Infinix Note 8 Unboxing and First Impressions Review: The Upgrade Was Worth The Wait

After much teasing online, the Infinix Note 8 is finally here.

Its arrival comes a few months after the launch of the Infinix Note 7. The Infinix Note 8 now joins the Infinix Hot 10 and Infinix Zero 8 that are already available in the market.

Well, we now have the Infinix Note 8 and here’s our first look review

But before we begin, here’s what you get in the box:

• the device
• 18W power brick and Type-C cable
• a set of earphones
• Sim ejector tool
• a plastic case
• a screen protector
• warranty, user guide information booklets

Design

Infinix Note 8 is a beautiful phone. It comes with a shiny colour-gradient back.

It’s so shiny, astronauts in outer space will know you’re using an Infinix Note 8.

Infinix Note 8 is such an attention grabber

It comes in various colours including Deepsea Luster(our unit), Silver Diamond and Iceland Fantasy.

At the bottom is the Infinix logo. At the top left is the rectangular camera bump that houses the quad AI-powered camera setup that includes a main 64MP camera, 2MP macro camera, 2MP depth camera and another additional 2MP AI lens.

Infinix Note 8 also has a quad-LED flash.

Just like the Infinix Note 7, you get a power button with a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. Right above, is the volume buttons.

At the bottom, things change up in a good way. We finally get USB Type-C charging port. On both sides of the port are the microphone, headphone jack and speaker grille.

The front sports a 6.95″ LCD screen with a punch-hole cutout that holds the 16MP selfie camera and a depth sensor next to it.

Thin bezels all round except for the chin.

The top bezel also has the earpiece grill which together with the bottom blaring speaker offer stereo sound.

The left side is the dual sim card slot with an additional slot for a MicroSD card. The phone supports VoLTE including Faiba 4G.

Performance

Infinix bumped up the specs with the Note 8. We now get an octa-core Mediatek Helio G80 processor- an upgrade from the Helio G70 the Note 7 had which now runs the recently launched budget Infinix Hot 10.

Aside from the new and faster processor, we get even more RAM and more storage.

Infinix Note 8 now ships with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. It expandable if you run out of storage with an external microSD.

We also have Mali G52 GPU.

Running the phone is Android 10 and XOS 7.1.

XOS 7.1 comes with nice to have features such as Game Mode for immersive and non-disruptive gaming, Social Turbo that has some features such as recording WhatsApp audio calls, video beauty mode that smoothens the skin and brightens it in video chat, WhatsApp stickers and Peek mode that lets you save the messages you missed.

There’s a Smart Panel that lets you easily access frequently used apps and tools.

You get the usual Android 10 features such as system-wide dark mode, Focus mode(a compliment to Digital Wellbeing), new gesture navigation systems, boosted privacy, security and notifications (Grouped silent notifications)controls, better location permissions, Google Assistant “handles”, native screen recording, native desktop mode, QR codes to connect to Wi-Fi plus more features.

However, it would’ve been great to include Android 11.

The new configuration and the new processor are amazing. No lags or performaamce issues the little time I have spent with the Infinix Note 8.

This bad boy literally handles everything you throw at it. And at Ksh 21,700 – its a steal.

The Infinix Note 8 is perfect for the on go gamer, the extremely online and the shutterbug.

Gaming, photography, browsing the web, consuming multimedia and general multitasking will be a breeze.

Stay tuned for our full review.

Battery

Powering the Infinix Note 8 is a 5200mAh battery. Another upgrade is we get 18W Type-C fast charging.

So far, I’ve been getting over 9 hours of screen time. The phone can last close to two days on moderate use and more on light use.

When you need to juice up, you can get from empty to 60% in under an hour and to 100% in slightly over 30 minutes.

Stay tuned for our full review.

Camera

Infinix Note 8 packs a total of six cameras – four cameras at the back and two in the front.

We have a main 64MP camera, 2MP depth, 2MP macro and 2MP AI lens.

The punch hole cutout accommodates two cameras – a 16MP selfie and another depth sensor for portraits.

We’ll be taking it through its paces in the next couple of days so definitely stay tuned for our review.

Looking forward

When I say the Infinix Note 8 is the upgrade worth waiting for – believe me.

You’ll find out more in our full review.

Pricing and Availability

Infinix Note 8 goes for Ksh 21,700. The phone is now on pre-order till the 25th of this month and with each pre-order you get a free gift hamper worth Ksh 5000 and will include a smartwatch and wireless earphones.

Pre-orders are available at official Infinix retail shops countrywide.[Retails Stores in the Country listed below]

To pre-order either of the Note 8 devices, you’ll have to part with Ksh 3000.

You’ll then be awarded the pre-order gift hamper. Infinix will then notify you when and how to get your device when it officially launches in the country.

Now Read:

Infinix Note 7 Review: A Welcome Upgrade

Infinix Zero 8 Review: Walking That Big Talk

Infinix Hot 10 Review: Blew My Expectations