The Lava Agni 4 After 40 Days: Is This the Underdog Phone Worth Your Money?

Look, I’ve had enough of the same old brands. You know the ones. Every launch feels like a slightly tweaked rerun of last year’s model. So when Lava—yeah, the Indian brand you might remember from way back—dropped the Lava Agni 4, I was equal parts skeptical and curious.

Was this just nostalgic hype, or had they actually built something that could shake up the ₹25,000 arena? I decided to go beyond the unboxing. I used the Lava Agni 4 as my only phone for over 40 days. No kid gloves. Just real, sometimes messy, daily life.

Here’s the honest, in-depth truth after living with it.

First Impressions: Premium Heft, Stunning Screen

Picking it up, the Lava Agni 4 feels more expensive than it is. The glass back and that solid aluminum frame give it a confidence most phones in this segment lack. Is it heavy? At over 200 g and 8.5 mm thick, you’ll feel it in your pocket. But it trades slimness for a feeling of substance I actually grew to like.

Then you turn it on. Oh, that screen.

We’re talking about a gorgeous 1.5K AMOLED panel with a buttery 120 Hz refresh rate. Colors pop, blacks are ink-deep, and the 2400-nit peak brightness means sunlight is never an issue. As someone who despises accidental touches, the flat display is a welcome choice over curved edges. Little touches like “Wet Touch Control” (yes, it works with wet fingers) show thoughtful design. My only gripe? The Gorilla Glass Victus 5 protector feels a generation behind when others are moving to Victus 6.

Battery & Charging: The Day-One Warrior

A 5000 mAh battery is table stakes. The Lava Agni 4’s performance? It’s… dependable. With the included 66W charger, you’re looking at 50% in about 24 minutes and a full tank in under an hour—fantastic for quick top-ups.

In my testing, a marathon video playback session squeezed out about 12.5 hours. But real life isn’t just watching videos. My typical heavy day—4K recording, some gaming, navigation, and social scrolling—brought the Screen-On Time down to a very average 6 to 8 hours. It’ll get most power users to bedtime, but without much to spare.

Software: Clean, But Maybe Too Simple?

It runs stock Android 15. Let’s be clear: this is a massive win. No bloatware, no ads, no nonsense. It’s clean, responsive, and promises 3 years of updates. A recent November patch already improved camera color science.

But here’s my take: in its quest for purity, the UI feels… boring. Compared to the playful flair of Nothing OS or the feature-rich Realme UI, Lava’s offering looks a bit dated. Functionally, it’s great. Aesthetically, it lacks personality. Also, the Google Dialer’s mandatory call recording announcement (“this call is now being recorded”) can be awkward.

Lava Agni 4—Key Specs 

• Display: 1.5K AMOLED, 120 Hz, 2400 nits, flat, Wet Touch
• Battery: 5000 mAh, 66 W fast charging
• Camera: 50MP OIS main, 8MP ultra-wide, 50MP selfie, 4K@60fps
• Performance: Dimensity 8350 (4 nm), LPDDR5X RAM, UFS 4.0
• Gaming: BGMI ~60 fps, COD ~90 fps
• Software: Stock Android 15, 3 years of updates
• Connectivity: 5G (14 bands), Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.4 (no NFC), IP64
• Build: Glass + aluminum, dual speakers, USB-C 3.2
• Price: ₹25,000

The Camera: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Hardware-wise, it’s stacked: a 50MP OIS main, an 8MP ultra-wide, and a 50MP selfie shooter. Both front and back shoot 4K at 60 fps. After updates, the previously reported yellow tint is gone—photos now have balanced, natural colors.

But. And it’s a significant but.

· Video stabilization is still poor. Footage is shaky, even in daylight.

· Portrait mode edge detection struggles with complex backgrounds.

· Low-light selfies tend to get noisy and blurry.

The foundation is here, but the software tuning needs more work. It’s a capable shooter for casual daylight photos, but don’t expect pixel-perfect consistency.

Performance & Gaming: Powerful, But Underutilized

Under the hood lies the capable 4nm MediaTek Dimensity 8350 chip, paired with speedy LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage. Daily performance is flawless—apps fly open, and multitasking is smooth.

The catch? Lava seems to be holding the chip back. In my stress test, it hit a scorching 57°C. In normal use, it stays cool, but this throttling affects gaming. BGMI is capped at 60 fps (averaging 52 fps), and Call of Duty hits 90 fps. Demanding titles like Red Dead Redemption saw some stutters. They need to unlock this chip’s potential via software.

The Odd Missing Pieces

For a phone that gets so much right, some omissions are baffling.

· No NFC. In 2025, this hampers contactless payments.

· Only IP64 rating. At this price, IP68 is becoming the expectation.

· Selective USB-C. The USB 3.2 port is fast, but I found it picky with external SSDs.

On the plus side, dual speakers hit a loud 90 dB, and you get 14 5G bands, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.4.

Final Verdict: Who Is This Phone For?

Priced at ₹25,000, the Lava Agni 4 is a fascinating, flawed, and genuinely promising device.

You’ll love it if: You prioritize a stunning display, clean Android, premium build, and want to support a burgeoning Indian brand. It’s a balanced daily driver that excels in fundamentals.

You should wait if: Your top priorities are elite gaming, flawless camera performance (especially video), or you need features like NFC and full water resistance.

The bottom line: The Lava Agni 4 isn’t a finished masterpiece. It’s a powerful statement. It proves an Indian brand can craft a phone with a stunning screen, premium feel, and clean software that stands tall in a crowded mid-range market. But it stumbles on camera polish and gaming optimization.

It deserves time. If Lava commits to aggressive software updates—fixing the camera stabilization and unlocking the chipset’s power—this could transform from a good phone into a legendary one. For now, it’s a bold, respectable, and very compelling underdog.