Last month, we tested the Lava Virat V1 and found it to be a charming entry-level phone with good specs for its price tag. Now, we turn our attention to its Pro sibling, which finds itself in the budget segment with its Rs 15,999 price tag. Not much separates the two smartphones on paper. Both devices are powered by the Unisoc T8200 octa-core processor. The 6.75-inch display, 6,000mAh battery, and IP64 protection are some other key specs that they share in common. The Pro variant distinguishes itself with a sharper 50MP main camera, 6GB RAM + 128GB storage, and faster 18W charging. We used the smartphone for a week to find out if it’s worth splurging an extra Rs 2,500. Find out in our in-depth review of the Lava Virat V1 Pro 5G.
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In This Article
Lava Virat V1 Pro 5G Review: Design and Display
Box Contents
- Smartphone
- 18W power adapter
- USB-A to USB-C cable
- Clear plastic cover
- SIM ejector
- Warranty card
The Virat V1 Pro has a flat form factor, just like the base variant. However, instead of a geometric design, it gets a plain, shiny, matte back. There are 2 colour options on offer – Sikkim Midnight and Spiti Frost. The square camera island reminds us of the Pixel Pro Fold with its dual cutouts stacked on top of each other.
The volume rocker and the side button are housed on the right edge of the plastic frame. The 3.5mm headphone jack, primary microphone, USB-C port, and speaker grille are placed at the bottom. The secondary microphone is placed at the top. The hybrid SIM tray (with microSD) support is positioned on the left edge. The smartphone is rated IP64 for dust and water resistance. It can survive exposure to mild water splashes.
The 6.75-inch IPS LCD panel has a 120Hz refresh rate. It does a decent job of maintaining legibility in most outdoor conditions, but crumbles under harsh sunlight. The waterdrop notch at the top of the display and the thick bezel at the bottom look pretty dated. The touch response is fine, but it’s not unusual to run into the odd stutter from time to time. The fingerprint scanner is mounted on the side button and does a fine job of unlocking the phone instantly.
We used the Lava Virat V1 Pro to stream movies and TV shows across major platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, and JioHotstar. As you’d expect, the viewing experience was shackled by the limitations of the LCD panel. Since it’s missing the deep blacks of an AMOLED display, the visuals produced by this panel felt a bit flat. Having said that, you can still have an enjoyable time watching videos on this device. The single, bottom-firing speaker does not sound as boxy or tinny as other phones in this price bracket.
Lava Virat V1 Pro 5G Review: Performance and Cameras
Powering the Virat V1 Pro is the octa-core T8200 chipset. The smartphone is available in a single 6GB RAM + 128GB storage variant. You can expand the storage up to 1TB using a microSD card. We ran a couple of benchmark tests on the phone. Here is how it performed.
- AnTuTu 3D Lite: 613,354
- Geekbench 7: 512 (single-core) | 1,958 (multi-core)
The extra RAM and storage do give the Virat V1 Pro the edge over the base model. The general performance is noticeably better, whether you’re multitasking or performing regular tasks like web browsing, instant messaging, and media streaming. We couldn’t ask more from a budget phone. There is still some sluggishness to bear, but it doesn’t manifest as a big problem.
The extra bit of RAM also gives a small boost to the gaming performance of this phone. You can play titles like BGMI and Call of Duty at low graphics and a 60fps frame rate. The gameplay is stable for the most part, but you do encounter the odd frame drop every now and then. The back panel starts to warm up 15 minutes into the gaming session.
The Virat V1 Pro runs Android 16 out of the box. Some of the lock screen and home page elements have been carried forward from stock Android, while Lava’s custom UI contributes in other aspects. The latter doesn’t feel like a finished product yet. The app icons, app drawer, and general layouts need to be more polished. Lava also has its own ‘Vayu AI’ assistant built into the system, but it takes longer than the average AI assistant to come up with a response to a query. Having said that, we have to give props to Lava for not shipping this phone with bloatware apps. It has promised 1 major OS update and 2 years of security patches for the device.
The 6,000mAh battery holds enough juice to last an entire day, even with heavy use. Even if you’re a fervent doomscroller with an embarrassing amount of screen time, you will find it hard to kill the battery in a day. More conservative users will be able to push the battery life beyond the 1-day mark. The 18W power adapter provided in the box takes over 2 days to fully charge this phone.
The rear camera panel houses a 50MP primary shooter, while the 8MP selfie camera is nestled inside the punch-hole cutout on the display. The main camera captures good pictures in outdoor daylight conditions. The images are certainly ‘social media ready’, but don’t look overprocessed. The details leave a bit more to be desired, but the colours remain on point. In limited lighting conditions, Night Mode does a decent job of lighting up the shot, but the final results have a fair bit of grain.
Portraits taken by the Virat V1 Pro are well-focused, but there is practically no background blur on them. This is not a deal breaker as it is an issue that pervades the entire category. The 8MP front-facing camera captures good selfies with mostly accurate colour tones. The rear camera can record 2K videos at 30fps. Meanwhile, the selfie camera can only shoot at 1,080p.
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Verdict
The Lava Virat V1 Pro is worth the premium it demands over its base siblings. For an additional Rs 2,500, you get better overall performance with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. The 50MP main camera also produces slightly better results. You can rely on this phone as your daily driver and even play games like BGMI and Call of Duty Mobile without worrying about frequent frame drops. The 6,000mAh battery remains one of the biggest highlights, as it is able to last an entire day of rigorous use.
Pros
- Nice design
- Good performance
- Big battery
- No bloatware apps
Cons
- Software experience is pretty average
