Lava Agni 4 review: Levels up midrange smartphone experience with Vayu AI

If you are looking for a smartphone that covers everyday needs without over-promising, the Agni 4 from Lava is a smart buy option you must consider

With the Agni 4, Indian smartphone brand Lava debuted ‘Vayu AI’ system, which it said is built specifically for the Indian audience. The phone brings AI agents for learning, creativity, emotional support, productivity, and system-level control, marking Lava’s most ambitious software push yet. On the hardware side, the Agni 4 comes with a 6.67-inch 1.5K+ AMOLED display, MediaTek Dimensity 8350 processor, a sturdy aluminium-glass build, a large horizontal camera module, 50MP front and rear cameras, and a 5,000mAh battery.

 

With a premium design, a bright AMOLED panel, and a camera setup tuned for sharp daytime shots and detailed selfies, the Agni 4 is aiming to stand out in its segment. Can it? Let us find out:

 

Design

The Lava Agni 4 feels solid the moment you pick it up. It is on the heavier side at around 208–212g, this might be because Lava has used aluminium and glass. The difference in feel is obvious, also a bit weighty for long one-handed use. The phone has a flat aluminium frame with a textured finish that aids grip. The back is matte AG glass with a frosted look. Fingerprints still show up, though they are less noticeable on the white version I tested. The slight curve along the edges makes it comfortable to hold. But the real attention-grabber is the large horizontal camera module. It’s a pill-shaped slab stretching across the entire rear panel, housing the two rear cameras. I personally did not mind the bold styling; it's a design statement, and it is definitely distinctive.

 

On the right side, the phone includes four buttons: the power key, volume controls, and an Action Key.

Action Key

The Agni 4 comes with a customisable Action Key that supports multiple combinations using short press, double press, and long press gestures. You can assign it to essential functions like the camera, torch, vibration mode, specific apps, and several quick tools.

 

However, the placement of the Action Key is noticeably low on the right side of the frame. Because of this, the phone feels slightly imbalanced when you try to use the button with one hand, especially if you have smaller hands. Reaching it naturally requires shifting your grip, which increases the chances of dropping the phone. When used with both hands, the key feels stable and much easier to access.

 

In my case, I set the key for screenshots and the torch, and the convenience is definitely there, you just need both hands to use it comfortably.

Display

The Agni 4 comes with a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a 1.5K+ resolution, and it looks sharp. The default vivid mode makes colours pop a bit too much, but switching to normal from display settings gives a more natural look. The screen supports a 120Hz refresh rate, and most of the time it feels smooth while scrolling and switching apps.

 

Brightness is good indoors, and I didn’t face any issues using it outdoors either. The bezels are slim, although the bottom chin is still slightly noticeable. I enjoyed watching reels and shows on this display, and even during longer sessions, I did not feel any discomfort.

Camera

The Lava Agni 4 comes with a dual rear camera setup, but in daily use, it’s mostly the 50MP main camera you rely on. The 8MP ultrawide is more suited for occasional wide shots since it doesn’t have autofocus. I personally don’t take a lot of ultrawide photos, so its limitations didn’t bother me much either. The Lava Agni 4 has a dual rear camera setup, but in everyday use, the 50MP main camera does most of the work.

 

In good lighting, the main camera performs well. Daytime photos look sharp, textures come out nicely, and autofocus is quick. The colours are slightly on the punchier side, but people around me actually liked how lively the photos looked. For example, when I clicked a picture of my friend indoors, she loved how clear details appeared, even though it leaned a little warm because of the boosted saturation.

 

In low light, the results change. Night Mode doesn’t make a big difference. Photos become softer, show some noise, and lose finer details. When I tried taking a picture of a side table in a corner with a yellow, dim light, the image looked grainy with soft edges. It still looked better than some darker street shots I tried, which came out usable but not very detailed. The exposure slider also behaves differently depending on the lighting. Sometimes it adjusts quickly, and sometimes it doesn’t respond well.

 

When clicking people indoors, the camera tends to add more red and yellow tones to the skin, which makes faces look a bit warmer than they actually are.

 

On the brighter side, portrait mode works nicely. The edge detection is clean, and the background blur looks natural. The phone also supports 4K 60fps video recording, and you can capture photos while recording.

 

As for the ultrawide, the lens works well for scenic shots and captures a wider frame that looks good for social media. But in low light, it struggles, and the images turn soft and noisy.

