Lava enters ultra-budget market with the Smart 4, priced at ₹8,500 in India

Lava has launched the Smart 4, its latest ultra-affordable smartphone in India, highlighting ongoing cost advantages at the entry-level segment despite modest specifications, aimed at consumers seeking basic functionality.

Lava has quietly added another ultra-budget handset to its Indian line-up with the Smart 4, a phone priced at ₹8,500, or about $90, that underlines how tight component costs remain at the bottom end of the market. The device sits below the recently launched Smart 4 Plus and is aimed at buyers who want basic smartphone functions rather than performance headroom.

According to the official specifications cited in the reports, the Smart 4 uses a 6.56-inch LCD panel with a resolution of 960 by 540 pixels. That works out to 168 pixels per inch, a modest figure by current standards, although the screen does support a 90Hz refresh rate. A teardrop notch houses the 5-megapixel front camera.

Inside, Lava has paired the ageing Unisoc 9863A chipset with 3GB of RAM. Beebom Gadgets says the phone runs Android 16 Go Edition, a trimmed-down version of Android designed for devices with limited memory and storage. That choice is consistent with the hardware, because standard Android 16 requires at least 6GB of RAM. The phone also comes with 32GB of internal storage.

The rest of the package is equally pared back. The main rear camera uses an 8-megapixel sensor, while power comes from a 5,000mAh battery with 10W charging. The handset will be sold in gold and grey, according to the reports. For context, Lava’s Smart 4 Plus, covered separately by FoneArena, Republic World and Gadgets 360, uses the same Unisoc 9863A platform but steps up to a 6.75-inch HD+ display, 4GB of RAM and a 13-megapixel main camera, with a launch price of ₹9,999. That contrast shows how even small specification changes can separate one entry-level model from another in India’s crowded low-cost smartphone segment.