Infinix Hot 40i: Over time, the smartphone market in India has experienced fluctuations in the sub-Rs 10,000 pricing sector. There was a time when new smartphones were released regularly in this price range. But by 2024, it appears that it will be difficult to find a suitable solution that meets the majority of requirements.
Infinix, which has been performing very well in the cheap and mid-range pricing ranges, has debuted its newest model, the Hot 40i, for less than Rs 10,000 to provide unmatched value for the money. Are its claims credible? Find out by reading my review.
Verdict
The Infinix Hot 40i is a straightforward gadget that does the essentials well and excels in a few important areas. The phone’s remarkable display, practical software functions, and industry-leading 32MP selfie camera—unprecedented in this price range—are its best attributes. This could be a fantastic option if you’re looking to spend less than Rs 10,000 on a feature-rich phone that will help you improve your social media presence and take quality selfies.
Design and display
The Hot 40i boasts visually arresting features that the firm has dubbed the “Glow Line” design. According to the company, the glow lining has a silky texture and brilliant, sparkling colors. The Hot 40i’s Palm Blue version, which closely mimics the Rainbow Blue Smart 8 HD edition, is more noteworthy than the Starfall Green version that we received. The rear of the product features a matte surface that is smooth and comfortable to hold. The Hot 40i has a sizable triple camera housing with two camera sensors and a ring light on the back of the phone.
The sides of the phone are finished in a reflective material, and I found the grip to be comfortable. The phone felt smooth at all times. The phone’s right side has a power button, which is conveniently accessible with the thumb thanks to an integrated fingerprint sensor. The volume rocker, which is situated directly above the power button, was easy for me to reach with my thumb. From an ergonomic perspective, the phone has a practical design that doesn’t interfere with your use.
Fortunately, the phone also has a 3.5mm connector on the bottom, which is something that is severely lacking on more expensive current phones.
Let’s talk about the phone’s display. It has a 6.56-inch IPS LCD panel with a refresh rate of up to 90 Hz and HD+ (1,612 x 720 pixels) resolution. You can select a 60Hz refresh rate for extended battery life, a 90Hz refresh rate for a fluid visual experience, or an Auto-switch option that will automatically change the refresh rate based on the content in the display settings. With a punch-hole selfie camera and minimal bezels surrounding the screen, the phone achieves an amazing screen-to-body ratio of 89.70 percent. The maximum brightness of the display, which is set at 480 nits, seems to be the only thing that could be improved, in my opinion, despite the amazing display quality. Even though this figure is somewhat normal in this particular segment.
Cameras
Along with an AI sensor, a ring flash, and a 50MP primary camera, the Hot 40i has these characteristics. Let’s first discuss the available modes before getting into the camera performance. The default camera app’s home screen displays the regular Photo, Beauty, Portrait, and Super Night options when you click an image. You can capture both long and short movies while doing so.
You can choose an AI smart beauty effect or manually tweak filters in the beauty mode, such as enlarging eyes, slimming the face, and smoothing the skin. In addition, the camera app has Panorama, papers (which allows you to take images of papers), Ultra HD, AR Shot (which allows you to take pictures with filters inspired by animals), Time-Lapse, and Slow Motion modes. You may tweak the EV, ISO, White Balance, AF, and other settings in the Pro mode of the app to make sure you can take the perfect photos. You have the choice to utilize 2x digital zoom in all other settings except portrait. If you would prefer that particular camera modes appear on the default camera app’s home screen, you also get the option to rearrange the modes.
The phone has a 32MP selfie camera on the front that leads the market and is complemented by a flash. Moreover, you can fit more of your pals in your selfies because of the 90-degree wide-angle lens. It is helpful to have this combination of functions in this pricing range since most brands seem to concentrate only on getting the essentials right. In low light conditions, the front flash aids in taking detailed photos with the high-resolution camera. In some situations, the latter may overexpose subjects, but overall, the performance is consistently better than other phones in this price range that do not have flash.
You can record videos in up to 1080p HD at 30 frames per second. To begin capturing movies using the power button, select the “Fingerprint Shooting” option. To assist you take interesting pictures, the phone also can record slow-motion videos at 120 frames per second. The slow-motion and time-lapse features were nice, and the video quality was respectable for what I used it for.
The “Short Video” setting is an intriguing one here. You can utilize the ready-made templates available here to record films that can be posted on social media. This is a helpful feature to have if you create material for social media or simply just want your profile to look good. I think this is a feature that should ideally be available on all current phones, regardless of the price range, given how more modes can be added with future updates.
Performance and Software
The UNISOC T606 SoC, an octa-core chipset with two A75 cores clocked at 1.6GHz and six A55 cores clocked at 1.6GHz, powers the Infinix Hot 40i. The Mali-G57 MC1 GPU that comes with the phone manages graphics performance. The UNISOC T606 is not the most stunning chipset in this price range, even though the storage options are quite impressive. In this price range, the Realme C53 has UNISOC T612, while the 5 G-enabled MediaTek Dimensity 6080 is available on the iTel P55.
The T606 is surpassed in benchmarks by both of these chipsets. But I didn’t see any significant lag or stutter when using the Hot 40i. The phone performed well even when I played intensive games like Asphalt 9: Legends, NBA 2K Mobile, and Battlegrounds Mobile India. I also didn’t have any alarming heat-related problems.
Additionally, the phone has several “intelligent features” that learn your behaviors to make your life easier. These consist of making service recommendations based on how you use your phone, launching apps more quickly by remembering which ones you use and when, and sending you real-time reminders for things like paying bills and going to bed.
Additionally, the phone has a voice assistant called “Folax” that allows you to capture pictures, play music, make calls, and set alarms—all without an Internet connection. You can also turn up the volume for a strong omnidirectional sound effect using the 200 percent Super Volume Booster option. This could be useful if you’re trying to watch a film in an environment with plenty of ambient noise.
Battery and charging speed
With its 5,000mAh battery, the Infinix Hot 40i supports 18W charging. This is essentially the typical charging speed in the sub-Rs 10,000 range, except for the Realme C53 and Moto G24 Power, which feature 30W+ fast charging. It does feel slow, though.
With moderate use, the battery life guarantees that you can use the phone for up to two days, and even longer with frequent use. The phone lasted an astounding eighteen hours and fifty-two minutes in our PCMark Battery test.
The Ultra Power Saving mode, according to the manufacturer, may provide two hours of calling at five percent battery life and 24 hours of standby backup, which could be quite helpful in an emergency.
Final verdict
First, let’s talk about the competition in this price range. The POCO M6 stands out for its performance and might be worth a look, while the Itel P55 5G is a good option for those seeking 5G compatibility. The Infinix Hot 40i‘s front camera, however, is its best feature. We typically have to look at higher price points when users ask for phones with capable selfie cameras. The Hot 40i, which retails for Rs 9,299, fills this gap and is a good option for those who enjoy taking selfies at a reasonable cost. The phone appears to be a solid purchase in the sub-10k range because it also includes several helpful software features that improve the user experience.
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