 

The 50MP selfie camera is sharp, sometimes even a bit too sharp, especially around complex subjects such as hair strands. But the overall colours look quite close to real life. In regular mode, HDR activates most of the time and helps keep the background balanced. However, if the light is right behind you, like standing in front of a window, the colours can look washed out and the background tends to blow out slightly, affecting contrast and dynamic range.

Battery

Since my main priorities mainly revolve around camera and battery, I feel genuinely good about a smartphone when its battery efficiency surprises me. When a phone lasts longer than I expect, it instantly leaves a better impression on me.

 

The Lava Agni 4 comes with a 5,000mAh battery, which is standard nowadays. In my daily usage, the phone comfortably gave me around five to six hours of screen-on time, depending on what I was doing. For example, on one of the days I tested it, the battery went from 100 per cent to 70 per cent after almost an hour and a half of use that included chatting, Instagram scrolling and some light gaming. So the battery performance is steady enough to last through a full day unless you are a very heavy user.

 

The phone supports 66W fast wired charging, and Lava includes the charger in the box. With this setup, the Agni 4 can charge from 0 to 100 percent in roughly within an hour, which comes in handy and makes the battery experience feel more convenient overall.

Performance

In everyday use, it handles regular tasks well. Apps open quickly, switching between them feels smooth, and watching videos or browsing is comfortable.

 

However, during longer gaming sessions or heavy tasks, the phone tends to heat up fairly quickly. Even in cooler weather, the temperature rises within 10 to 15 minutes of gaming, which affects how long you can play comfortably.

 

For daily use, the experience is mostly smooth, but there are moments when the phone slows down for a second, like when opening the camera or switching to a heavy app. RAM management works most of the time but occasionally closes apps in the background earlier than expected.

 

Overall, the phone has strong hardware on paper but still needs some refinement in real-world performance. While it scores well in tests, gaming performance is mostly good, but the phone tends to warm up early and you may notice slight drops in smoothness during longer sessions. 

Software

Out of the box, the Lava Agni 4 runs stock Android 15 with almost no unwanted apps, which keeps the interface clean. You get the usual Google app icons along with a few Lava apps like Vayu AI, Sound Recorder, FM Radio, and Outdoor Toolbox. The software feels smooth, though you may notice a small jitter here and there.

 

Vayu AI

 

Lava’s Vayu AI is built into the system and offers several tools, such as an AI text assistant, voice assistant, photo editing, call summaries, and learning helpers. There is also a small dog mascot on the home screen that works like an assistant shortcut; you tap it to ask questions or give voice commands. It also does multiple actions on tapping. The voice recognition did not work well for me. 

 

In my experience, the little Vayu AI mascot often replied with “Oops, didn’t quite get that,” especially when I tried voice commands. But beyond that, the phone offers several AI agents that are actually quite interesting to use. You get an AI female and male companion, a math teacher, and a few other learning tools.

 

The AI companion feels surprisingly natural in conversation. It can answer questions, crack jokes, and hold a casual chat in a way that feels more human than expected. The math teacher also worked well during my testing, solving typical problems quickly and clearly. For students, this could genuinely make day-to-day tasks easier without any extra hassle. Overall, while the voice recognition still needs some polish, many of the AI features on the Agni 4 are more useful and engaging than you would expect. 

Verdict

At Rs 24,999, the Lava Agni 4 hits a sweet spot for users who care most about camera quality, battery reliability, and smooth everyday performance. Its sturdy build, bright AMOLED display, and 50 MP main camera make it a convincing option for daily use and casual photography. The battery keeps you going through a full day with ease, and the 66W fast charging adds a layer of convenience.

 

What elevates the experience further is Lava’s integrated Vayu AI system paired with clean Android 15. For students, creators or anyone who depends on their phone for productivity, Vayu AI offers genuinely useful tools, including learning agents, creative assistants and a conversational companion, all without adding unnecessary bloat. The interface remains clean, simple and easy to navigate.

 

The integrated Vayu AI and clean Android 15 setup bring extra value, especially for students or users who enjoy a mix of productivity and creativity tools with minimal bloat. While the phone is not a flagship-grade beast in heavy gaming or extreme multitasking, for most users, its performance is more than adequate, as I feel. If you are looking for a sensible smartphone that covers everyday needs without over-promising, Agni 4 is a smart buy.   Lava Agni 4: Unboxing   

 

 

 

 

 

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