Lava Agni 3 5G First Impressions

The Lava Agni 3 5G offers a host of interesting features and specifications. Check out our first impressions to know more!

Written by Rohan Pal, Edited by Ketan Pratap | Updated: 11 October 2024 15:56 IST

The Lava Agni 3 5G is available for purchase from Amazon.

Highlights

The Lava Agni 3 comes with a starting price of Rs 20,999
The smartphone features a secondary AMOLED display at the rear
The handset is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7300X SoC

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.

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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.

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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.

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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

	Lava Agni 3	iQOO Z9s 5G	OnePlus Nord CE 4
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	1200x2652 pixels	1080x2392 pixels	1080x2412 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	1200x2652 pixels	1080x2392 pixels	1080x2412 pixels
Pixels per inch (PPI)	429	387	394
SECOND DISPLAY
Screen size (inches)	1.74	-	-
Resolution	336x480 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	-	-

Lava Agni 3

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display (Primary) 6.78-inch

Processor MediaTek Dimensity 7300X

Front Camera 16-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 8-megapixel + 8-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB

Battery Capacity 5,000mAh

OS Android 14

Resolution 1200x2652 pixels

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Further reading: Lava Agni 3, Lava Agni 3 5G, Lava Agni 3 5G full specifications, Lava Agni 3 5G Specifications, Lava Agni 3 Features, Lava Agni 3 India launch, Lava Agni 3 Price, Lava Agni 3 Price in India

Rohan Pal

Email Rohan Pal

Rohan Pal is the Assistant Editor at Gadgets360. With over 8 years of experience in technology, he has worked with multiple organizations, specializing in smartphones, laptops, wearables, appliances, and more. His passion for technology prompts him to curate and share tech news, guides, reviews, and how-tos. Off the clock, you'll spot him delving into the world of anime or lightening the team's mood with a steady flow of quirky memes. You can reach out to him at rohanp@ndtv.com. More