Lava Z10 First Impressions: Lava’s take on budget Chinese smartphones

Lava Z10 features a 5-inch HD display, 8MP rear camera and runs Android 6.0 marshmallow

By Rohit
|

Indian bound smartphone maker Lava introduced two budget smartphones- Lava Z25 and Lava Z10 in India yesterday. Designed and manufactured in-house, the smartphones are priced at Rs. 18,000 and Rs. 11,000 respectively and will be available in select retail stores in Delhi from March 23, 2017. The smartphones will also be available in other cities in a few weeks' time.

 
Lava Z10 First Impressions: Lava’s take on budget Chinese smartphones

While the Z25 is designed to fight the likes of mid-range handsets with its decent hardware, the budget Z10 will take on affordable Android devices from Xiaomi, Lenovo, Honor and Indian smartphone makers such as Intex and Micromax.

 

As the handset will be available at the retail stores across the country, Lava can manage to sell a good number of handsets to consumers who are still skeptical in purchasing a smartphone from e-commerce websites. So is Lava Z10 the best alternative to budget smartphones selling online? Let's find out.

Lava Z10 First Impressions: Lava’s take on budget Chinese smartphones

Design: Ergonomic Metal Design

To match the look and feel of budget smartphones offered by Chinese companies, Lava is also offering a metal design in budget segment with the Lava Z10. The smartphone feels quite sturdy and has a sleek and ergonomic design.

It is also light-weight and compact. Lava Z10's rounded edges, the camera placement at the rear side and the minimal back panel reminds us of the Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus budget smartphone. Consumers who are fond of small screen handsets will love this smartphone. Lava Z10 will be avaialble in Gold color variant.

Lava Z10 First Impressions: Lava’s take on budget Chinese smartphones

Display: 5-inch HD screen with 2.5D curved glass

Coming on to the display, the smartphone offers a 5-inch HD screen that is quite bright and offers a good touch response. It also has a 2.5D curved glass that adds a premium touch to the front fascia of the handset.

However, consumers might find it a bit dated as Lenovo and other brands are offering full HD screen at the same price-point. The recently launched Xiaomi Redmi 4A, which is priced at Rs. 5,999 also comes with an HD screen.

Lava Z10 First Impressions: Lava’s take on budget Chinese smartphones

Going, by the display resolution, consumers might not find Lava Z10 quite appealing but the 720p display still serves the tasks on a 5-inch footprint. We will evaluate the screen performance of Lava Z10 while reviewing the handset in the coming week.

Lava Z10 First Impressions: Lava’s take on budget Chinese smartphones

Hardware and Software

While the pres note shared by Lava mentions an octa-core CPU, the spec-sheet says that Lava Z10 is backed by a quad-core processor supported by 2 GB RAM. We will get back to you on the CPU part after getting an official word from the Indian manufacturer.

For storage you have 16 GB internal memory that can be expanded by up-to 128GB via microSD card.

Lava Z10 runs on Android Marshmallow 6.0 operating system, with Star OS 3.3 interface on top of it. The interface seemed minimal and lag-free during our brief stint with the handset.Lava Z10 supports the latest multilingual keyboard that supports eleven regional Indian languages. They also support Smart Gestures, OTG and 3 Point Touch.

Lava Z10 First Impressions: Lava’s take on budget Chinese smartphones

Camera: Decent 8MP rear camera that offers Bokeh Mode

Lava Z10 features an 8MP rear camera with F2.0 aperture, and a 5MP selfie camera with an LED flashlight that lava is calling a 'Spotlight Flash'. Lava says that the rear camera is equipped with 'Big Pixel Sensor' (1.4mm) which lets in more light to give brighter and sharper images.

Lava Z10 First Impressions: Lava’s take on budget Chinese smartphones

The 8MP rear camera also supports 'Bokeh Mode' to make objects stand out from the background, but it does that with the help of software algorithms.

SEE ALSO: Lava Z25 and Z10 with 4G VoLTE launched in India, prices start from Rs. 9,990

In our brief usage, we found the cameras offering decent results in ideal light conditions. The camera's full potential will be tested in the full review of the handset.

Lava Z10 First Impressions: Lava’s take on budget Chinese smartphones

Battery and Connectivity

Battery can be the weakest point of lava Z10 as it ships with a 2,620 mAh battery unit, which does not stand against the large 4,000mAh battery units offered by Chinese smartphone makers.

Lava is offering 'Power Saver mode' and 'Super Power Saver mode' to extend the battery backup in everyday usage.

Lava Z10 First Impressions: Lava’s take on budget Chinese smartphones

As far as connectivity is concerned, Lava Z10 offers dual-SIM connectivity (Micro + Nano). While both the SIM card slots support 4G connectivity, only one SIM slot can offer 4G at a time. The handset also offer Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and USB OTG.

Lava Z10 First Impressions: Lava’s take on budget Chinese smartphones

Verdict

Lava Z10 seem to be decent alternative for consumers who are looking for a budget Android device available in offline market. As the handset is not at par with Chinese counterparts in terms of specifications, Lava is offering consumers a one-time mobile screen replacement.

Besides, the smartphone also come with a '30 Day Replacement Policy' where consumers will get a replacement with new device in case of any hardware damage within a span of 30 days of purchase.

Watch the unboxing of the Lava Z10 from the video below.

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