Lava Virat Curve 5G review: Tiny rear display adds flair to a capable phone

Lava's Virat Curve 5G stands out with its mini rear display and vegan leather finish, while smooth everyday performance and a 6,000mAh battery strengthen its case at Rs 23,999

A smartphone is not just a sum of specifications for me. The design also has to be convincing enough to make me want to spend the money. If a phone does not offer something different or interesting, it is difficult to justify choosing it over the many options already available.

 

This is where Lava has done something interesting with the Virat Curve 5G. Most smartphones in the under-Rs 25,000 segment look and feel quite similar, making it difficult for one device to stand out. The Virat Curve 5G, however, brings back a feature that many may remember with some nostalgia: a small display on the rear.

 

 

The mini rear display does not completely change how I use the phone, but it gives the Virat Curve 5G a distinct identity. If I had five phones from the same segment placed in front of me, this would probably be the one I would pick up first. But is the rear display enough to make the Virat Curve 5G stand out beyond its looks? How does it perform in everyday use, and does the phone offer enough to justify its price? Let's dive into the review.

 

Design

 

For me, a smartphone's look is often the first thing that makes me want to pick it up. Specifications matter, but if the design does not appeal to me, it is difficult to get excited about the device. And this is one area where I think Lava has done a good job with the Virat Curve 5G.

 

I have reviewed several Lava phones, and the Virat Curve 5G is probably the one that has appealed to me the most in terms of design. The vegan leather finish on the back looks premium, and while I have used several phones with leather-finish backs, this is among the better ones. I have the Makrana Ivory variant, and the colour works particularly well with the texture. It gives the phone a more understated, classy look without being too flashy.

 

But the detail that caught my attention the most is the small display placed beside the rear cameras. There is something nostalgic about having a tiny secondary screen on the back of a phone, and I quite like how Lava has executed it here. The placement feels intentional rather than something added just to make the phone look different.

 

Lava has tried something similar before with the Agni 3, which also featured a secondary display on the rear. The implementation and purpose were different there, with the screen offering more functionality. The Virat Curve 5G takes a simpler approach. In some ways, the rear display also reminds me of Nothing's Glyph Matrix, although the technology and intended use are quite different.

 

The phone is also quite slim around the sides, which makes it comfortable to hold. It reminds me somewhat of the Motorola Edge 70 in terms of how sleek it feels, although the top and bottom sections are slightly thicker. The curved display is another design element here. I am generally not a big fan of curved screens, but I found myself liking it more on this phone.

 

The volume and power buttons are placed within easy reach, and I have no complaints about the positioning of the cameras or the rear display module either.

 

At 184g, the phone is not particularly heavy. More importantly, it does not feel heavy in the hand. It is easy to hold and use for longer periods, which adds to the overall appeal of the design. If I had to rate the Virat Curve 5G purely on looks and handling, this would be one of its strongest aspects.

 

Display

 

I usually keep my phone brightness at around 70 per cent. I find it uncomfortable to use a phone at lower brightness, especially outdoors, so brightness is something I notice quite quickly when reviewing a device. With the Lava Virat Curve 5G, this is one area where I think the company could have done better.

 

The phone comes with a 6.67-inch full-HD+ 3D curved AMOLED display of a 120Hz refresh rate. The 1,100 nits peak brightness feels a little low compared with several smartphones I have used recently that offer much higher peak brightness. I had to make some adjustments to how I used the phone, particularly in brighter surroundings.

 

The curved display itself did not bother me, although it took me some time to get used to it. After using mostly flat displays over the past year, I have become more comfortable with them. However, the Virat Curve 5G made me reconsider that preference. Accidental touches along the edges were an adjustment in the beginning, but they became less of an issue with regular use.

 

The fingerprint sensor was another area where I had no complaints. I mainly used it to unlock the phone, and it worked smoothly without any noticeable interruptions. Face unlock was equally reliable, although I kept it turned off most of the time. In fact, this is one of the smoother Lava phones I have used in terms of the overall unlocking experience.

 

There was one small issue, though. The touch response around the curved edges, particularly on the left side, occasionally felt slightly weak. It did not happen often, but there were a few instances where a touch did not register on the first attempt.

 

Mini rear display

 

The mini rear display is easily the most interesting part of the phone for me. Its usefulness depends on how you choose to use it. The settings let you check notifications, add custom text and emojis, and glance at some essentials without having to unlock the phone.

 

But beyond the functions, I think the rear display works because it gives the phone some personality. I used it to display messages such as "Hi girl" and, on some days, "workaholic" just for fun. These are small things, but they make the phone feel a little more personal. The best part was that there was no limit to the text I could write on it, even if it was as long as a sentence.

