Lava Iris 504q+ review – it’s a better 504q with impressive camera

Lava Mobiles have upgraded their popular 504q handset and launched the Lava Iris 504q+. The q+ is powered by 1.3GHz quad core processor and comes with a 10MP rear AF camera with Sony lens for better picture quality. Incidentally the q+ is priced cheaper that at what 504q is selling for.

Inside the box you will find the handset, 2000 mAh battery (Li-po), screen guard, good quality intelligent flip cover – (you will need to stick the flip cover on the back cover of the handset), travel charger, data cable, earphone and user manual.

Design and Display
The Iris 504q+ has got a complexly new makeover. It looks much better than its predecessor. I got the grey colored handset that had a darker and a lighter shade that made the handset look more appealing. Handset weight with battery is 158 grams and thickness is 8.36mm.

Though it is not specifically mentioned, but I guess the back cover is made of aluminum. The moment you open up the back cover it doesn’t feel like plastic, it is tough and definitely metal (aluminum). It’s metal on the outside and inside there is a layer of plastic on top of the metal (check video review).

Overall the handset looks classy and looks like a high end (costly) device. There are dual microphones for noise cancellation. Volume rockers are on the left, power button on the right, micro USB port at the bottom and 3.5mm audio jack on the top.

The Lava Iris 504q+ comes with a 5 inch OGS screen with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution with 16M colors. The screen also comes protected with Asahi Dragon Trail Glass (scratch resistant). Touch is smooth, viewing angles and color reproduction are good. There are 3 sensors light, accelerometer and proximity. If you compare the sensors on the older model you will find that the old 504q comes with 2 more sensors magnetic and gyro.

OS, Memory and Storage
The 504q+ sails on Android 4.2.2 with 1GB RAM and 8GB storage. Of the 8GB storage 5.4GB is available for apps and 659MB is the free RAM available on the first boot. There is micro SD card slot that supports 32GB external cards. Apps and Games got installed on the internal storage. OTG is supported and you can access the contents of Pen drive by connecting it via an OTG cable.

Performance
The 504q+ is using the MediaTek MT6582 quad core chipset (@ 1.3GHz) which is the latest trend as of now. It is coupled with Mali 400 GPU. The performance was good and lag free.

Benchmark (compared with 504q)

The q+ performance is better as compared with its predecessor.

Camera
There is a 10MP camera placed on the rear with SONY sensor (EXMOR RS Sensor) along with LED flash support. The front camera is of 2MP resolution. Front camera quality is below average, however the 10MP rear camera quality is impressive. I believe it is as good as seen on the Micromax Magnus A117. Check the same images. The rear camera can record 1080p videos – that too is pretty impressive.

Gaming
There is limited space of 5.4GB on the internal storage and you cannot install / move apps on the external storage. I installed the Modern Combat 4 and the Asphalt 8 games and both these games got installed on the internal storage.

Both the games played well, the Asphalt 8 was by default set to the medium graphics mode. Check the gaming part in the video review.

Others
Sound is loud and clear. 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS worked well, without any issues. The handset supports air gesture and there are quick options to enable / disable them. When the flip cover is opened the screen will automatically switch on. This is a dual SIM handset you need a normal SIM (SIM 1)and a micro SIM (SIM 2). Air Gestures are supported.

Battery
This handset comes with a removable 2000 mAh battery. The review unit I got had some issues with the battery. The battery was not charging (using wall or PC), it did show the charging indicator but it never charged.

I monitored the battery % twice. The first time when running benchmark apps for 26 minutes battery dropped by 12 and max temp was 39 degree. The second time I played the games for 6 minutes – battery dropped by 4% and the max temperature was 37 degree.

If you are playing games at the most the battery backup will last for about 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours and if you are using heavy apps continuously it should give a backup of 3 hours 30 minutes to 4 hours. Battery performance is average.

If any of you have got the 504q+ handset do let us know about the battery performance.

Update: I will be getting another review unit from Lava. Will specially check the battery part.

Verdict
The Lava Iris 504q+ no doubt is much better than the Iris 504q. When it comes to the price the q+ is cheaper.

Comparison between Lava Iris 504q and Iris 504q+

The camera quality is very good, comparable to the Magnus A117.

Lava Iris 504q+ is available for Rs. 12,799.

Image Gallery

Sample Images

Lava Iris 504q+ handset and gaming review

Full HD video sample recorded using the 504q+ handset

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