Lava Agni 4 Review: Stock Android’s Indian Flagbearer

Lava has been pretty much the only Indian smartphone brand to make a significant place for itself in the Indian smartphone market, which is largely dominated by Chinese smartphones. The brand has bet on a blend of affordable price tags and good hardware, often combined with a different-looking design, making it one of the fastest-growing brands in the sub-Rs 10,000 segment in Q3 2025. The brand is, however, looking to move up the price ladder and extend its success to the premium mid-segment. The Agni 3, its 2024 flagship, had grabbed attention for a tiny OLED display on its back and a competitive price tag, even while bringing clean Android to the mid-segment table. Can the Agni 4 follow in its footsteps, while taking on the charge of the Chinese phone brigade?

Lava Agni 4 looks and appearance: Them Pixel-like feels

The Agni 4 does not look too much like its predecessor, but still manages to stand out in the mid-segment crowd. There is no tiny OLED display on the back, and its sides and back are now straight in keeping with current trends. What makes it different is a Pixel-like protruding camera unit o n its back, shaped like a horizontal capsule. Unlike the Pixel, the cameras here are on either end of the unit with a flash in the middle. The very prominent Agni branding in the middle ensures that no one mistakes this for a Pixel.

The Agni 4 is available in Phantom Black and Lunar Mist White. We got the Phantom Black and it cut a very smart figure with its subtly shining matte back, although it did attract a fair bit of dust (particularly around the camera unit). While the Agni 3 had been a little edgy and geeky in terms of design, the Agni 4 is more subtly elegant and has a distinctly premium feel to it. The typically tall display in front comes with Gorilla Glass 5 protection (adequate, if a little on the older side), and the back has AG glass, and the frame is aluminium, a rarity in this price segment. While the right side has the usual volume and power/display buttons, it also houses a tiny button near the base. Lava calls this an Action Key, and it can be programmed for different functions. The base has the USB Type-C port, a speaker grille, and the SIM card tray, while the top houses another speaker grille and an IR blaster, with the left side being totally plain.

At 160.68 mm, the Agni 4 is a little on the tall side, but it is discernibly more compact than the OnePlus Nord CE4 and many other phones in the segment, and it is reasonably slim at 8.6 mm. It weighs 208 grams and feels reassuringly solid. It also comes with an IP64 rating, which should keep it safe from water splashes and mild drizzles. The Agni 4 has a very refined, elegant look about it with a clean finish – we recommend the black one, but do remember to use a case with it!

Lava Agni 4 spec sheet and hardware: Classic mid-segment cake, with clean Android icing

In hardware and spec terms, the Lava Agni 4 ticks most mid-segment boxes. The display is a 6.67-inch AMOLED one with 1.5K+ resolution with a refresh rate of 120 Hz, and it can switch between 60 Hz and 120 Hz depending on the content. With a local peak brightness of 2400 nits, it is par for the course rather than exceptional, but it is easily readable in bright sunlight. Driving the phone is the MediaTek Dimensity Dimensity 8350, which is a reliable upper mid-segment performer, and partnering it are 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256 GB of UFS 4.0 storage, both of which are very impressive at this price point. Interestingly, Lava has gone with a single RAM and storage variant for the Agni 4, a rarity in this segment, where many brands have lower RAM and storage options (6GB/ 128 GB, for instance), often to accommodate a lower starting price.

The Agni 4 comes with two cameras in that very distinct camera unit at the back – a 50-megapixel main sensor with OIS and an 8-megapixel ultrawide. Another 50-megapixel camera in the front handles selfie and video call duties.

The phone also comes with stereo speakers (although there is no 3.5 mm audio jack), Bluetooth, an IR Blaster, and a 5000 mAh battery, which might seem a little small by today’s standards (where 6000 mAh plus is rapidly becoming a rule), but comes with 66W charging support and a 66W charger in the box, as well as a Type C to Type C cable.

