The budget segment is indeed one of the most competitive segments for smartphones in India. And there’s no doubt that it’s almost dominated by the Chinese players including Xiaomi and Realme. Interestingly, despite the fierce competition, Infinix has now come up with a new budget offering in the country, dubbed as the Infinix Hot 7 Pro.
While the Infinix Smart 3 Plus was one of the few phones to offer triple rear cameras in its segment, the Hot 7 Pro is touted to offer modern design, large battery and a whopping 6GB of RAM, that too under the Rs. 10,000 mark. But is it enough to conquer the mid-range segment? Well, let’s check out the same in our full Infinix Hot 7 Pro review.
Infinix Hot 7 Pro Specifications
Before starting with the Infinix Hot 7 Pro review, let’s have a glance at the phone’s specifications, pricing and things we get with the device.
- Display: 6.19-inch IPS LCD display, HD+ (720 x 1520 pixels) resolution, 19:9 aspect ratio, 271ppi, 2.5D Curved Glass
- CPU: 12nm-based octa-core Mediatek MT6762 Helio P22 processor (4×2.4 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4×1.6 GHz Cortex-A53)
- GPU: PowerVR GE8320
- RAM: 6GB
- Storage: 64GB internal storage, expandable up to 256GB
- Software: Android 9 Pie (XOS 5.0)
- Main Camera: 13MP ( f/1.8, PDAF) + 2MP depth sensor
- Selfie Camera: 13MP (f/2.0) + 2MP
- Connectivity: micro USB 2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS/ A-GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack, FM Radio
- Cellular: Dual SIM
- Fingerprint Scanner: Yes, Capacitive
- Battery: 4,000 mAh, Li-ion Polymer, non-removable
Price: Rs. 9,999 for 6/64GB
Box Contents
A complete list of items you get inside the box:
-
- Infinix Hot 7 Pro
- 10W Charger
- Micro USB Cable
- TPU Case
- Sim Ejector Tool
- Documentation
Infinix Hot 7 Pro Review
Design & Display
Evidently, the Infinix Hot 7 Pro sticks to the old-school metal chassis instead of going for the current glossy back trend. There’s an all-metal back, followed by plastics on top and bottom, aiding signal reception. Overall, the phone looks premium, and the curved edges and sides make it comfortable to hold.
Coming to the front, there’s a 6.19-inch display with an HD+ resolution and a “traditional” wide notch which looks a bit dated now. Notably, brands like Realme have already started offering the new waterdrop notch at a much lower price than Hot 7 Pro. In fact, Infinix’s own S4 (Review) and 3 Plus, despite being cheaper offer a better screen estate upfront.
Having said that, Infinix has justified its move by accommodating dual selfie cameras and an LED flash in the notch. The earpiece, on the other hand, is placed right where the glass meets the frame.
As for the placements, the power button and volume rockers are given to the right while the sim-tray is placed on the left. Both the buttons offer tactile feedback, wherein the power button feels better due to its distinguishable texture. Rest of the ports, including MicroUSB, 3.5mm audio jack, and speaker grill are given at the bottom.
Moving further, the dual-camera setup at the rear looks quite minimal and is accompanied by an LED flash. The fingerprint scanner sits right in the middle and is comfortable to reach while holding the phone.
The display here has excellent viewing angles, right colours and is decent enough for day to day use, including media consumption. However, we’d have loved to see more pixels and better sunlight legibility. Overall, the panel used here is more or less similar to Redmi Y3.
Performance & Software
Under the hood, the Infinix Hot 7 Pro gets powered by the entry-level Helio P22 SoC. Interestingly, it is coupled with a whopping 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The phone is perfectly fine for day to day use comprising WhatsApp and other social media apps, browsing the web, watching videos and playing casual games. It handled all the apps in memory very well, and we didn’t face any app reloading or stuttering issues for the most part.
However, the phone takes a huge hit when it comes to playing massive games. While casual games like Crowd City and Tank Stars ran flawlessly, it simply can’t handle titles like Asphalt 9 and PUBG Mobile. We tried playing the latter at the lowest possible graphics setting, and while the game was payable, we noticed occasional stutters and heating issues. Hence, the phone is not meant for hardcore gamers.
On the software front, the Infinix Hot 7 Pro runs Android 9 Pie with the company’s custom XOS 5.0 on top. The UI has tons of customisation features including Game Boost that boosts CPU and clears RAM while gaming, a WhatsApp mode that allows only the texting app to access the internet connection, and a Bike mode that features auto-call rejection and auto-replies. The XOS also bears an App freezer to pause apps from running in the background.
While the UI is pretty manageable, the area where it disappointed us was in terms of bloatware and spammy notifications. The phone has lots of unnecessary apps including Opera, PHX News, Flipkart, accompanied by games like Danger Dash and Mayan Jump, which might be a bummer for many.
Cameras
For photography, the Infinix Hot 7 Pro gets a dual-camera setup at the rear, comprising of a 13-megapixel primary sensor with f/1.8 aperture and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. Upfront, there’s another 13MP + 2MP dual setup for selfies wherein the primary shooter has f/2.0 aperture.
As for the camera performance, the photos taken from the Hot 7 Pro are quite average. The overall details, colours and exposure are sub-par to the other smartphones in this range. Even the dynamic range takes a hit most of the times, resulting in blown up highlights.
Same is the case with low-light images. While the noise levels are well under control, the overall sharpness and detail aren’t up to the mark. Speaking of the portrait mode, the edge detection is decent but then again, the phone fails to blur certain parts, including gaps between the subject and background.
Selfies from the front camera turn out good enough to be used on social media. However, even the front shooter tends to blow up highlights; hence using HDR mode is a must. Nonetheless, you can still get some decent photos from this phone, which takes a little patience and time.
Battery & Charging
As evident, battery life is one of the strongest points of the Infinix Hot 7 Pro. The built-in 4,000mAh cell gives it enough power to deal with moderate to heavy usage over a full working day. Moreover, the low-resolution display, coupled with a power-efficient chipset, further adds to the overall endurance of the device.
With a mixed usage comprising watching videos, surfing social media, and listening to music over Bluetooth, the phone managed to last for about one and a half days. Anyway, there’s no fast charging support, and the battery takes over 2 hours to juice up with the provided charging brick.
Pros
- The metal build feels solid in hands
- 6GB RAM makes up for good multi-tasking experience
- Very good Battery life
Cons
- Average cameras
- Mediocre performance, not for gamers
- Bloaty UI
Infinix Hot 7 Pro Review Verdict- Should you buy it?
For a price of Rs. 9,999, the Infinix Hot 7 Pro is indeed the cheapest smartphone with 6GB of RAM in the market. However, the underpowered chipset acts as a bottleneck and fails to impress on the performance grounds. Even the cameras don’t drive much confidence. On the contrary, the phone offers a good enough display, reliable build quality, and impressive battery life. Nevertheless, if you can’t compromise on performance and cameras, we’d suggest looking at the smartphones like Realme 3, Redmi Note 7s and Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 (Review).
