Summery of Review
Expert Rating 3.5/5
The Infinix brand, which is owned by Transsion Holdings, has been rapidly gaining traction with a slew of feature-rich smartphones available at more than reasonable prices. The latest phone from the firm is dubbed the Infinix Zero 5G, which is an unusual name for a phone, but the brand hasn't always followed normal naming conventions. The Zero 5G is undoubtedly worth a closer look based on the device's specs and a price tag of Rs 19,999. Can it make a splash in the crowded inexpensive smartphone market? Let us investigate.
VERDICT
The Zero 5G is hampered by mediocre software, an average display, and a subpar camera. However, it performs well and is elegantly built, punching above its weight in terms of appearance.
THE LOCKDOWN
I presented the phone to some of my friends and asked them to guess the pricing based just on the device's appearance. The majority of them were significantly off. The device's shiny and smooth plastic surface blends well with the elevated camera housing, which explains why. The device's workmanship is excellent, as seen by its curved appearance and silky in-hand feel. There is a USB C connector, a headphone jack, and a speaker grill on the bottom, which is a typical theme on Infinix smartphones. The Cosmic Black variation features a satin-like gradient that gleams in the sunshine and will most certainly attract the attention of everyone who sees it. Aside from the fact that the power button doubles as a fingerprint sensor and the volume sliders are slightly higher than I would have wanted, the Infinix Zero 5G receives a 4/5 for design.
The tablet features a 6.78-inch TFT LCD panel with a refresh rate of 120Hz and FHD+ resolution. These specifications aren't very noteworthy on their own, since most phones worth their salt have something comparable. Having said that, I found it perplexing that the Zero 5G supports HDR10 content but lacks WideVine L1 certification. As a result, when videos are color-rich yet limited to 480p, the OTT experience suffers. When not viewing material, the display is fairly decent and colour true to a degree... albeit not as brilliant as AMOLED displays. The viewing angles and brightness levels are both sufficient, allowing for comfortable outdoor use. The chin at the bottom is a little too huge for my liking, while the punch-hole at the top is enormous and has some backlight leakage around it.
Infinix has added a 48MP primary shooter, a 13MP telephoto lens with 2X optical zoom, and a 2MP depth camera in the camera department. When the primary photographer is completely obscured by the brilliant afternoon sunlight, he or she is able to offer clear photos with delicate detailing that appear oversharpened in places with shadows. Auto HDR comes in and allows the blues of the sky to creep into the frame while adjusting for sun exposure. Shutter rates are relatively sluggish, resulting in some shaking unless your hands are quite steady. While in portrait mode, you may also vary the f stop values for variable depth of focus, albeit the background separation isn't great.
The 2X telephoto lens performs admirably in bright light but fails miserably at night. Speaking of which, the device's nighttime photo skills are embarrassingly inadequate, with the exposure going berserk in the night mode. On the front comes the standard 16MP selfie camera, which takes overprocessed shots but, mercifully, maintains the skin tones intact.
The 5G-capable Dimensity 900 SoC powers the Infinix Zero 5G, and for the price, I don't believe there is a better chipset on the market. A peek at the Antutu and Geekbench benchmark results provides us a solid indication of the device's processing capability. Except for the software, my experience with the Zero 5G has been seamless, perfect, and exceedingly smooth. With 8GB of RAM and an extra 3GB borrowed from internal storage, even the most resource-intensive programmes can run in the background. The gaming experience was actually pretty decent for a low-cost phone, with BGMI running at full blast at 45fps without a hiccup.
The most of my issues revolved on the phone's XOS 10 Android overlay, which is loaded with bloatware. Although Infinix has stolen a page from Realme UI's book with the wide drop-down fast settings and organised alerts, the design in general does not appear to be very attractive. However, the continual sign-in attempts into PalmID, as well as the 'AI' prefix on all utility apps, are rather uncomfortable for me. Other gadget characteristics include a speaker that crackles at high volume, a responsive fingerprint sensor, adequate 4G LTE performance on Jio's Noida network, and microphone and earphone quality that meets expectations.
In terms of battery life, you get a 5,000mAh cell, which is already common on low-cost phones. I couldn't run my typically dependable PCMark's Battery 3.0 benchmark for testing since it kept crashing, but I have a broad notion of battery life. It is adequate for getting me through a day of usage that includes some hours of intense GPU usage, reading social media, and watching YouTube videos. Infinix has also given a 33W charging option that can charge the cell in around 90 minutes to keep the smartphone on track.
FINAL VERDICT
The Infinix Zero 5G maintains its good looks owing to a virtually faultless design and seamless performance. Unfortunately, given the price of Rs 19,999, the smartphone falls short in all other areas, such as display and camera quality, and its software execution isn't particularly good. In comparison, the Moto G71 carries roughly the same performance metrics while providing a significantly cleaner user interface and a superior photography experience. The pricing of the Zero 5G, on the other hand, makes it one of the most processing-focused phones on the market, and you should consider it if its high performance and elegant appearance appeal to you.
Pros
- Outstanding design
- dependable performance
- Excellent for gaming
Cons
- Defective software
- Cameras might be better.
- There is no WideVine L1 certification.
- Infinix Zero 5G
- RAM 8 GB
- MediaTek Dimensity 900 MT6877 Processor
- Front Camera 16 MP + 13 MP + 2 MP
- Rear Camera 48 MP + 13 MP + 2 MP
- 5000 mAh battery
- 6.78-inch display