While those are decent specs, what makes the Agni 4 distinct from the competition is the fact that it comes with a clean, uncluttered Android. There is zero bloatware on the device, although Lava has made a few tweaks to the interface. This makes it one of the very few phones in the segment to be bloatware-free (even Nothing has abandoned that path now). The phone comes with an assurance of three years of OS and four years of security updates, too, but it runs on Android 15, which is now beginning to look old.

Lava Agni 4 camera and photography: A tale of two 50 megapixel cameras…and very “healthy” snaps!

Photography on the Agni 4 is really a matter of the 50 megapixel main sensor and the similarly megapixel-ed selfie camera. And they are both very good performers. The main sensor takes some very colourful and detailed snaps in good light conditions, although its performance fades a little when the lights dim. The selfie camera is a pleasant surprise, with some impressively sharp detail, but it does try to smooth out skin textures. The 8-megapixel ultrawide is best used sparingly for getting a wider perspective when details are not very important. The Action Button on the base of the right side is set by default to act as a camera shutter, and it actually is rather handy while taking snaps in landscape mode.

The images we got from the Agni 4 were notable for being generally a little on the brighter and more saturated side. Colors tended to pop (with reds and pinks getting particularly exaggerated), and there are clear signs of computational processing, but this happens swiftly, and as it results in pleasant-looking snaps, we do not see too many people complaining. Portrait snaps are a little dark at times, but edge detection seemed fine. The phone does come with AI tools onboard for editing images, but these are not in the Photos app; but in a special AI section, called AI Agents (one of Lava’s tweaks to the interface), where an AI Photo Editor handles AI edits. The options here include AI Cutout, AI Elimination (object removal), and AI Image Expansion, which are a little on the basic side, but should be enough for most users at this price point. Video quality is middling, and although 4k is available on the main as well as selfie camera, we would advise sticking to good light conditions and quiet surroundings for best results.

All in all, the Agni 4 cameras are decent rather than exceptional performers. We would have preferred a telephoto rather than the ultrawide secondary camera at the back, but that is really our personal choice. In general, if one uses the cameras in well-lit conditions, one will get very good results. That said, human subjects will often literally look in the pink of health. The Agni 4 takes good pictures, but is a step behind the likes of OnePlus, iQOO, and Redmi in this segment.

Lava Agni 4 performance: A smooth daily driver…with AI agents

The clean interface makes the Lava Agni 4 one of the best options for those who want an uncluttered smartphone experience. While it is not built for high-end gaming, the combination of a good display and processor, alongside speedy RAM and storage, enables one to get a reasonably good gaming experience. Alto’s Odyssey and Monument Valley look lovely on it, and with a few graphics tweaks, one can even get some decent Call of Duty sessions. The stereo speakers are of good quality, and combined with the display, make this a good device for viewing video content, be it films, shows, reels, and shorts.

The Agni 4 also sails through daily tasks easily. Browsing the Web and social media is a smooth experience, and we found that we could easily run 6-8 apps on it simultaneously without any hitches. It does get a little warm from time to time, but never uncomfortably so. This being close to stock Android, one gets Google tools right out of the box, including Gemini. Call quality is very good, and the in-display fingerprint scanner works smoothly.

One of the very few tweaks Lava has made to Google’s interface is in AI. Yes, you get Gemini with the phone, but Lava has also added its own AI flavour to the phone through what it calls Vayu AI and Expert AI Agents. Vayu AI is an assistant, in the form of an adorable dog, who dozes on the home screen and wakes up when tapped and answers queries, and can also be accessed through the Vayu AI app. There is also an array of AI Agents – a Math teacher, an English teacher, an AI Female companion, an AI Male companion, an AI horoscope, as well as an AI text assistant (for writing and translation), an AI Call recorder (for transcribing and summaries), and an AI photo editor.

