Lava Iris X1

Review in pictures

Elegant design that resembles an iPhone 4

• With a glass front panel and chrome detailing, the Lava Iris X1 exudes a premium aesthetic that closely resembles an iPhone 4/4s

• Android buttons are present on the fascia and are backlit

• The smartphone is compact enough for one-handed use, without feeling cramped when typing

Vibrant display, but not the most responsive

• The 4.5-inch IPS display has an average resolution of 854 x 480 pixels, translating into a pixel density of 217ppi

• The screen offers vibrant, accurate colours, and the 178-degree viewing angle makes it great for watching videos

• However, responsiveness is a problem, with noticeable lags when scrolling and typing

Competent cameras to keep you shutter-happy

• With an 8-megapixel shooter at the back with a dual-LED flash, and a 2MP camera in the front, you won’t be disappointed

• The camera app offers all the regular features, like a choice of scene modes and controls for focus, ISO, metering, exposure and white balance

Pleasing results, but washed-out colours

• The primary snapper is great for macros and daylight shots, but colours appear washed out

• Shots taken at night are grainy but usable

• The front camera is good enough for selfies too

Vanilla-flavoured KitKat, minus the bloatware

• The Iris X1 runs a plain vanilla flavour of Android 4.4.2 KitKat, with minimal changes to the UI

• There are hardly any preloaded apps eating up precious storage space

• You get WhatsApp and OfficeSuite 7, plus some utilities like a torch and FM Radio

Sluggish performance that mars the experience

• A 1.2GHz quad-core Broadcom BCM23550 processor powers the show, accompanied by 1GB of RAM and VideoCore IV graphics

• The deviceis quite sluggish, with noticeable lags when multi-tasking or typing

• Games like Riptide GP2 are unplayable… freezing and dropping frames• Out of the 4GB inbuilt storage, just 2GB is available to use

Decent battery life that can last an entire day

• The phone is fuelled by a 1,800mAh battery

• With heavy usage, you’ll need to plug in your charger only at the end of the day

• When used sparingly, you can stretch it to a day and a half

• Our video loop battery rundown test ran for 6 hours and 45 minutes before juice ran out, which is decent for a budget device

At a glance• 4.5-inch, 854 x 480 pixels (217

ppi)• 1.2GHz quad-core Broadcom

BCM23550 processor• VideoCore IV GPU• 1GB RAM• 4GB inbuilt storage with microSD

slot• 8MP primary camera, 2MP front

camera• Android 4.4.2 KitKat• 1,800mAh battery• Dual-SIM, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth,

GPS, USB OTG

-• Sluggish performance• Low internal storage• Unresponsive display

Pros and cons

+• Elegant design• Vibrant display• Decent pair of

shooters• Latest Android version• No bloatware

Price: Rs 7,999

Pricing and verdict

“The Iris X1 is an attractive budget handset, with the slightly sluggish performance being the only factor that mars the experience. However, if what you desire is an affordable Android KitKat smartphone with a great display and a competent set of cameras, the Iris X1 comes across as a compelling option.”