 

I could also adjust the brightness and screen interaction settings. The feature can show information such as the time and battery percentage, and can also be turned off when not needed. It also allows users to set how long the display stays active, with options such as 15 seconds, 30 seconds or one minute. Notifications from apps such as WhatsApp and Instagram can also appear with their respective emojis, while the display shows the volume level when the volume is adjusted.

 

And if you are walking around with the phone in your hand, the rear display is almost certainly going to attract attention. We have become so used to smartphones looking broadly the same that even a small change can make people curious. There is also a growing nostalgia around older and unusual tech gadgets, particularly on social media, and this tiny rear display fits neatly into that trend.

 

It does not completely change how you use a smartphone, but it gives the Virat Curve 5G something most phones in this segment do not have: a design feature that people are likely to notice and ask about. At least, quite a few people asked me about it.

 

Camera

 

The Lava Virat Curve 5G has a 50MP primary camera (Sony IMX752 sensor) with electronic image stabilisation (EIS), paired with a 13MP front camera. Video recording goes up to 2K at 30 frames per second (fps), while 1080p recording is available at 60fps.

 

In daylight, the main camera takes fairly good pictures with natural-looking colours and controlled highlights. Shadows are handled reasonably well, including in some low-light shots. However, the processing tends to oversharpen images, particularly in 2x shots. This is noticeable in certain pictures.

 

The AI mode adds more colour to pictures, but the effect can be excessive, so I mostly kept it off during my review. Low-light performance is mixed. An open-terrace shot came out better than expected, while a picture of a lamp near a tree showed decent detail in the leaves and tree but overexposed the light. The oversharpening also remains visible in some night shots.

 

The camera app offers several shooting modes, including document correction, group photo, dual-view video, AI emoji, motion photo, GIF, Pro Video, Sport, Pro, panorama, slow motion and time-lapse.

 

The 13MP front camera produces decent selfies with mostly natural-looking skin tones. The portrait effect is relatively subtle, which may not appeal to those who prefer stronger background blur. Video recording on the front camera is limited to 1080p at 30fps.

 

The main camera can record at 2K and 30fps, while 1080p recording is available at 60fps. There is no optical image stabilisation (OIS), so footage from the main camera can look slightly shaky when shooting handheld.

 

Performance

 

The Virat Curve 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7100 and comes with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. For comparison, the recently reviewed Virat V1 uses the Unisoc T8200 octa-core processor, paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

 

There is a significant difference in their price segments, so this is not a direct comparison. However, the difference in hardware is worth noting because it is also reflected in the overall user experience.

 

With the Virat V1, the specifications were adequate for basic smartphone use. In everyday use, however, responsiveness was its biggest weakness. The software experience often felt sluggish, with noticeable delays while switching between apps, responding to taps and opening certain functions. Even simple tasks sometimes took longer than expected.

 

The Virat Curve 5G is quite smooth. In fact, as I said before, this is Lava's finest work that I have tested so far. I had no issues navigating the device or using several apps while multitasking. For navigation, I preferred using gestures. The three-button navigation system felt somewhat confusing to me. I did, however, notice some lag while typing search queries in Chrome, along with occasional user interface (UI) stutters, which I hope Lava addresses through future updates.

 

Lava says the phone comes without bloatware, but there are still several applications pre-installed on the device. Many of these are apps that I would not normally choose to install.

 

Vayu AI

 

The Virat Curve 5G also comes with a decent set of AI features. Lava calls one of them Vayu AI, which is essentially an AI pet that can chat and interact with you. It can also be added to the home screen as a widget. While the feature looks cute and is something different, I did not find much practical use for it. It can, however, be fun to use in your leisure time.

 

Some of the other AI features are more useful. These include AI Translate, a writing assistant, different AI agents such as a maths or English teacher, a text assistant and call recording. Overall, there are plenty of AI features here, but their usefulness depends on how you use the phone. I did not use them often, but they worked fine when I did. 

 

Battery

 

Lava packs a 6,000mAh battery and includes a USB Type-C cable and 33W charger in the box. I had no issues with the battery life. Most of the time, I was using social media and scrolling through reels, and the battery held up well. Even on standby, it did not discharge drastically. I also used the phone for video calls, which did not have a major impact on battery life.

 

Verdict

 

At Rs 23,999, the Lava Virat Curve 5G brings a distinct personality to the segment. Beyond its specifications, it feels like a phone with its own identity, which makes it stand out in a crowded market. That said, the Virat Curve 5G may make sense for someone who wants something different rather than another phone that looks like everything else. The smartphone is not about being the best at everything. It is about being different, and Lava has finally found a way to make that difference matter.