The Lava Agni series has been the brand’s flagship offering in the mid-range segment. The Agni series is an attempt from the brand to give stiff competition to Chinese players like Xiaomi, Realme, Oppo, Vivo, and more in the mid-range segment and carve out a niche for itself. The customers liked the Agni 1 and Agni 2, and now it is time for Lava Agni 3 to prove its mettle. The latest smartphone from the brand comes equipped with interesting features and specifications that make it stand out from the competition. Whether it be a new Action button or a secondary display, the Agni 3 5G sure has some areas to take on the competition this time.
The Lava Agni 3 5G price in India starts at Rs 20,999 for the base variant with 8GB RAM + 128GB storage. This variant does not have a charger in the box. For those who want a charger, the brand offers the same model with a price tag of Rs 22,999. Lastly, we have the top-end model with 8GB RAM + 256GB of internal storage priced at Rs 24,999.
The Lava Agni 3 is available in three storage configurations.
Talking about the design language, the handset indeed offers some uniqueness in this price segment. The phone has two colour options: Pristine Glass and Heather Glass. I got the Heather Glass colour option for the review, and it sure gives a premium look and feel once you hold it. The dark purple matte finish adds charm, and the smudges are not that visible.
The phone has a large module at the top half that houses the camera sensors and the new secondary AMOLED display. The right side of the device features a power on/off button, and there is also a new Action Key, which can be customised for various actions. One can use single click, double click or long press for different functions. The right side features volume rockers. The top features a speaker grille, while the base also packs a speaker grille, a USB Type-C port, and a SIM slot.
The smartphone packs a 1.5K AMOLED primary display and also features a secondary display.
The front panel offers a curved AMOLED display with a punch-hole design and minimal bezels. The company has added a 6.78-inch 1.5K screen with a 120Hz screen refresh rate and 1,200nits of peak brightness. The display looks crisp and offers vibrant colours and a good amount of brightness for outdoor usage.
That said, one of the major highlights of the smartphone is the 1.74-inch AMOLED secondary display. The small display offers a plethora of functionality, which is rare in the Indian smartphone market. The Instascreen can act as a viewfinder for rear cameras, help you see notifications, control the music player, offer a step and calorie tracker, record voice, timer, stopwatch, weather, and more. It also has a special animated character known as Firey, which is undoubtedly cute and offers a bunch of animations. We will discuss this in the upcoming review.
The smartphone comes equipped with a new Action key, which is customisable.
The Lava Agni 3 5G also packs good hardware at this price. You get the MediaTek Dimensity 7300X processor, which was first launched in India with Motorola Razr 50. This is something that I need to check on to see how great the performance of the device is with the new Dimensity chipset. However, at this price, it creates stiff competition for other players who are still offering slightly underpowered processors. For software, the Lava Agni 3 features stock Android 14 experience and the brand has also promised to deliver three years of OS upgrades and four years of security updates.
Coming to optics, the company has included a triple-camera setup on the rear panel. The handset offers a 50-megapixel Sony IMX662 primary sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, and an 8-megapixel 3x telephoto lens with 30x digital zoom. On the front, the device packs a 16-megapixel shooter for selfies and video calling. The company has also added some AI features in the camera department, which I will cover in the upcoming review.
The smartphone features a triple-camera setup with a combination of a 50-megapixel Sony IMX662 primary sensor.
In terms of battery, the Lava Agni 3 packs a 5,000mAh battery and supports 66W fast charging. You also get stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos and an IP64 rating.
Overall, the Lava Agni 3 5G sure looks like an interesting smartphone loaded with features. The handset does stand out from the crowd with its unique features like the secondary display and Action key. However, the competition is also quite strong in this price segment, including the iQOO Z9s, OnePlus Nord CE4 (Review), Redmi Note 13 Pro, and more. So, stay tuned with us to learn more about the Lava Agni 3 in the upcoming review.
