Lava’s next phone, Agni 3, which is set to launch in India on October 4, 2024, seems fun but it also appears to be heavily inspired from the works of two technology biggies— Apple and Xiaomi. It’s as if the Mi 11 Ultra and the iPhone 16 had a baby. The new phone is a big departure—and presumably a step-up—from the Agni 2 launched last year eyeing a more premium look and feel and perhaps a higher asking price, too. While the Agni 2 was priced just under Rs 20,000, the Agni 3 could be more expensive with Lava promos suggesting a ballpark figure of about Rs 30,000.
The Agni 3 is being billed as “India’s first dual AMOLED display” smartphone which is to say that Lava has found a way to fit a secondary screen on the back, which—going by teasers—should serve as a canvas to show cute and cuddly animated wallpapers or give you quick access to music and other controls. The Mi 11 Ultra is of course a much more premium phone with a visibly more unique styling and camera hardware but if you know, you know—it’s easy to confuse the Agni 3 with the Mi Ultra from the behind if you’re not too finicky about page-by-page detail.
Flip over to the side and there’s another inspiration waiting. This one from Apple.
The Agni 3 is also getting a “segment first customisable Action key,” which for those unaware seems oddly familiar with what Apple is also doing on its own new iPhones for a while now. Apple calls it the Action button and it made its debut last year on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. This year, the entire iPhone 16 series has it in addition to a new Camera capture button. Lava’s Action key will probably offer the same thing which is customisation but to what extent remains to be seen.
As for hardware, Lava has confirmed that the Agni 3 will feature a curved AMOLED primary display, a MediaTek Dimensity 7300x processor, and 50MP optically stabilised main camera. The phone is also confirmed to support Dolby Atmos sound. More details should become clear on October 4.
