UK gets a new phone brand, but there’s a price problem You Should Know

Although OnePlus has just waved goodbye, the UK just got a new phone brand in the form of Lava. The Indian Android phone maker has decided to take on the likes of Motorola, Samsung and even Google itself, but there’s a bit of an issue.

Lava’s first Blight-bound handset is the Agni 4N and it will go on sale via Amazon on 4 September in Luna Mist or Phantom Black. While we welcome more competition and consumer choice, Lava may have a difficult time attracting fans with the 4N’s price of £499.

This puts it in direct comparison with the Google Pixel 10a, which costs the same as well as other key rivals such as the Samsung Galaxy A57 (£529). Then there’s the fact we already have a ‘challenger brand’ in the form of Nothing and its Phone (4a) Pro is also £499.

In short, the mid-range is a hotly contested area of the phone market and the Lava Agni 4N is very similar to the Agni 4, which already launched in India back in November. It cost INR24,999 (£195) at launch and is now INR32,999 (£255).

Lava

This budget price range would have been a much better strategy; the category is lacking innovation and interesting options at a time when the memory crisis is pushing up the cost of higher-tier devices alongside the rising cost of living.

What you get for your money

The Lava Agni 4N does have some decent specs for its mid-range price. For starters, you get 6.67-inch AMOLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate, a decent 256GB of storage (speedy UFS 4.0, too), a 50Mp selfie camera and main rear cameras and 66W fast charging.

However, there’s an old Dimensity 8350 chipset, an average-sized 5000mAh battery, basic IP64 water protection and only two years of OS updates and only ships with Android 16. That’s way off the six years you get with even the budget-priced Galaxy A17.

On the plus side, the software supposedly comes without adsor any bloatware, which makes for a refreshing change.

Other specs include stereo speakers, NFC, 5G, an IR blaster, 8Mp ultrawide camera and an Action Key with multiple uses.

Lava says the phone is “designed to deliver a premium smartphone experience at an accessible price point” and “combines flagship-grade performance, thoughtful design, and user-centric innovation for UK consumers.”

Is it enough to take on the big guns of the UK’s phone market? I’m not convinced.