Homegrown smartphone maker Karbonn Mobiles has recently launched K9 Kavach 4G, an entry-level smartphone focused on users looking for high-end functionality within a tight budget. Karbonn already has two smartphones—K9 Smart 4G and K9 Viraat under K9 series but the company is betting big on this device. Priced at Rs 5,290, the K9 Kavach 4G comes with Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box, and is one of the few budget smartphones to pack a fingerprint sensor and BHIM application. Karbonn says that it has optimised BHIM app for a better user experience and performance. The app has been integrated at the firmware level to make it secure. Apart from UPI integration, the device comes with eKYC and Aadhaar authentication and access to e-Gov and Digilocker services. We used this phone for over a week and here is our view. Out of the box, the Karbonn K9 Kavach 4G looks premium. The body is made of plastic. The front is dominated by a 5-inch display, which offers a resolution of 720 pixels by 1280 pixels. The resolution quality is good, icons look sharp and pixels are visible but reading is a bit of a challenge in direct sunlight. It also houses a front camera on the top, while three capacitive touch keys are placed in the bottom.
There are slots for a 3.5 mm headset jack and a micro USB charger on the top. The power and volume rocker keys are placed at the right edge. The detachable rear panel is home to Karbonn branding along with rear camera and LED flash. The device feels bulky but is non-slippery and comfortable to hold on. On the camera front, the K9 Kavach 4G has nothing to boast about. It comes with a 5-megapixel rear and a 5-megapixel front camera. Some of the test pictures that we clicked were decent in daylight condition but the same could not be repeated in low light. Significant noise, low saturation and less sharpness were visible across the test pictures that we clicked.
The K9 Kavach 4G’s entrails are powered by a 1.25GHz quad-core processor. The device comes with 1 GB RAM and 8 GB internal storage that can be expanded up to 32 GB via microSD card. During the review period, it handled basic things—browsing, reading, non-graphic intensive games—quite smoothly. But shuffling between different apps and multi-tasking was a bit challenging. The device supports Wi-Fi, 4G VoLTE, 3G, 2G, Bluetooth and comes with a dual SIM. It is packed with a replaceable 2300 mAh battery which offers decent standby time. Overall, the Karbonn K9 Kavach 4G is a decent entry level budget smartphone that runs on the latest Android 7.0 Nougat, packs a fingerprint sensor and remains good with basic usage.
