day of usage, if not more.
The Dimensity 6020 chip and 720p display also contribute to power saving.
Whether you’re watching YouTube, thumping clergymen on WhatsApp, being a smartarse on the web, or taking some calls throughout the day, the battery just about does the job.
However, for moderate users, it should last a full day and half on a charge.
It can be fast charged with an 18W charger which you can plug to a USB Type-C connector.
It’s not the fastest in the segment, but it still fully recharges the phone in about 2 hours, which is still quite ok considering the size of the battery and the smartphone price.
Connectivity and Network
As the name implies, 5G is one of the main draws for the Blaze 5G Bold.
It’s factory unlocked for worldwide use and ready to support 5G (n28/n5/n3/n78/n1) for those who want to keep the device around for a few years without worrying about compatibility.
Voice clarity is superb, network strength is great and with dual VoLTE, connectivity is never an issue.
Other connectivity options on the T-series earbuds include dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS, and OTG support.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
Budget-friendly 5G phone with decent band coverage
Clean, bloatware-free version of Android 13.5, and a home screen that smartly displays all the essentials.
Smooth 90Hz display and stylish design
Decent for everyday tasks
Long-lasting 5000mAh battery
Expandable memory with card slot and 128GB internal storage
Cons:
The display resolution is only HD+
Cameras struggle in low light
No ultra-wide or macro lens choices
Meagre charging speed of 18W
It have plastic body which might not attract premium users
Lava Bold 5G: Final Verdict
Not everyone wants to spend a fortune on a new phone, which is why the Lava Blaze 5G Bold looks to be a fine choice for those looking for a straightforward, dependable 5G phone for less.
It checks boxes for performance, battery life, software experience and design in all the right ways.
Not that it tries to take on the fancy mid-rangers, but the ones who prefer practicality, clean UI and the long hours of usage, are the kind of users it is meant for.
Drone testing:also especially good deal for students, first-time smartphone users or as a secondary device with enable 5G function.
Its Indian roots and the brand’s renewed emphasis on customer service and software updates is the cherry on the cake and as such a compelling proposition for the under-₹12,000 category.
Among a sea of other specs-heavy yet ad-filled and bloated smartphones, the Lava Blaze 5G Bold is a welcome relief – it’s simple, it works, and it works well.