I thought we had seen this year’s Infinix Hot device through the Hot 3 and Hot 3 LTE. Obviously, I was wrong as have in hand the all new Infinix Hot 4. In one year we have received two iterations of the Hot series and you should be asking yourself why? What is so different between these two iterations that Infinix deemed it necessary for a refresh so soon? I have been a fan of the Hot series because of their super budget friendly price and good battery, so I am hoping that this new one will blow the Hot 3 out of the park.
First things first, the design is different, and I could say better. The front is pretty much the same. The capacitive buttons are still not backlit which is extremely annoying. The difference comes in at the back. I have the ‘Luxurious Gold’ option here that looks and feels quite good. It a logical upgrade from the textured back of the Hot 3 LTE but still retains its plastic material, which I do not mind.
There is an obvious addition here at the back and this is the finger print scanner. This is one key difference on the Hot 4 from its predecessor and I like it. There are 2 Infinix devices that have launched recently in the Kenyan market (the Note 3 and Hot S) that have both come with the feature and therefore, it’s good to see that it translates to the budget Hot series. So far, it’s quite speedy and accurate. Will be keen to see what else I can do with it.
The other change in the base Hot 4 is the bigger battery, which is exciting. Removing the back cover (which is so thin, I’m afraid to bend it!) reveals a 4000 mAh non-removable battery. That big battery should be a plus for the Hot 4 in terms of longevity and productivity for the user. I’ll be keen to see how long it lasts during a normal day and intensive-use day.
Another change comes in software. This year has seen the all new XUI, now called XOS Chameleon which was a much needed refresh in the user interface of Infinix devices. I really liked this new skin on the Infinix Note 3. It is colourful, playful and looks quite clean. I have given up hope of a stock Android experience on an Infinix but XOS is manageable.
So far, I’m impressed by the Hot 4 but I still need to be convinced as to why this couldn’t come out next year. I know this is not the only Hot 4 variant that will be released. At the very least there will be a 4G version. It is competitively priced at Kshs 9,699 at Jumia Kenya and for what you get in specs for that price, I think that is a steal. Hopefully using it lives up to my expectations. I’ll let you know when I review it.
