Lava Blaze Dragon 5G Review: Impressive Battery Life For A Phone Priced Under Rs. 10,000, But...

Lava has launched the Blaze Dragon 5G, an entry-level phone powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset. This is the first smartphone from the company to be powered by a Qualcomm chipset, it comes with promising features like 5G connectivity, UFS 3.1 storage, a 120Hz refresh rate display, and a 50-megapixel AI camera. With a price tag below Rs. 10,000 the Blaze Dragon 5G enters a highly competitive space in the Indian market. We spent a few days with the phone, and here’s our detailed review.

Lava Blaze Dragon 5G: Design

The Lava Blaze Dragon 5G strikes a confident first impression with its Golden Mist finish, a glossy yet refined look that feels distinctly premium in this price bracket. Despite its large 6.74-inch footprint, the phone feels surprisingly manageable in the hand. The curved edges and matte-textured back offer a decent grip, although the glossy finish does attract smudges. The phone isn't slippery, and one-handed use is possible with some effort.

Button placement is practical and intuitive: the volume rocker and power button (which doubles as a side-mounted fingerprint scanner) are all located on the right side, within easy reach. The fingerprint sensor is responsive and reliable. The phone houses a Type-C charging port, 3.5mm audio jack, speaker grill, and a microphone at the bottom. The SIM tray sits on the left side of the phone. Panda Glass protection on both the front and back ensures some level of durability, though a case is still recommended for rough usage. Though stylish, it has a plastic body. Therefore, it lacks the premium feel of glass or metal backs.

Lava Blaze Dragon 5G: Display

Sporting a 6.74-inch HD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate, the Blaze Dragon 5G offers a surprisingly fluid visual experience for its price. The panel hits a respectable 600 nits of peak brightness, making outdoor visibility decent under direct sunlight. Colors are vibrant enough for casual media consumption, and scrolling feels buttery smooth, especially noticeable during gaming or social media usage. However, being an HD+ panel, sharpness isn’t on par with FHD+ competitors, though it won’t bother most users who prioritize refresh rate over pixel density.

Lava Blaze Dragon 5G: Performance

Under the hood, the Lava Blaze Dragon runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 processor built on a 4nm architecture, paired with 4GB RAM (plus 4GB virtual) and 128GB UFS 3.1 storage. In daily use, multitasking was smooth—switching between apps, streaming videos, and browsing were handled without noticeable lag. The UFS 3.1 storage really helps with app launch times and system responsiveness. We did notice some lag while using the camera, but that wasn't a recurring affair.

During casual gaming sessions, the phones stayed cool, thanks to the efficient 4nm chipset. On Geekbench 6, the Lava Blaze Dragon 5G scores 914 in single-core and 2068 in multi-core performance tests. The phone gets a GPU OpenCL score of 404 which hints that the phone may be well-suited for casual gaming and everyday graphics tasks, but if you are into intensive gaming, and want to play games like BGMI, a more expensive device with a better processor is recommended.

Lava Blaze Dragon 5G: Camera

The Blaze Dragon features a 50-megapixel AI rear camera and an 8-megapixel front shooter with screen flash. In well-lit outdoor conditions, the rear camera captures detailed and punchy images with good dynamic range. Colours tend to lean toward the saturated side, which may appeal to social media users. Indoors, while some sharpness is lost, the AI-based scene optimization helps retain a decent amount of clarity and warmth.

Low-light photography is average, details tend to get smudged, and the noise creeps in, though the screen flash and AI processing make night selfies usable. The front 8-megapixel camera produces decent selfies in daylight, though it struggles in dim light. At this price point, the camera setup fares well, especially for casual photography and social use, though it isn’t a strong contender for serious mobile photography. The camera app lacks the AI filters that are now embedded in most of the mid-range phones. However, Lava makes up for it with a slew of built-in filters to help enhance the photos a bit more.

Lava Blaze Dragon 5G: Software

One of the standout features of the Lava Blaze Dragon 5G is its user interface, which offers a pure Stock Android 15 experience. The UI is completely free of bloatware, ads, and pre-installed third-party apps, making navigation smooth, clutter-free, and user-centric. Transitions are fluid, app animations are clean, and there's no lag or sluggishness while switching between tasks. For users tired of heavy custom skins and unnecessary notifications, this clean interface is a breath of fresh air. Lava promises one major Android upgrade and two years of security updates.

Lava Blaze Dragon 5G: Battery

Packing a 5000mAh battery, the Blaze Dragon comfortably lasts over a day and a half on moderate usage, which includes social media, calls, messaging, light gaming, and video streaming. On heavy use, you can still squeeze out a full day without scrambling for a charger. The phone supports 18W fast charging via USB Type-C, and in our testing, it charged from 0 to 100 percent in roughly 2.5 hours. The battery performance is definitely one of the strong suits of this device.

Lava Blaze Dragon 5G: Price in India

The Lava Blaze Dragon 5G is priced at ₹9,999 for the 4GB RAM variant, with launch offers bringing it down to ₹8,999 (inclusive of a ₹1,000 bank discount). An additional ₹1,000 exchange bonus is available on any old smartphone, not just Lava models. The device is available exclusively on Amazon and comes in two colors—Golden Mist and Midnight Mist. We reviewed the Golden Mist variant, and it certainly stands out for its subtle yet elegant look.

Lava Blaze Dragon 5G: Conclusion

The Lava Blaze Dragon 5G is a sturdy budget smartphone that delivers what it promises with the ₹10,000 price tag. The smooth 120Hz display and reliable battery life make it a good overall package. That said, the HD+ resolution and average low-light camera performance are compromises, but not dealbreakers, for the price.

If you're looking for an alternative, the Poco M7 can be considered.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Published on: Thursday, August 07, 2025, 06:36 PM IST