Lava Agni 3 vs iQOO Z9s 5G vs OnePlus Nord CE 4 comparison
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| Key Specs | |||
| Display (Primary) | 6.78-inch | – | – |
| Processor | MediaTek Dimensity 7300X | MediaTek Dimensity 7300 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 |
| Front Camera | 16-megapixel | 16-megapixel | 16-megapixel |
| Rear Camera | 50-megapixel + 8-megapixel + 8-megapixel | 50-megapixel + 2-megapixel | 50-megapixel + 8-megapixel |
| RAM | 8GB | 8GB, 12GB | 8GB |
| Storage | 128GB | 128GB, 256GB | 128GB, 256GB |
| Battery Capacity | 5,000mAh | 5500mAh | 5500mAh |
| OS | Android 14 | Android 14 | Android 14 |
| Resolution | 1200×2652 pixels | 1080×2392 pixels | 1080×2412 pixels |
| Display | – | 6.77-inch | 6.70-inch |
| GENERAL | |||
| Brand | Lava | iQOO | OnePlus |
| Model | Agni 3 | Z9s 5G | Nord CE 4 |
| Release date | October 4, 2024 | August 21, 2024 | April 1, 2024 |
| Launched in India | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dimensions (mm) | 163.70 x 75.53 x 8.80 | 163.72 x 75.00 x 7.49 | 162.50 x 75.30 x 8.40 |
| Weight (g) | 212.00 | 180.00 | 186.00 |
| Battery capacity (mAh) | 5,000 | 5500 | 5500 |
| Removable battery | No | No | No |
| Fast charging | 66W Fast Charging | 44W Flash Charge | Super VOOC |
| Wireless charging | No | No | No |
| Colours | Heather Glass, Pristine Glass | Onyx Green, Titanium Matte | Dark Chrome, Celadon Marble |
| Brand Exclusive Features | Action button | – | – |
| IP rating | – | IP64 | IP54 |
| Body type | – | – | Polycarbonate |
| DISPLAY | |||
| Refresh Rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Resolution Standard | 1.5K | FHD+ | FHD+ |
| Screen size (inches) | 6.78 | 6.77 | 6.70 |
| Resolution | 1200×2652 pixels | 1080×2392 pixels | 1080×2412 pixels |
| Pixels per inch (PPI) | 429 | 387 | 394 |
| SECOND DISPLAY | |||
| Screen size (inches) | 1.74 | – | – |
| Resolution | 336×480 pixels | – | – |
| Pixels per inch (PPI) | 336 | – | – |
| HARDWARE | |||
| Processor | 2.5GHz MHz octa-core | octa-core | 2.63 MHz octa-core |
| Processor make | MediaTek Dimensity 7300X | MediaTek Dimensity 7300 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 |
| RAM | 8GB | 8GB, 12GB | 8GB |
| Internal storage | 128GB | 128GB, 256GB | 128GB, 256GB |
| Expandable storage | No | – | Yes |
| Expandable storage type | – | – | microSD |
| Expandable storage up to (GB) | – | – | 1000 |
| Dedicated microSD slot | – | – | Yes |
| CAMERA | |||
| Rear camera | 50-megapixel + 8-megapixel + 8-megapixel | 50-megapixel (f/1.7) + 2-megapixel (f/2.4) | 50-megapixel + 8-megapixel |
| No. of Rear Cameras | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Front camera | 16-megapixel | 16-megapixel (f/2.45) | 16-megapixel |
| No. of Front Cameras | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Lens Type (Second Rear Camera) | Ultra Wide-Angle | – | – |
| Lens Type (Third Rear Camera) | Telephoto | – | – |
| Rear autofocus | – | – | Yes |
| Rear flash | – | – | Yes |
| Front autofocus | – | – | No |
| Front flash | – | – | No |
| SOFTWARE | |||
| Operating system | Android 14 | Android 14 | Android 14 |
| Skin | – | Funtouch OS 14 | OxygenOS 14 |
| CONNECTIVITY | |||
| Wi-Fi standards supported | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac |
| Bluetooth | Yes, v 5.40 | Yes, v 5.40 | Yes, v 5.40 |
| USB OTG | Yes | – | – |
| USB Type-C | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Number of SIMs | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Active 4G on both SIM cards | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| NFC | – | – | Yes |
| SIM 1 | |||
| SIM Type | Nano-SIM | Nano-SIM | Nano-SIM |
| 4G/ LTE | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 5G | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SIM 2 | |||
| SIM Type | Nano-SIM | Nano-SIM | Nano-SIM |
| 4G/ LTE | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 5G | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SENSORS | |||
| In-Display Fingerprint Sensor | Yes | Yes | – |
| Compass/ Magnetometer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Proximity sensor | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ambient light sensor | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Face unlock | – | – | Yes |
| Ratings | |||
| Overall NDTV Rating | – | – | |
| Design Rating | – | – | |
| Display Rating | – | – | |
| Software Rating | – | – | |
| Performance Rating | – | – | |
| Battery Life Rating | – | – | |
| Camera Rating | – | – | |
| Value for Money Rating | – | – |
