Lava Iris X1 review

Lava Iris X 1 is more feature-rich alternative to the Moto E beyond any doubt. But is it really better than Moto E!!!!? Lets try to find out :

Lava’s Iris X1, seen as a alternative to Moto E, seems to be promising smartphone which could be the best dual-sim choice under 10000 bucks. This phone wants to encash the opportunity by highlighting its 8MP/2MP and also taking an advantage of stock-shortage/non-availability of Moto E on Flipkart every now and then. Indian companies are trying to encash these two aspects by launching phones in same budget, which are nearly same or with better specifications than Moto E.

Form and Feel Factor

Lava Iris X1 has borrowed its  design from its ancestor, Iris Pro 30. And interestingly, as many design cues are taken from Apple, it resembles iPhone 4 or 5. No doubt that end product is well engineered giving it a premium look. Doesn’t look budget phone from any angle. It weighs 137 grams (with battery),  8.8mm thick, width is pretty narrow at 66.34mm and the length is 134.49mm. The rear is with matte finish. The Silver colour side gives a metallic finish blends well with the overall appeal.The buttons are placed on the sides ergonomically and have good tactile feedback. Ports are placed at the top. The 4.5-inch display has a narrow and slim bezel on the sides as compared to that on the top and bottom. And consequently the phone seems longer as compared to Moto E. There are 3 sensors – light, accelerometer and proximity. It has a blue notification LED too, which seems unavailable in some otherwise good products (e.g. Gionee E3). There is a front-facing 2MP camera. There is full sized SIM slot ( 3G) and a micro SIM slot (2G). There is a microSD card slot to support upto 64GB cards as well. The back portion is also neatly done, which exudes class.Quality of build and craftsmanship on the X1 impresses a lot giving it a premium feel. In box there is a screen guard and flip cover, along with the usual accessories.



 

Display

Its possesses 4.5 inch IPS display. The native resolution supported is 854 x 480 pixels which is lower than the qHD resolution on the Moto E which is immediately noticeable when placed side by side. But viewing angles are good and color reproduction is pretty accurate as well. But when we talk about sharpness, it disappoints a little bit as the images and icons aren’t as crisp as we would like. Also slight color banding is noticeable in grey backgrounds and videos. No pixelation effect was seen as such.

Another disppointment was the sensitivity of the display. It is not very accurate, especially when you’re typing quickly. It also tends to lag quite a bit when you pull up the keyboard to type. This issue was faced with the stock keyboard as well as SwiftKey. Also the glass protection panel is not scratch resistant. 

Processor and hardware

The Lava Iris X1 is powered by a Broadcom (BCM23550) quad-core chipset, cloaked @ 1.2GHz with VideoCore IV HW GPU. There is 1GB of RAM. It runs stock Android 4.4.2 KitKat.  It features a 1GB of RAM along with 4GB of internal storage. Micro SD card slot is also there to enhance the storage upto 32 GB.There’s about 500MB of free RAM..It runs pretty smoothly for most of times except the screen which was a bit insensitive to touch. The phone also froze once after which I had to remove the battery to hard reboot it. Multitasking on this smart phone is smooth. Credit goes to its 1 GB RAM and a quad core processor cloaked at 1.2GHz.

Operating System

It comes preloaded with Google Android Kitkat 4.4.2 operating system. Along with 1GB RAM, it performs tasks at decent speeds. User interface which is user friendly and easy to use. Home screens can be added and reduced in number to accommodate more stuff. Lock screens get a multi windows interface that provides a quick access to apps and utilities. Its compatible with most of applications.

Performance and usage

The touch sensitivity of the device is not very precise and it also hanged once during test (as discussed above).In terms of Antutu benchmark Lava Iris X1 offered 12685 marks which is a decent one in its category .The calls are received and made without any issue. The earpiece and loudspeaker volume is good and the microphone also makes sure the receiver gets to hear every world loud and clear. There is an extra mic for noise cancellation too.In nut shell, I can say that experience of device is not so good as the display performance and hanging issue (as discussed above in Display section) disappoints a bit. 

Camera and multimedia

There is 8MP rear camera with dual LED flash and 2MP front camera. Dual LED flash doesn’t help much as the night shots or shots in low light comes out grainy. Otherwise 8MP shoots pretty well in daylight conditions. The quality is good considering the price. The rear camera can shoot 720p videos. It can play FHD videos in both H/W and S/W modes. On multimedia front this device features support for all generic android formats. There is also stereo FM included which also supports HD recording.

Battery

Its having removable 1800 mAh Li-ion battery which gives quiet decent performance of one day full usage with optimum usage.

Lava Iris X1 Specifications

Network                      2G/3G

Operating System       Android 4.4.2

Dimensions                134 x 66 x 8.9 mm
Display                       4.5", IPS LCD 854 x 480 WVGA
Display Protection      Scratch Resistant

Input Method              Capacitive Touchscreen

Processor                    1.2 GHz, Quad core

Memory                      1 GB RAM 4GB internal memory

Connectivity               Bluetooth, Wi-Fi

Multimedia                 Multiformat audio Video player
Camera                       8MP BIS Rear (AF), 2 MP Front (FF)

GPS                            GPS +AGPS

Additional features     Free flip cover  + One free screen guard

Battery                        1800 mAh

Warranty                     1 Yr

Price                            7999 INR   ( Best Bargain price is 7200 INR) 

When we see the similar phones in sub 8000 category, following pros and cons can be concluded:

Pros
8MP rear camera (Good in daylight conditions)
Free Magnetic Flip cover ( Average looking)
Latest Android KitKat OS

Premium looks

Cons
Inaccurate touch while typing fast
Hangs (needs hard reboot)

Nutshell

The handset seems to be well built. In looks and build quality it rocks. It gives the impression of iPhone. Handset comes with a average looking magnetic flip cover. When it comes to internal storage the handset comes with an impressive 4 GB on board memory. The handset comes with good daylight snapper camera of 8 mega pixel with auto focus besides a front facing 2 megapixel camera for video chatting.The handset may pose a competition to recently launched Moto E, Micromax A106 (Popularly known as Unite 2) and others in its segment. With 8MP camera and premium looks, it could surely beat the rest. Lava Iris X1 is available at attractive price of 7999INR. At such price it offers features and functionality in a sleek and slim profile. The only issue one may think is that of Customer Care Services in India. And that too varies from state to state.At present, as per me, Lava Iris X1offers a good package in 4.5 inch screen segment. The price is also lucrative. Performance is also OK and the battery life is an average. Its a good "Money + Performance" package right now. But above mentioned two points in the "CONS" need to be addressed by Lava.