In the Indian smartphone market, 5G is no longer a luxury but has become a necessity. In such a situation, Indian brand Lava launched its new budget-friendly 5G phone Storm Lite 5G, which is priced at just Rs 7,999 (4GB RAM + 64GB storage variant) and powered by Mediatek D6400 processor. But the question is, will this phone be able to stand in front of the budget 5G models of big brands like Samsung, Motorola, Redmi, and Realme? Let’s have look at what’s good, bad, and ugly in the new Lava’s Storm Lite 5G smartphone.
Lava Storm Lite 5G: What is special?
1. Price Range
First of all I would say the cost of Storm Lite 5G is very legitimate. A student, housewife, househusband, grand parents can easily afford this 5G smartphone as it is priced under Rs 10K only. The base variant of Lava Storm Lite 5G costs around ₹7,999 and it supports all Indian 5G bands + face detection + fingerprint unlock. At this price, no other brand offer a full-fledged 5G phone with free sale after service at home. Even if you consider Moto’s G35, Motorola G45, Redmi’s A4 5G, Samsung’s M06 5G and Realme C73 5G, they are all expensive and don’t stand anywhere near this new budget-friendly 5G phone from Lava.
2. Performance
This phone has a MediaTek Dimensity 6400 processor, which is built on a 6nm process node and scores 4.1 lakh+ in Antutu benchmark. This processor is enough for everyday tasks like social media, web browsing and light gaming. However, due to 4GB RAM, it may lag behind in heavy multitasking or games like BGMI.
For day to day activities like watching movies on ott apps, live video streaming, chat on WhatsApp, YouTube streaming, email check, social media apps use, video recording and other you can easily do with Lava’s entry level powerful smartphone Storm Lite 5G on the go for hours!
3. Display
It has a 6.75-inch HD+ LCD panel, which supports 120Hz refresh rate. This feature is rarely seen in this price range, but due to HD+ resolution (1612 x 720 pixels), the sharpness of the display seems a bit weak. If you are used to phones with FHD+ display, then it may seem a bit dull to you and under the budget of 10K, only Motorola offers FHD+display in G35 smartphone.
4. Camera
This phone has a single 50MP Sony IMX752 camera, which performs well in daylight photography. However, only a 5MP front camera has been provided for selfies, which is fine for video calls and basic selfies, but the performance remains average in low-light. The 50 MP camera lens is good enough to click high-quality photos and with same camera lens you can record video in 2k @ 30fps.
5. Battery
With a 5,000mAh battery, this phone can last a whole day, but due to only 15W charging support, it takes a long time to fully charge. As far as I have checked, other brands like Samsung, Motorola, Realme, and Redmi, they also offer same capacity charger around 10W or 15W under Rs 10K budget 5G smartphones. So the 15W charger option that comes with the Storm Lite 5G seems to be reasonable.
However, if you can pay more then competitive phones like Redmi 13C 5G or Realme C67 5G offers fast charger of 18W or 33W respectively which charge the phone battery within 1.5 hours!
6. Software
Lava has given bloatware-free Android 15 in it, which makes the user experience smooth. This means users will get clean UI (no ads, no unwanted apps). Also, the company has promised 1 major OS update and 2 years of security patches, which is good in this price range.
Will it be able to compete with Samsung, Redmi, and Realme?
The biggest strength of the Lava Storm Lite 5G is its price (under Rs 8K) and clean software. But it has some strong competitors in the market, with which it is worth comparing:
Samsung Galaxy M06 5G (around ₹9,999)
This Samsung phone is known for long software support (4 OS updates), but its processor (MediaTek Dimensity 6300) and HD+ display (90 Hz) are weaker than the Lava Storm Lite 5G. Additionally, the 25W type-c fast charger is sold separately which would cost extra around ₹1300.
Redmi A4 5G (₹8,499)
Redmi A4 5G is a basic 5G phone that only supports true Jio 5G network. Airtel 5G won’t work in this phone as its processor 4s Gen 2 accepts only SA 5G networks which currently offered in India by Jio. If you’re planning to buy the Redmi A4 5G, you should definitely check out the Lava Storm Lite 5G—it delivers better features in every aspect and provide the free support at home!
Motorola G35 and G45 (₹9,999)
Moto’s G35 and G45 are budget friendly 5G smartphones that comes with Unisoc T760 and Snapdragon 6s Gen 3 processors respectively under budget of Rs 10K. The specs of both phones are outstanding like 4GB + 128GB or 8GB + 128GB, SA and NSA 5G connectivity, Fingerprint /Face unlock, 50MP Camera, Clean Android experience, Brand value and more. These phones are a complete package and highly recommended… but the prices of both are around ₹9,999, means as compared to Lava Storm Lite 5G, you have to pay ₹2,000 extra.
Final Verdict: Who is Lava Storm Lite 5G right for?
If you want 5G and clean Android at a low price, then Storm Lite 5G phone from Lava is a great option.
Lava is an Indian brand, and it provides best value for money 5G phones to the users at no extra cost! This phone is a complete 5G package powered by MTK Dimensity 6400 processor. On this, you can watch videos, you can stream live content with 5G data, it works with Jio and Airtel, it comes with a 5000 mAh all day battery backup and with this 5G device you can also click high-quality photos and share it to others on social media apps via Whatsapp, Email on the go. It gives premium in-hand feeling and available in 2 color options – starting price Rs 7,999 only!
The only cons that we observed are standard LCD HD+ Display and a 15W charger (it should be around 25W or 33W).
If you want a better display (Full HD+), faster charging with fast charger and more RAM + internal storage, you can look at options from Samsung, Redmi, and Realme. There by paying an amount of ₹3,000 -₹4,000 extra you will get more powerful specs.
Lava has designed this phone for Indian budget users, and features like IP64 rating, 120Hz display and bloatware-free software make it different from the competition. However, Lava’s brand value and marketing is weak compared to big brands, which may push it behind in sales.
Conclusion: Lava Storm Lite 5G is a strong entry in the budget 5G segment and it could be a great choice for many young buyers, students, or daily wages workers. This segment of public is often looking for low-cost devices and with the latest trend of 5G, the Storm Lite 5G from Lava is likely to be accepted with open arms.
What do you think of these guys? Will Lava’s Storm Lite 5G compete with big brands like Samsung, Motorola, Realme, Redmi? Please share your thoughts in the comments and don’t forget to share it with others!
