While there is no shortage of good smartphones in the budget segment, it’s still a tedious task to find a device that gets the basics right and offers a holistic user experience. I recently tried the Lava Storm 5G, and it felt like the right budget smartphone. Here is my review.
The smartphone offers a glass back (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Design
The subtle-looking Lava Storm 5G reminds me more of the latest Samsung smartphones with its unique-looking camera array, which includes a dual-camera setup and an LED flash designed to resemble a camera. This is clearly one of the simplest and cleanest-looking smartphones in this segment, looking nothing like any of the previously launched smartphones from the company. Unlike the recently released Blaze 2 (review) with its ring light, the Storm has nothing unique to offer in terms of design, and the device seems to cater to those who value substance over style. The phone features a glass sandwich design, making it a bit heavier than its contemporaries, weighing 214 grams. The phone has a microSD card slot, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and dual nano SIM card slots with support for a 5G network on both slots.
The phone has a 120Hz display (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Display
The Lava Storm 5G features a 6.78-inch FHD+ resolution IPS display with a 120Hz refresh rate, which becomes adequately bright under daylight conditions. By default, the display mode is set to vivid, making everything look a bit saturated. Thanks to the higher refresh rate, the phone feels snappy while scrolling through the UI. However, the bezels on this phone aren’t even, and the slightly thick bottom bezel makes the phone look a bit dated. If you love binge-watching movies or videos, then the Lava Storm 5G is a great device to consider. Even if you are a gamer, the Storm is a notch ahead of the competition, especially when compared to devices like the Redmi 12 5G (review), which offers a 90Hz display.
The device has a 50 MP primary shooter and an 8 MP ultra-wide angle lens (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Camera performance
Unlike most phones in this class, the Lava Storm 5G doesn’t include any unnecessary depth or macro cameras just for the sake of it. The device has a 50 MP primary sensor and an 8 MP ultra-wide-angle lens, along with a 16 MP selfie camera at the front.
This is also one of the few phones that includes a Google Lens shortcut outside the camera app, aiding in tasks like translation, monument recognition, and more. The camera performance of the Storm 5G is pretty adequate for the price, and it can even shoot native 50 MP images in UHD mode, with these pictures usually around 15 MB in size.
In daylight, the primary shooter natively captures 12 MP images that look bright and vivid; however, when zoomed in, they lack details and look soft, which can be overcome by shooting in UHD mode. The selfie camera also does a good job of capturing human subjects; however, in portrait mode, the edge detection isn’t perfect.
Lava Storm 5G camera samples:
Lava Storm 5G camera sample 5 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Lava Storm 5G camera sample 4 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Lava Storm 5G camera sample 3 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Lava Storm 5G camera sample 2 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Lava Storm 5G camera sample 1 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Mediatek Dimensity 6080 is a snappy processor (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Performance
The Lava Storm 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6080 SoC with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. The device scored over 4 lakh points on the AnTuTu benchmark, and under day-to-day usage, the phone feels fast and snappy.
The Lava Storm 5G can handle games like BGMI at HD settings without any issues, and I also tested more casual games like Candy Crush Saga, Temple Run 2, and Subway Surfers, all of which worked flawlessly. I was surprised by the fact that, even after over an hour of casual gaming (Candy Crush), the phone didn’t show any signs of heating and remained cool to the touch.
My testing also included running common social media apps like X, FB, Instagram, and Telegram, all of which worked without any issues.
Like every other Lava phone launched this year, the Storm 5G also ships with stock Android, with no bloatware or third-party apps. However, it is still running on Android 13, which is a bit of a disappointment.
Storm 5G runs on Android 13 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Battery life and connectivity
The 5,000 mAh battery on the Lava Storm 5G supports 33W fast charging, and the phone takes around one and a half hours to fully charge, with the company including the fast charging adapter in the box. In my usage, the phone offers an average screen-on-time of around 7 hours when used for tasks like light gaming, video streaming, and social media scrolling.
I also had no issues accessing the Jio 5G network on the Lava Storm 5G, and even when it comes to voice calls and video calls, the device was on par with almost any modern smartphone.
Excellent entry-level 5G phone (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Should you buy the Lava Storm 5G?
The Lava Storm 5G is a well-packaged entry-level smartphone, and the only caveat is the lack of a stereo speaker setup. For anyone looking for an entry-level 5G smartphone with a simplistic design and a stock Android UI, the Lava Storm 5G is a great pick.
Gale Green variant of the Lava Storm 5G (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express) 
The smartphone offers a glass back (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
The phone has a 120Hz display (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
The device has a 50 MP primary shooter and an 8 MP ultra-wide angle lens (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Lava Storm 5G camera sample 5 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Lava Storm 5G camera sample 4 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Lava Storm 5G camera sample 3 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Lava Storm 5G camera sample 2 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Lava Storm 5G camera sample 1 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Mediatek Dimensity 6080 is a snappy processor (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Storm 5G runs on Android 13 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Excellent entry-level 5G phone (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
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