Lately, Infinix, the Hong Kong-based company, has been pumping out quality budget smartphones in the Indian market. Just a while back, we reviewed their S5 smartphone that was one of the cheapest smartphones in the market with a punch-hole.
Now the brand is back with the S5 Pro that retains the same design language overall but has a pop-up selfie camera instead of a punch-hole. The phone is available at a price of INR 9,999, putting it head-to-head with the likes of Redmi Note 8 and the Realme C series. We have been using the S5 Pro for over ten days now, and here’s our full review.
Infinix S5 Pro Specifications
- Display: 6.53-inch FHD+ IPS LCD
- CPU: MediaTek Helio P35 processor
- RAM: 4GB
- Storage: 64GB internal storage, expandable up to 128GB
- Software: Android 10
- Main Camera: 48MP +5MP ultra-wide +2MP Depth sensor
- Selfie Camera: 16MP
- Connectivity: micro USB, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack
- Cellular: Dual SIM
- Fingerprint Scanner: Yes
- Battery: 4,000 mAh, Li-ion Polymer, non-removable
- Charging:5V 2A (10W charging)
Box Contents
A complete list of items you get inside the box:
- Infinix S5 Pro
- Charger
- micro-USB Cable
- Transparent Silicon Case
- Screen protector
- Sim Ejector Tool
- Documentation
Design & Display
The Infinix S5 Pro is one heck of a glossy smartphone. It’s available in just two shades, Pink and Green, with both of them being too loud. The frame and rear panel of the phone are made out of plastic, but the build quality is good. Due to the glossy finish, the back tends to attract fingerprints and smudges quite a bit.
At the back of the device, you also find a triple-camera setup along with an LED flash while the fingerprint sensor is placed in the middle. The right side of the phone has the volume rocker and power button while the left side houses the triple card slots (two SIMs and a micro SD card). Lastly, at the bottom, you find a micro-USB port for charging, 3.5mm audio jack, and mic.
Flipping the phone reveals the 6.53-inch LCD display with an FHD+ resolution. It certainly is a step up from the Infinix S5, which had an HD+ display. This is a Full View display, meaning there is no notch or a punch-hole. Instead, you get a pop-up camera mechanism which was very popular last year. The pop-up camera and thin bezels allow the device to boast an impressive 91.2 percent screen-to-body ratio.
Talking about the quality of the display, we found it above average with decent color reproduction and contrast. Outdoor visibility is excellent, like with the previous Infinix devices. Also, the narrower aspect ratio did help with the content, and we thoroughly enjoyed binging on our favorite shows.
Software & Performance
On the software front, the phone comes with the XOS 6.0, which is Infinix’s take on a custom UI on top of Android 10. XOS has neatly laid out menus, Google’s Digital Wellbeing, gestures, and even a game mode. Like other custom skins, there are duplicate apps, like the Palm Store and games, which have their app libraries.
Apart from this, you get to change the theme, caller, Facebook, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram out of the box.
Moving to the performance, the phone comes powered by Mediatek Helio P35 octa-core processor clocked at 2.35GHz paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. In day-to-day use, the phone runs smoothly, and we didn’t face any problem with multitasking. The phone manages to do all the essential tasks, including texting, calling, mild browsing without any significant issues. However, things start to go downhill when you start pushing the phone to its limits.
Being an entry-level mid-range chipset, we didn’t expect much from the phone. However, it did manage to run PUBG Lite reasonably well, but couldn’t get through occasional stutter and lag. On the plus side, the cell reception and call quality were up to the mark.
Camera & Battery
At the back, the Infinix S5 Pro features a primary 48-megapixel camera, a 5-megapixel ultra-wide-angle, and a 2-megapixel macro sensor. The camera app comes with the photo, video, Custom Bokeh, AI HDR, AI Beauty, and Panorama modes. Pictures shot in the daylight with the primary 16-megapixel camera came out decent. The AI helped give a boost to the images as it could automatically detect the scene and lighting.
The pictures I clicked during the day time turned out impressive. The phone produced sharp and well-balanced images with decent color contrast. The primary sensor here gives very promising results consistently. We also tried taking some macros, and they came out good as well.
Coming to the low-light performance, this is where the phone struggles like most other smartphones in this price bracket. Night shots turned out grainy with minimal sharpness and contrast. The night mode did help by combining a bunch of shots, spitting out a decent image. Selfies captured by the 16-megapixel front camera look pleasing, and skin tones were natural, but there is not much to resolve in terms of detail if you zoom in.
Coming to the battery life, there is a 4,000 mAh cell included, which is more than enough to pull the phone for close to 1 ½ days’ worth of use. In our tests, we managed to get roughly 6 hours of screen-on-time out of this battery, which is more than enough for most users, in our opinion. The charging time is slow since the phone does not come with support for fast charge, and the supplied 10W charger takes more than 2 hours to get a full top-up.
Pros
- Comfortable to hold
- Full View display
- Good main camera
Cons
- Average low light camera performance
- Ads in XOS
- Slow Charging
Verdict – Should you buy it?
With a sticker price of INR 9,999, the Infinix S5 Pro offers a Full View display with a Pop-up camera, something we haven’t seen in this price bracket. A triple camera setup with the primary sensor being a carrying force, a very sizable 4,000mAh battery.
That being said, average low light camera performance, not so heavy-duty internals, and Ads in the UI are some of the pain points here.
If your primary concerns are the full view display and an eye-catching paint job, then the Infinix S5 Pro is definitely for you. Else you should at the Redmi Note 8, Realme 5S, and Vivo U10.
