It is equally surprising and disappointing that in a space as vibrant as India’s smartphone ecosystem, certain things Lava does often go unnoticed. Case in point: the Indian phone maker’s latest Blaze series phone, the dual-screen Blaze Duo 3. This succeeds the Blaze Duo after a gap longer than a year (skipping the “2” iteration) yet still holds strong with the same ₹16,999 price tag — this counters all conventional wisdom of generational inflation, as specs improve (and become more expensive) year after year. Two screens in a phone, unless it’s a foldable, remain a rare proposition. But even then, that feature has not been used as a laurel to rest on.
The Lava Blaze Duo 3 sees fair continuity in design refinement, headlined by an IP64 dust and water resistance rated flat slab-esque form factor that’s 7.5mm slim, a 6.67-inch AMOLED display that also ticks off the 120Hz refresh rate, as well as an infrared (IR) blaster which still holds considerable utility and convenience in controlling home appliances. What’s also not changed, in order to keep pricing parity after such a significant passage of time, is that Lava’s Android experience remains clutter and bloat free. This has been Lava’s unique proposition for years, while the passage of time has borne witness to almost all their competitors eventually falling for the lure of pre-loaded apps as a revenue stream. For a more discerning customer, a clean Android experience is worth its weight in gold (and I say that with confidence, even at current gold prices).
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The choice of MediaTek’s Dimensity 7060 chip, paired with 6GB memory, typifies a mid-range phone that holds its ground for the most part. This is, mind you, more than adequate for the buyer who’d use this as an everyday phone. The interface is snappy, app responsiveness has a sense of purpose and there isn’t any perceptible heating on the back panel when you multitask on this phone. The Blaze Duo 3 feels somewhat snappier and more responsive than the slightly more expensive Poco M8 powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen3 chip, in terms of real world usage — the latter’s emphasis on preloaded apps and a fair amount of preinstalled bloat, could be a factor.
One could obviously point to the differences between the MediaTek and Qualcomm chips as the reason why the Lava Blaze Duo 3 holds back a bit in terms of battery stamina. In the Poco M8’s review, I pointed out that the 5520mAh battery delivers about 6 hours of screen time when used as a primary phone under typical conditions. The Blaze Duo 3’s 5,000mAh battery does a smidgen less, and I would expect Lava to optimise thermals or processor behaviour with subsequent updates.
In case you’re wondering what can be done with the second screen, which Lava calls Mini Screen, there are two core advantages. First, it can be your very useful viewfinder for taking selfies with the rear camera (open the camera app by swiping left from the clock screen). Secondly, in case you have a habit of keeping the phone face down on the table during meetings or when out for a nice meal, this can be helpful to quietly glance at notifications or simply the time. Which app’s notifications make it to this screen can also be controlled.
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Photography is where some optimisations are necessary, to improve on what is already a fairly solid foundation to work with. The 50-megapixel sensor at the back is a Sony IMX752, paired with an auxiliary lens for depth sensing. For all intents and purposes, think of this as a single 50-megapixel ‘AI Camera’ at work, and there are times when the strain shows. For starters, Lava’s image processing delivers just the right level of crispness and detailing in most daytime photos, and if you’re patient enough, the night mode for low light photos as well. However, contrast and details in shadows often lose that additional step of visual appeal. One could argue (and I’d be in your corner) that the Blaze Duo 3 delivers colours that are a bit subdued — and that should be easily fixable with a software update. I get Lava’s approach here: not to err on the side of unnecessary vividness, but this is a bit too subdued.
The reality is, Lava hasn’t pieced together the Lava Blaze Duo 3 to outrun this hotly contested segment on just the spec sheet, and perhaps that’s precisely the point with its approach. In a market obsessed with incremental processor bumps and camera upgrades, delivering on pricing discipline, while maintaining a clean software personality and yet delivering utility with a genuinely distinctive secondary display, are wins. Mind you, there are rough edges, but the camera image processing and battery optimisations can be categorised more as necessary tuning, rather than unfixable weaknesses. For ₹16,999 in 2026, holding the line itself is a statement. The Blaze Duo 3 is, as most of Lava’s recent smartphones have been, underrated but hopefully not under appreciated.
