You Can Get A New Smartphone For Free, If You Own A Realme 8s
Indian smartphone maker Lava has deployed a rather aggressive strategy to sell its phones. You can get a Lava Agni 5G smartphone for free if you exchange your Realme 8s for it.
Both the Realme 8s and Lava Agni pack similar features at a similar price. While the Lava is slightly pricier, it only offers one model, which is slightly more feature-packed than the base Realme 8s, which is cheaper. However, at the exact same price of INR 19,999, both phones offer almost exactly the same thing.
Lava Agni 5G Vs Realme 8s
| Specifications | Lava Agni 5G | Realme 8s |
| Display | 6.78-inch, Punch Hole FHD+ display, 2.5D curved glass | 6.5-inch, Punch hole FHD+ display with 600 nits peak brightness |
| Cameras | Rear: 64MP AI camera + 5MP wide + 2MP depth sensor + 2MP Macro; dual flash Front: 16MP | Rear: 64MP Nightscape sensor + 2MP depth sensor + 2MP Macro Front: 16MP |
| SoC | MediaTek Dimensity 810 | MediaTek Dimensity 810 |
| RAM and Storage | 8GB RAM, 128GB internal storage, up to 1TB external storage | 6GB/8GB RAM, 128GB internal storage, up to 1TB external storage |
| Operating System | Stock Android 11 | Realme UI based on Android 11 |
| Battery | 5,000mAh LiPo battery | 5,000mAh battery with 33W Dart Charge |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth, WiFi, 5G compatible | Bluetooth, WiFi, 5G compatible |
| Colors | Fiery Blue | Universe Blue, Universe Purple |
| Price | INR 19,999 | Starts at INR 17,999 |
Judging by the table above, we can clearly see the Lava Agni is modeled to go after the Realme 8s. From the choice of the processor to that of RAM, storage, and even the battery configuration is all the same.
However, Lava’s offering gives you an additional 2MP macro camera, while the Realme offers a cheaper base variant and two color options.
That aside, the Lava Agni 5G runs Stock Android 11 but Realme comes with Realme UI based on Android 11. Both have their own pros and cons and it’s a subjective matter.
Exchange Realme 8s For Lava Agni 5G
Lava’s Twitter handle as well as the website is encouraging Realme 8s users to exchange their phones for free to get a Lava Agni 5G. You can do it from Lava’s website here or from the tweet embedded above.
The name of the game is patriotism and Lava is banking heavily on sentiment. The above video pleads to Indian people saying ‘India is my country but my smartphone is Chinese.’
India has been going through a serious anti-Chinese phase ever since the pandemic and China’s reported encroachment on Indian land.
India also banned 59 Chinese apps in 2020, which haven’t come back yet. Later in September 2020, India banned PUBG Mobile along with 118 Chinese apps. This was followed by countrywide anti-China demonstrations.
In this light, a made-in-India entry-level smartphone should sell like hotcakes. But in doing so, Indian manufacturers need to improve on their own products rather than trying to undermine the competition.
Many Indians also condemned the move on Twitter. The above-embedded reply is just an example of some of the flak Lava took for its move.
I think the targetting of the Realme 8s by Lava Agni is in poor taste. It takes an Indian offering, which seems to justify its value, and brings it down to sentiment. Lava could’ve probably done it better.
