Lava to launch ‘Virat’ series phones in India, Flipkart availability confirmed

Lava has announced that will soon be launching a new ‘Virat’ series of smartphones in India via Flipkart. The new smartphone lineup will be an ‘online-first’ series and will feature both 4G and 5G devices.

The homegrown smartphone maker says Virat series will include devices from across the sub- ₹10,000 to ₹25,000 price segment. While Lava has confirmed the partnership and some details about the lineup, the company is yet to reveal the launch date or specifications of the first Virat smartphones.

Lava says the Virat series devices will focus on long battery life, AI-powered camera capabilities and segment leading performance. The company claims the devices will deliver up to two days of battery life, although it has not shared battery capacities or processor details yet.

Lava says that its online business grew 74% in the last year and the company believes that its new Virat series will help strengthen its prescence among the online-first buyers.

Lava to enter UK market soon:

Recently, Lava had also announced that it will be entering the UK smartphone market with the company betting that its position as a non-Chinese smartphone brand could help it stand out in a market largely dominated by Apple and Samsung.

In an interaction with Mint, Lava Managing Director Sunil Raina had said the company believes there is room for another Android player in the UK, where Chinese brands have struggled to gain traction.

“When we looked at that market, what we realised is that in the Android space, because Apple is a different category altogether, it is largely a single-brand dominated market. Samsung has a very high market share. The reason is that Chinese companies have not been successful there because these countries do not accept Chinese products. There is no real non-Chinese alternative available, so consumers are practically left with one choice,” Raina said

Raina also added that Lava will not position itself as a “Made in India” brand in overseas markets, noting that the company’s focus will be on competing through product quality and overall user experience.

“It’s going to be a story about how good the product is compared to what consumers are already getting. We don’t do too much of the India story, even in India. It’s very subtle. We want our evaluation to be done on the basis of merit. Merit first, emotion later. That’s how we operate, and that’s how we’ll do it everywhere,” he said.