Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
Battery life
- 2,500mAh battery has a day of life
- Takes a while to fully charge
The V7 Lite's 2,500mAh battery is quite roomy for a phone of this size (and cost), and thanks to the 720p screen isn't taxed as much as the power cells seen in phones with larger, sharper screens.
We could comfortably get a day of full usage out of a single charge without having to moderate our activities.
During out traditional video test – where a HD clip is played for 90 minutes with the screen brightness at full and volume at maximum – the Blade V7 Lite shed 20% of its battery life.
That's slightly worse than the Moto G4’s drop of 17%, but better than the 25% drop exhibited by the Bush Spira E3X, which is another of the V7 Lite’s rivals.
But charging the battery takes much longer than it really should. With the phone on empty, the charging cycle is around two and a half hours, which in the days of quick-charging handsets feels like an absolute age.
Camera
- 13MP camera takes dull snaps, even in ideal conditions
- Front-facing camera has a handy LED flash
Budget Android phones often cut corners when it comes to photography, and the Blade V7 Lite is no exception.
The 13MP sensor struggles to capture a decent shot unless conditions are nigh-on perfect; dimly-lit environments cause all kinds of trouble and the lack of optical image stabilisation means that blurry photos are commonplace.
Even when you do manage to get a half-decent shot, images look rather dull and washed-out, while videos are capped at 1080p and 30fps - which is standard for a budget handset.
The one plus point to the Blade V7 Lite's setup is the LED flash which accompanies the front-facing selfie camera.
If you're keen on taking self-portraits then you'll appreciate the fact that this phone delivers colourful, well-illuminated shots in any location.
Camera samples
This laptop has a horizontal rollable display that extends to 18 inches, and I can't wait to try it
More 128TB SSDs on the way, but they won't be cheaper: Key maker of NAND flash controllers says 128TB SSDs are shipping
How to make hard drives faster? Simple, just bunch dozens of them together, Toshiba says
