Devices Review | Lava Agni 4: Lava Finally Joins Flagship Race With This Steel Mid-Ranger (& ‘Goodest’ AI)

Lava Agni 4 Review: There’s a second with the Lava Agni 4 that genuinely catches you off guard. You choose it up anticipating the standard good-for-the-price compromise system, and instantly you’re holding a cellphone with an aluminium body that in some way feels heavy and premium, very similar to a few of the Rs 50k giants on the market (at half that value). Then its cutesy Vayu AI doggy mascot pops up and wags its tail at you prefer it’s been ready all day (earlier than it goes right into a nap identical to each different furbaby on the market). It’s that blend, severe {hardware} and unexpectedly charming software program, that makes the Agni 4 really feel like Lava lastly grew up, however stored a little bit mischief.

As at all times, I’ve introduced alongside the in-house optimist, GennieGPT, ABP Live’s resident spec-worshipper. She sees numbers; I see real-world behaviour. You know, the type you uncover when your cellphone will get pushed to the max with a number of apps lashing at its SoC, or when it falls off a settee throughout an influence minimize.

Let the tech tug-of-war start.

Lava Agni 4 Review: Quick Pointers

What Works:

• Cutest AI mascot ever (Vayu AI), even when its smarts are… evolving
• Centrally situated rear digicam module seems to be surprisingly elegant
• Premium steel body and matte glass again
• Impressive 1.5K AMOLED with 2400nits peak brightness
• UFS 4.0 + LPDDR5X combo at this value is uncommon

What Doesn’t:

• Vayu AI nonetheless feels extra “emotional support pet” than “assistant”
• Cameras are nothing price writing residence about
• 66W charging is quick… however rivals are pushing 100W+

Design & AI Commands Attention (digital pats most popular)

✨ GennieGPT: Aluminium alloy body! Matte AG glass! And 1.7mm equilateral bezels! This is peak flagship power. It seems to be like a ₹70,000 premium cellphone for simply ₹24,999. Also, IP64! You can completely stroll right into a rainstorm and take cinematic slow-mo selfies!

Shayak: First of all, please don’t stroll right into a rainstorm to shoot Reels. The Agni 4 will survive mild rain, not a monsoon music video audition.
But sure, Lava has genuinely over-delivered on construct high quality right here. The aluminium body feels premium in hand, the matte AG glass hides smudges superbly, and the digicam module sits neatly within the centre as an alternative of making an attempt to cosplay a stove-top.

It’s surprisingly refined. If somebody advised me this was a mid-range Samsung prototype, I’d consider them (besides that Samsung would by no means go for a central digicam module, so make what you need of that). Lava’s design workforce clearly wakened and selected ambition.

✨ GennieGPT: Vayu AI is alive! It smiles, reacts to your temper, launches apps, solves math like a genius, teaches English, predicts your horoscope, edits photographs, controls the system, summarizes calls — that is mainly Jarvis however cuter!

Shayak: Jarvis? Keep dreaming. Even F.R.I.D.A.Y. wasn’t pretty much as good as its predecessor.

But I imply this kindly, Vayu AI is lovely. I imply, it is a cartoon shiba inu doggo for heaven’s sake! I can trash each tech big on the market, however I’m bodily incapable of writing any impolite phrases the place furry animals are concerned. 

The Vayu AI doggo pops up in the midst of the Home display screen. It could remind you of good-ol’ Clippit. You faucet on it to make it do cutesy animated actions, like chasing a ball or leaping for treats. Most of the time, it simply goes to sleep, like most different doggies do when they’re bored. 

Long-press on Vayu and it’ll get up to react to your voice command. The response is spectacular. Even for those who ask it something in ‘not-good’ English, it figures out the syntax and nearly at all times supplies you with the correct answer. It could be a tutor on your children, or simply an object to whereas away time as an alternative of doomscrolling. Nice contact, Lava!

I do not respect that there is no such thing as a simple method of transferring the AI bot round and even resizing it. It’s largely simply there, bang in the midst of your display screen like an odd sticker. Not nice for customers who swear by customised homepage setups.

Vayu Au remains to be in its nascent levels, and it would remind you of early MIUI’s Xiao AI or Samsung’s first Bixby makes an attempt, however in some way much less annoying.

✨ GennieGPT: Dimensity 8350! 4nm! 1.4 million AnTuTu! LPDDR5X! UFS 4.0! This is mainly a pocket rocket that may take down each mid-range cellphone ever! Zero lag! No warmth! Perfect gaming! Perfect life!

Shayak: Yes, I do agree with Gennie for an opportunity. At the value level, that is legitimately highly effective {hardware}. The Dimensity 8350 retains all the things easy, UFS 4.0 makes app loading insanely quick, and LPDDR5X RAM ensures that switching between apps doesn’t really feel like climbing stairs with a barbell.

Gaming? Mostly glorious. Genshin performs comfortably at medium-high settings. BGMI runs regular. Thermals? The 4300mm² vapor chamber helps throughout intense periods, although not magic sufficient to defy Indian summer time warmth. But then once more, nothing is. 

At Rs 24,999, this efficiency is severely aggressive.

Camera Disappoints

✨ GennieGPT: 50MP OIS principal digicam! 50MP selfie! 4K@60fps on BOTH sides! Cinematic video! Perfect pores and skin tones! Perfect festivals! Perfect low mild! Literally DSLR high quality!

Shayak: You’re solely lacking ‘beats IMAX cameras’ out of your listing. Let’s settle down your LLMs.

The principal 50MP OIS digicam is nice, sharp, secure, vibrant, however not a miracle employee. It handles daytime scenes properly sufficient, maintains pleasing pores and skin tones, and the OIS helps with secure low-light seize. The 8MP ultrawide is okay, although nothing legendary.

The 50MP selfie digicam is high-res however typically veers into Instagram filter even once I didn’t ask for it. Too a lot AI tweaking and wizardry for my consolation, to be trustworthy. But I can see how up-and-coming influencers may take advantage of out of the pretty-fying AI instruments.

The 4K 60fps on either side is spectacular, although, and Lava deserves credit score for enabling it. You cannot do a lot with it, however I nonetheless respect the characteristic being open to customers proper out of the field.

Overall: not best-in-class, however adequate to maintain beginner creators comfortable.

✨ GennieGPT: 14 hours of nonstop YouTube! 66W quick charging! 0 to 50% in 19 minutes! This is mainly infinite energy!

Shayak: Infinite energy? Only in case your day ends at lunchtime. But the 5,000 mAh battery is genuinely stable. With typical use, messaging, OTT, some digicam, and a few AI playing around, you’ll comfortably finish the day with round 25-30% left. The 66W charger is quick sufficient, although in 2025, we’ve seen sooner in the identical vary.

Still, zero complaints right here.

Lava Agni 4 Review: Final Verdict

The Lava Agni 4 jogs my memory of early 2000s indie rock bands, you realize, like Junoon or Jal or Strings, hungry, bold, tough across the edges, however bursting with originality and confidence. It mixes premium construct high quality, sturdy efficiency, and daring AI concepts in a method that feels authentically Indian, not spinoff.

Sure, Vayu AI isn’t excellent, and the cameras received’t exchange your DSLR. But for Rs 24,999, the Agni 4 delivers one thing uncommon: character. Personality. A way of id. How many mid-range Android telephones are you able to say that about?

Should You Buy Lava Agni 4?

• Yes, if you’d like a premium Indian smartphone with quick {hardware} and character.
• Maybe, for those who’re uncertain concerning the digicam and Vayu AI’s long-term usefulness.
• No, for those who want blazing-fast charging or desire compact telephones.