The budget smartphone maker, Inifnix is back with its newest addition to the Infinix Hot lineup. The all-new Inifinx Hot 9 builds upon the previously popular Infinix Hot 8 with a few additions. The phone now comes at a price tag of INR 8,499, retains the massive 5,000mAh battery, and gets a quad-camera on the back.
We have been using Hot 9 for close to a week now and on paper, the phone seems to be a very good budget but does it translate to the same in the real world? Let’s find out in our full review.
Infinix Hot 9 Specifications
Before starting with the Infinix Hot 9 review, let’s have a look at the phone’s specifications.
- Display: 6.6-inch IPS LCD display, HD+ (720 x 1600 pixels) resolution
- CPU: Octa-core Mediatek Helio P22 (MT6762) Processor (4×2.4 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4×1.6 GHz Cortex-A53)
- GPU: PowerVR GE8320
- RAM: 4GB
- Storage: 64GB internal storage, expandable up to 256GB
- Software: Android 10 (XOS 6.0)
- Main Camera: 13MP ( f/1.8, PDAF) + 2MP depth sensor + 2MP macro + QVGA low light sensor
- Selfie Camera: 8MP (f/2.0)
- Connectivity: micro USB 2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack, FM Radio
- Cellular: Dual SIM
- Fingerprint Scanner: Yes, rear-mounted
- Battery: 5,000 mAh, Li-ion Polymer, non-removable
Box Contents
Here’s a complete list of items you get inside the box:
-
- Infinix Hot 9
- 10W Charger
- Micro USB Cable
- TPU Case
- Sim Ejector Tool
- Documentation
Design & Display
Let us start off with the design, the Inifinix Hot 9 is made out of polycarbonate material with the back having a gradient back and mirror-like finish. The phone comes in two color options both of them being quite flashy.
You get a very sizeable 6.6-inch LCD display on the front with an HD+ resolution. The display has rounded corners with smaller bezels all around except for a massive chin. This design is very common in the budget smartphone category. There is a vertically arranged quad-camera setup at the top left corner of the back, followed by a squircle shaped fingerprint scanner and Infinix branding.
Coming to the button placement, the power button and the volume rockers are located on the right side of the device. A SIM tray on the left-hand side, followed by the speaker grill, micro-USB port, microphone, and a 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom.
Moving our attention towards the display, Infinix has opted for a punch-hole this time around instead of dew-drop one that we saw on the Hot 8. The punch-hole is on the left-top corner and houses the 8-megapixel selfie camera. The quality of the display is decent but the sheer size of it coupled with just an HD+ resolution is a led-down.
The display gets bright enough at 450nits, so outdoor visibility won’t be that much of an issue. The color profiles are decent at best and we hope, Infinix works on this in the future iterations of the Hot series.
Software & Performance
Talking about software, the Infinix Hot 9 runs Android 10 with the company’s custom XOS 6.0 on top. Like with the previous XOS builds, you have the standard customization options present here as well. There’s a Game Boost mode, Bike-mode that features auto-call rejection and auto-replies.
Like in the case of other custom skins, you get to see quite a lot of bloatware here as well. Apps like Opera, PHX News, Flipkart, and games like Danger Dash and Mayan Jump, make a cut again. Right out of the box, these apps will disappoint the users but thankfully most of them can be uninstalled quite easily.
Moving to the performance, the Infinix Hot 9 gets powered by the 12nm-based octa-core Mediatek Helio P22 SoC, the same processor that we’ve seen on the Hot 7 and Hot 8 in the past. Looking at this situation, the memes fit here and we can’t stop ourselves from pointing out that Infinix might actually be sitting on a stockpile of Helio P22.
Jokes aside, we found the phone to be perfectly fine for day to day use. We could do light browsing, social media, and casual gameplays without any issues. The 4GB RAM is enough for smooth operation and Infinix’s memory management here seems to be on point.
We should also point out the fact that this phone is not meant for gaming, for the sake of this review, we did try some gaming. tried playing PUBG Mobile on the lowest possible graphics settings, and while the game was playable, we did notice occasional frame drops here and there. PUBG Lite, on the other hand, ran fine without any major issues.
So you could essentially do some sort of light gaming, like PUBG Lite or popular titles like subway surfer, nothing more serious than that.
Cameras & Battery
In terms of optics, the Infinix Hot 9 offers a quad-camera setup on the back. This includes a 13-megapixel primary camera with f/1.8 aperture and phase detection autofocus (PDAF), followed by a 2-megapixel sensor for collecting depth information, a 2-megapixel macro sensor for those crazy closeups and a dedicated low-light sensor with a quad-LED flash.
The images shot in daylight conditions are quite decent with a good amount of detail and sharpens in them. Dynamic range with the HDR mode is on point, thanks to the PDAF, the focus is fast and accurate for the most part.
In low-light, the camera doesn’t perform as good as expected- it exhibits a lack of detail and shows inaccurate colors. Nevertheless, the quad-LED flash gets very bright and gets the job done in dim-lit conditions. Moving to the front camera, the 8-megapixel selfie shooter produces above-average shots in-line with the price of the smartphone. You get the standard AI-assisted modes here as well for stepping up your selfie game.
Coming to the battery, the phone comes packed with a massive 5,000mAh battery which is one of the highlighting features of the Hot series smartphones for a while now. In our tests, the phone lasted close to days with moderate usage which comprised web-surfing, social media, texting, and occasional gaming. Since there’sno fast charging support, the battery takes over 2 hours to charge with the supplied charger.
Verdict- Should you buy it?
For a price of INR 8,499, the Infinix Hot 9 is a very decent product with a quad-camera setup, a massive 5,000mAh battery, and 64GB storage. The phone has its perks and a fair share of negatives but gets the job done at the end of the day.
With the revised GST rates and current pandemic, the rates are justified, making the Infinix Hot 9 a really good buy. That being said, you do also have some old and new offerings that might outmatch the specs on this phone at a slightly higher cost, so look out for them as well before making a purchase.
