Lava Agni 2 review: The ‘Made in India’ flagship killer

Lava, the indigenous smartphone brand, has launched its most premium smartphone offering with the Lava Agni 2 5G. It is a successor to the Lava Agni which was launched back in 2021. This smartphone boasts a large curved display, a premium design, and the MediaTek Dimensity 7050 chipset, making its debut in India. In addition to impressive specifications, Lava offers excellent post-purchase service through its Lava Mitra service, providing a free replacement of your smartphone at your doorstep during the warranty period. However, before considering whether the Lava Agni 2 5G is worth your investment, let's delve deeper into its features.

DESIGN

Lava takes pride in the design and build of the Lava Agni 2 5G smartphone, and upon holding it for the first time, you can understand why. The device exhibits similarities to the OnePlus 11 in terms of colour and the Vivo X90 Pro with its camera module. The back panel features an emerald green shade known as Viridian with quad-camera lenses and an LED flash. The silver Lava branding at the bottom of the back panel adds a touch of elegance. Crafted with a glass back panel, the device feels sleek (8.7mm) and lightweight, although the curved display makes it slightly slippery. To address this, a protective case is included in the package.

The power button and volume rockers are located on the right edge, while the left edge remains vacant. The bottom edge accommodates a SIM tray, USB-C port, primary microphone, and speaker grille, while the top edge only features a secondary microphone. Unfortunately, there is no 3.5mm headphone jack, so wired headphones cannot be used. The front boasts a curved 6.78-inch display with minimal bezels and a small dot-like selfie camera at the top.

DISPLAY

The Lava Agni 2 impresses with its expansive 6.78-inch FHD+ AMOLED panel, making it one of the largest displays in its segment. The curved sides contribute to a flamboyant appearance and an enhanced viewing experience. With a 120Hz refresh rate, scrolling on the device is incredibly smooth, and the chin bezels are almost non-existent.

In terms of quality, the AMOLED panel supports HDR, HDR10, HDR10+, and Widevine L1 capabilities, offering a colour depth of 1.07 billion colours. This is made possible by the MediaTek MiraVision HDR, the world's first native hardware-based HDR display engine for smartphones. The Agni 2 provides an immersive content consumption experience, delivering stunning and accurate visuals.

The display achieves a maximum brightness of 500 nits under standard conditions and 950 nits in boosted mode, ensuring optimal visibility in both indoor and outdoor environments, even under harsh sunlight. Additionally, the display is protected by Schott Xensation glass screen protection, engineered in Germany, to safeguard against accidental drops and scratches. However, it is recommended to use a screen guard for added protection, considering that it is still glass, and glass can break. The device also features a quick and responsive in-display fingerprint sensor.

CAMERA

The Lava Agni 2 5G boasts a quad-camera setup on the rear, consisting of a 50MP primary camera, 8MP ultrawide camera, 2MP depth camera, and a 2MP macro lens. On the front, there is a 16MP selfie camera.

The camera UI is straightforward, offering some features like GIFs, various filters, and a dedicated beauty mode. To switch between lenses, you need to slide from 1x to 0.6x, although buttons would have provided a more convenient experience.

In favourable lighting conditions, the primary camera captures decent photos with sharpness, accuracy, and ample details. The colours appear rich and vibrant, sometimes slightly boosted. Although there is no optical image stabilisation (OIS), the electronic image stabilisation (EIS) performs satisfactorily. However, image quality drops noticeably in low-light environments, resulting in softer images and increased noise. The dedicated Night Mode helps enhance the clarity and visibility of the subject within the frame.

Exploring the various filters available in the "Film" Mode provides an enjoyable experience. These filters include legendary, film stock, classic film, mono film, and daylight film. Sample shots demonstrate the effectiveness of these filters.

The ultrawide camera captures a broad field of view but compromises colour consistency. However, the images remain usable, albeit with reduced detailing, especially when zoomed in. Some noise may also be noticeable along the edges.

The device supports video recording up to 4K 30 fps. However, the absence of Optical Image Stabilisation becomes evident when capturing fast-moving subjects.

Regarding the 16MP selfie camera, it struggles with dynamic range, failing to handle background lighting properly. As a result, selfies appear overexposed and some colours may seem boosted. This might disappoint those who prefer more natural-looking selfies without excessive reliance on filters.

Here are some unedited photo samples

PERFORMANCE

The Lava Agni 2 5G runs on the Media Tek Dimensity 7050 chipset. The chipset seamlessly handles multitasking, with most operations benefitting from the 120Hz refresh rate. I tried playing games like Asphalt 9 and Call of Duty Mobile and the smartphone delivered fast and efficient performance, exhibiting minimal lags or stutters even.

With 8GB of built-in RAM and the option to expand it to 16GB by adding 8GB of Virtual RAM, the device offers abundant memory. Furthermore, the 256GB onboard storage ensures ample space to store your content. The smartphone incorporates a 3rd generation 2900mm2 vapour chamber for thermal performance, but extended usage can lead to slight warmth.

In terms of software, the Lava Agni 2 runs on Android 13 OS. The software experience is noteworthy as it provides a clean Android interface. Unlike many other brands, Lava Agni 2 comes without pre-installed bloatware. While it is not a pure stock UI, it offers only a handful of useful apps and utilities, allowing users to download additional applications as needed. Some minor glitches, such as camera shutter issues or flashlight control, may arise, but it is expected that these will be resolved with time. Lava promises two years of OS upgrades and three years of security patches, enhancing the overall software experience. Hopefully, Android 14 and 15 will further improve the user experience.

BATTERY

Equipped with a 4700mAh battery, the Lava Agni 2 can last a full day with light to moderate usage. However, heavy users engaged in prolonged gaming sessions, video editing, extensive content consumption, and constant social media browsing may require charging the battery twice a day.

The package includes a 66W fast charging adapter, enabling a 50 per cent charge in just 18 minutes—an impressive feat. A full charge from 0 to 100 per cent takes approximately 35 minutes. If you need a quick charge before leaving or attending a meeting, the Agni 2 can prepare you in under 30 minutes.

PRICING AND CONCLUSION

The Lava Agni 2 5G is priced at Rs 21,999 for the 8GB RAM and 256GB storage configuration. It is available on Amazon and Lava's online/offline stores. The device is offered in a single Viridian colour option.

For the price and specs, the Lava Agni 2 is recommended for anyone looking for a capable smartphone at an affordable price point.