Lava Pixel V1 hands-on

Lava just announced the first second-gen Android One device called the Pixel V1. Unlike the Android One devices launched previously, the Pixel V1 is not based on a common reference design; the V1 has a brand new design and spec sheet exclusive to Lava.

The Pixel V1 is quite a bit larger, thanks to its 5.5-inch display. This does make the phone more difficult to operate with one hand and won't appeal to everyone. The design looks premium at first glance but has a slight plasticky feel throughout. Some of the other budget phones in comparison, such as the Moto G and the Xiaomi Redmi Note have much better build quality and finish.

Lava Pixel V1

The large 5.5-inch IPS LCD looks decent, but the colors are slightly bland and the resolution looks a bit stretched on the 5.5-inch display. The touchscreen works fine, however, and did not seem to have any issues, particularly while typing.

Lava Pixel V1

The performance of the MediaTek chipset was mediocre. The device does not feel particularly quick, despite running a completely stock version of Android 5.1. The 2GB RAM should help, however, while running multiple apps at the same time. The stock version of Android also means the phone will get updates directly from Google as soon as they are announced.

Lava Pixel V1 camera samples

Overall, the Pixel V1 does have a very budget feel to it. This is unfortunate as it is quite a bit more expensive than phones from rival brands and except for the 32GB internal memory does not offer much to justify the price.