Lava launched the Pixel V2 last month at Rs 9,999. It has a 5 inch touchscreen with high definition (720p) Resolution and Asahi Dragontail Glass. The smartphone is powered by a 64 bit MediaTek quad core Processor and 2GB DDR3 RAM. The device has 16 GB of internal storage which can be further expanded by up to 32 GB. The phone has a custom user interface called Star OS 2.0 which is based on Android Lollipop 5.1 operating system.
The Lava Pixel V2 has two SIM slots and offers 4G connectivity (one 4G slot running at a time) and dual standby. It packs a 2500 mAh Li-Po battery. The V2 has a 13 megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash and an 8 megapixel ‘selfie’ camera which too comes with an LED flash. Its rear camera has 1.4 micron large pixel size, F2.0 Aperture while the front camera comes with an aperture of F2.4.
The smartphone is available in Icy White and Royal Black colours. We used the phone extensively for about a fortnight and here are our findings.
Design
As compared to Pixel V1, Pixel V2 has complete revamped design. Though it has a plastic body, it looks like glass. Also, the metallic colour rim does give an impression of aluminium though it is not. The back panel is removable and under this lies the two SIM slots and a non-removable battery along with a micro SD card slot.
On its right-hand side lies the volume rocker and the power key while at the top lies the 3.5 mm audio jack. In the bottom panel there is a Micro USB port.. In the bottom panel there is a micro USB port.
Overall, the Lava Pixel V1 looks good, especially considering its price tag.
Display
The Lava Pixel V2 has a 5 inch touchscreen with high definition (720p). It has just enough brightness to make it readable in bright sunlight but most importantly responds well to touches. It has Asahi Dragon Trail Glass protection but to be on a safer do use screen protectors.
Camera
In the camera department it is a mixed bag. The Pixel V2 has a 13 megapixel rear unit with dual led flash and an 8 megapixel front camera that too is accompanied with a flash. The rear camera is able to click nice pictures in well lit conditions but detailing goes for a toss when you zoom it.
In the camera App there are four modes – Video, Photo, Beauty-Fi and Night pro. In the night pro mode I was hoping to get good result in dim lit conditions but it wasn’t so – the pictures lacked clarity and even colour reproduction was not accurate. On the other hand, when I took the night shots in the auto mode they were better than what I got using the night pro mode. The close shots come out really well using the rear camera and if you use Beauty-Fi mode you can better portrait shots.
As far the front camera is concerned I liked the output especially while clicking pictures using the wide selfie mode. The detailing of pictures clicked using the front camera is much better than the rear camera. Additionally, the camera offers various features Intelligent Mode and GIF maker.
Performance
The best aspect of Lava Pixel V2 is its processing power. Powered by a 64 bit MediaTek quad core processor and 2GB DDR3 RAM Pixel V2 is able to manage most of the tasks smoothly. We played games like Real Racing and Beach Buggy Racing but it never showed any lag.
But all is not that rosy, because of the Star OS 2.0, unlocking the device using the swipe method is not a smooth affair. Also, the gesture controls further mess up the unlocking process.
The Lava Pixel V1 has a 2500 mAh Li-Po battery that offers decent battery life. With single SIM, 24/7 internet connectivity and medium usage, it used to give me around 9 hours of backup. But, while charging and on prolonged usage it used to heat up (though not to an alarming level).
Connectivity
For connectivity, the Lava Pixel V2 has dual SIM where the primary slot supports 4G while the other one supports 3G. Also, it offers other connectivity features like Bluetooth, WiFi and GPS. As far the the GPS is concerned the device which we got for review used to take considerably longer time to lock into a location which was quite irritating.