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Infinix Hot 8 Review: Is This Better Than Redmi 7A & Realme C2?
Infinix has launched quite a few smartphones in the last few days. They are doing a very good job in the competitive Indian smartphone market. Infinix Smart 3 Plus has a triple rear camera and Hot 7 Pro has a 6GB RAM variant which comes with Helio P22 processor. The recently launched Infinix Hot 8 is about to disturb the budget smartphone segment. At the starting price of just Rs. 6,999 Infinix Hot 8 offers 4+64GB variant which comes with massive 5,000mAh battery, a bigger 6.52″ HD+ Display with the waterdrop notch, a triple rear camera setup, a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and more. By looking at the specs we can clearly say that the Infinix Hot 8 offers a great value of your money. Let’s now jump into the Infinix Hot 8 Review, we have also added Infinix Hot 8 Camera Samples in this article.
This smartphone by Infinix is the biggest competitor of Redmi 7A and Realme C2. So, should you buy this over them, let’s find out in this review.
Infinix Hot 8 Specifications
| Display | 6.52″ HD+ Display (20:9 Aspect ratio) Waterdrop notch |
| Processor | MediaTek Helio P22 (MT6762) |
| RAM + Storage | 4GB RAM
64GB EMMC Storage (Dedicated microSD card slot) |
| Battery | 5000mAh with 10W Fast Charger included in the box |
| Front Camera | 8MP f/2.0 (Flash) |
| Back Camera |
Quad-LED Flash |
| Android Version | XOS 5.0 Cheetah on top of Android 9.0 Pie |
| Price | Rs. 6,999 (4+64GB) |
Infinix Hot 8 Review
There are so many things to talk about this smartphone.
Box Content
- Handset
- 10W Charger
- USB to MicroUSB cable
- SIM ejector tool
- Designer TPU Case
- Screen Protector
- Paperwork
Highlighting Features
- 6.52″ HD+ Display
- 5,000mAh Battery
- Triple Camera
Design & Build Quality
Let’s start with the design and build quality. The Hot 8 is made out of plastic but this is quite acceptable at this price point. The phone looks beautiful because of the gradient back panel which is also a fingerprint magnet. The included TPU Case is nice and it has a sort of design on it which looks good. It comes in four colour options – Quetzal Cyan, Cosmic Purple, Shark Grey and Midnight Black.
The power button and volume rockers are on the right side which is placed perfectly. However, it’s a bit difficult to reach the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor but its a welcome change by Infinix to provide a fingerprint sensor at 7k. Our favourite 3.5mm audio jack is present at the bottom along with a single speaker and a micro-USB slot. We really can not expect USB type-C at this price point. On the left side, there is a SIM Card tray which also has a dedicated microSD card slot. Kudos to Infinix for this!
Display
The display is one of the strongest points of this smartphone. A 6.52 inches display present on the Infinix Hot 8 is one of the biggest display at this price point. The resolution is only HD+ but it’s completely fine. The colour reproduction is very accurate and overall we enjoyed watching content on this display. For streaming content on Netflix and Amazon Prime, there is only Widevine L3 certification, it means you can not stream HD content. Also, the trendy waterdrop notch is also there. The 450 nits brightness makes the display visible in direct sunlight.
Performance
The performance is not the strongest point of this smartphone. It is powered by MediaTek Helio P22 2.0 GHz Octa-core processor which is fairly powerful processor is we look at the price. We have seen this processor before in Realme C2 which is priced at 6k. It handles day to day task smoothly but it does not handle heavy graphic games. PUBG starts in low graphic settings by default. We did not find any issue while opening up the apps, browsing through websites and scrolling through social media. Although it has a 4GB of RAM still multi-tasking experience was not that good. Switching between small apps was quick. If you are not a heavy user then you will not face any stutters.
The base and only variant of this phone come with 4GB of RAM and RAM Management seem good in our usage. 4 gigs of RAM at the price of 7k is appreciable. The 64GB of onboard is enough many users but there is an option to increase it further with the help of dedicated microSD card slot up to 256GB. The physical fingerprint sensor present on the back is also fast and accurate and the face unlock is also fast.
User Interface
So, the Infinix Hot 8 comes with its own XOS 5.0 Cheetah on top of Android 9.0 Pie. Similar to all other UI, it is far different from the Stock Android. Infinix has done good software optimization on the Hot 8 to make the overall user interface smooth. There are many useful features on the XOS including gestures, Digital Wellbeing, Whatsapp Mode and more. There are many preinstalled apps including PHX Browser, PalmStore, Opera browser and ShareChat but you can uninstall them which is a good thing.
XOS is developed by Cheetah Mobile and the history of Cheetah Mobile is not so clean. There is some privacy issue. There is an option to turn off the ads but you will face few ads even after turning off the ads.
Triple Rear Camera! Really?
The phone comes with a triple rear camera on the back but to be honest it is a regular dual camera setup because the third dedicated low light sensor doesn’t help to capture better photos. It is not that much useful.
Infinix Hot 8 Camera Samples
Infinix Hot 8 captures some decent photos in daylight condition. The colours are nice and the detail level is also good. It overexposes the sky most of the time and the dyanamix range is not impressive. Even after turning on the HDR mode there is no significant improvement in the dynamic range.
The portrait mode shots are also acceptable. It has a dedicated low light sensor for night photography but it does not help to capture better photos in low lighting condition.
Front Camera Samples
The detail level is good in the front camera as well. However, we have seen the yellowish tint in our testing. The dynamic range is not good and the background get overexposed if there is harsh light. Overall, considering the price of Rs. 6,999 it captures decent selfies.
Battery
It has a massive 5,000mAh battery which will last for more than a day for almost all the users and it will easily provide you one day of battery life even if you’re a heavy user. It does not support fast charging and it comes with a normal 10W (5V 2A) charger in the box. The massive battery with no fast charger takes more time to charge but once it charged you can easily use it for a long time.
Infinix Hot 8 Review Verdict
Infinix Hot 8 has a lot to offer at the asking price of just Rs. 6,999. Like all other smartphones, this is not a perfect smartphone. The performance is not that great, the camera performance is average and no fast charging support.
But there are so many positive things including a massive 5,000mAh battery, a bigger 6.52″ display, 4+64GB variant with a dedicated microSD card slot at just 7k. Redmi 7A and Realme C2 are the biggest competitors of this smartphone and we can say that Infinix Hot 8 offers better features. Battery, Display, RAM and Storage are better on Infinix Hot 8 compared to Redmi 7A and Realme C2 and additionally, you get a fingerprint sensor which is a nice thing. However, the Camera performance of Redmi 7A and Realme C2 is better than Infinix Hot 8.
The current price is Rs. 6,999 which is an introductory price till 30th October 2019. It will be available for Rs 7,999 starting November.
What do you guys think about the Infinix Hot 8? Let us know in the comment section below.
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