Lava Agni 3: A Dual-Display Mid-Ranger with Unique Features

The Indian smartphone market is incredibly competitive, especially in the mid-range segment. To stand out, manufacturers need to offer something unique beyond the standard specifications. Lava’s Agni 3 attempts to do just that, introducing a dual-display design at a relatively competitive price point of ₹20,999. This review delves into the Agni 3’s features, performance, and overall value proposition, focusing on whether its unique selling points justify the purchase. We’ll examine the dual displays, performance benchmarks, camera capabilities, and battery life to provide a comprehensive assessment of this innovative mid-range contender.

Design and Physical Features

The Lava Agni 3 boasts a distinctive design thanks to its secondary display, setting it apart from the usual mid-range offerings. Available in Heather Glass (Blue) and Pristine Glass (White), the phone presents a sleek glass sandwich look, enhanced by a smudge-resistant rear panel. This contributes to a premium feel that belies its price point.

Ergonomics and Buttons

Beyond the standard power button and volume rockers, the Agni 3 includes a programmable Action Key. This customizable button allows for quick access to various functions such as taking screenshots, activating the flashlight, sending an SOS signal, initiating audio recording, or toggling between silent and ring modes. The Action Key can be programmed with single, double, or long-press actions, further enhancing its versatility and usefulness. The positioning of all buttons, including the SIM tray and USB-C port, is intuitive and easily accessible. The phone also features IP64 water and dust resistance, providing added protection.

Dual Display Functionality

The phone’s most unique aspect is its dual-display setup. The main display is a 6.78-inch AMOLED panel with FHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate, supporting HDR10+ for enhanced visual quality. While boasting a peak brightness of 1200 nits, outdoor visibility could be improved. Indoors, however, the display offers deep blacks, excellent contrast, and wide viewing angles, making it suitable for media consumption and gaming. The secondary display, or “InstaScreen,” is a 1.74-inch AMOLED panel used for at-a-glance information, including notifications, music control, and the camera preview. While novel, its limited functionality and lack of direct interaction with notifications currently restrict its overall usefulness. However, there is potential for expanded functionality through future software updates.

Performance and Software

The Lava Agni 3 is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7300X SoC, a processor specifically designed for dual-screen devices. Although similar to the regular Dimensity 7300, it provides sufficient processing power for smooth multitasking and handling daily tasks. During testing, the phone exhibited minimal lag or stuttering.

Benchmark Scores and Gaming

The Agni 3 comes equipped with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of ROM storage. Benchmark tests using Geekbench 6 revealed respectable scores – 1078 for single-core and 3283 for multi-core performance. The GPU score of 2638 further affirms its capabilities for graphical demanding tasks. Gaming performance was also satisfactory, with graphically intensive games running without noticeable frame drops. This performance, coupled with its ample storage, ensures a responsive user experience.

Software and Updates

Running Android 14 out of the box, the Agni 3 offers a clean, near-stock Android experience, devoid of bloatware and advertisements. Lava’s commitment to three years of major Android updates and four years of security updates ensures a long lifespan of software support, a crucial aspect in today’s market. This bloatware-free environment contributes significantly to the phone’s overall efficiency and responsiveness.

Camera Capabilities

The Lava Agni 3 sports a triple-camera setup comprising a 50MP primary sensor, an 8MP ultrawide lens, and an 8MP telephoto lens – a noteworthy configuration for a mid-range device. Improvements over its predecessor are clearly visible.

Daytime and Nighttime Photography

The primary 50MP sensor captures crisp, vibrant images in well-lit conditions, excelling in detail reproduction. Colour reproduction is accurate, although images might appear slightly oversaturated. The 8MP ultrawide lens, while offering a wider field of view ideal for landscapes and group shots, exhibits the usual ultrawide drawbacks of softer details and edge distortion. The 8MP telephoto lens, a rare feature in this price segment, provides up to 3x optical and 30x digital zoom. Image quality at 3x optical zoom is surprisingly good, while there’s a noticeable drop in sharpness at higher digital zoom levels. In low-light, images show some noise reduction, though performance is satisfactory considering the phone’s category.

Front Camera and Video Recording

The 16MP front-facing camera delivers decent selfies in good lighting, with accurate facial details and natural skin tones. Portrait mode performs well, offering adequate background blur. Low-light selfie performance suffers from the usual softness and increased noise, common amongst many phones at this price point.

Battery and Charging

Equipped with a 5000mAh battery, the Agni 3 offers all-day usage on a single charge under moderate usage scenarios. The inclusion of 66W fast charging further enhances convenience, allowing for a full charge in roughly 55-60 minutes. This combination provides excellent battery life with swift charging, satisfying one of the primary concerns of many smartphone users.

Takeaway Points

The Lava Agni 3 presents a compelling package for mid-range buyers. Its unique dual-display setup, while not fully optimized yet, adds an innovative touch. Solid performance, a clean Android experience, and a robust triple camera system contribute to a balanced offering. While some areas, like the InstaScreen functionality and low-light camera performance, have room for improvement, the Agni 3 stands out with its competitive pricing and overall features. Consider this phone if you appreciate innovation and a bloatware-free experience.