While there is a lot to like about most of these (the Math and English teachers are very useful, if one knows exactly what one is looking for), we must confess to being a little concerned about the Female and Male companions, and would advise not letting your children access them. While they are designed to provide “friendly emotional support,” they seem to have a distinctly “mature” feel about them – initial conversation prompts for them include “(Smiling and looking at you with tenderness) Darling, how was your day? Did you miss me?” and “(In a gentle tone) Come and tell me about the interesting things that happened to you today!”

Joaquin Phoenix in “Her” would have totally appreciated something like these, but we are a little more reserved and would have preferred them to be an optional download (with requisite alerts) rather than a preloaded option. We like the idea of AI agents, but we really think the interface and language need a bit of work. Gemini flies along smoothly, however, and one gets options like Circle to Search. The Action Key is actually very handy. It is set by default to take a screenshot with a single click and to take a picture if the camera is open. A double click opens the flashlight, and a long press lets one switch from silent to ring mode. All these can be customised to suit one’s needs, and one can assign apps to different clicks. Very handy indeed and something we hope other brands will get inspired to imitate.

Lava Agni 4 battery life and charging: Adequate rather than awesome

The Agni 4 comes with a 5000 mAh battery, which seems a step behind many of its rivals, which have now gone well into the 6000 mAh and more zone. That said, it is good enough to comfortably see off a day of normal to heavy use, and can go beyond a day if handled carefully. The phone comes with a 66W charger, which gets it up to 50 percent in about 20-25 minutes and charges it from zero to full in about 45-50 minutes.

Lava Agni 4 Pricing: One price, one variant

The Lava Agni 4 comes in a single RAM and storage variant of 8 GB/ 256 GB. And it is priced at Rs 24,999 (although you can get it for a lower amount with offers, as is the trend these days). That’s slightly above the Rs 22,999 at which it had launched the Agni 3 last year, but does reflect the rising prices of phones in these times, which many attribute to increased component costs. Still, at that price, the Agni 4 faces a lot of competition, especially from higher-priced devices released earlier in the year that have now received price cuts.

Buy Lava Agni 4

Lava Agni 4 competition: Dealing with older stars!

Poco X7 Pro – A processor monster
Rs 22,000 (8GB/ 256 GB)
The brute in the sub-Rs 25,000 category, thanks to a price cut. The Dimensity 8400 Ultra chip makes it hands down one of the most powerful devices in the zone, and the other specs are pretty good too.

iQOO Neo 10R – Another big processor priest
Rs 24,999 (8 GB/ 128 GB)
Another phone in this category, thanks to a reduction in price, this one brings a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip and a funky design. The slightly cluttered interface might be a put-off, but one gets a hefty battery.

OnePlus Nord CE 4 – The big battery Never Settler
Rs 24,999 (8GB/ 128 GB)
It has a processor from the same family as the Agni 4 and packs in a massive 7100 mAh battery, which charges fast too. Its overall performance is extremely impressive in classic OnePlus tradition, although some bloatware now messes up the show.

Nothing Phone (3a) – For the ‘Different’ crowd
Rs 23,900 ( 8 GB/ 128 GB)
This remains the most distinct phone in design terms in the segment, thanks to its faux-transparent back and Glyph UI interface with LEDs on the back. It is not exactly power-packed but comes with good dual 50-megapixel cameras on the back, and has a relatively clean, if now ad-addled, interface.

Lava Agni 4 Review Verdict: A pretty solid proposition

The Lava Agni 4 does not have the quirky appeal of the Lava Agni 3 (which had an OLED display next to its rear cameras), but it ticks all the boxes for being a rock-solid mid-segmenter. It packs in a very good display, a good main camera, a surprisingly good selfie camera, and decent if not exceptional battery life with fast charging. Top that off with a clean Android, and we think it does more than enough to fill the Moto and Nothing-shaped holes in the lives of those who value a clean Android experience, although the AI experience (and some of those Expert Agents) will take some getting used to. A lot will depend on its longevity and speed of updates, but at the time of writing, the Agni 4 is a classical mid-segmenter – not too many frills, not too much fuss, but a truckload of function, delivered cleanly in an elegant frame.

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