Infinix Hot 10 Play Review: Budget Value With Room for Improvement

Infinix Hot 10 Play recently got launched in Kenya. This is the company’s latest budget smartphone and the entry-level device in the Hot 10 series that includes the Infinix Hot 10 and Infinix Hot 10 Lite.

Infinix’s budget lineup has come so far from its early days and last year’s Hot 10 lineup was my favourite. The infinix Hot 10 boasted having an incredible cost to performance ratio and so it was exciting to have the smartphone company bring the Infinix Hot 10 Play in the country.

The Infinix 10 Play succeeds the Infinix Hot 9 Play from last year. I’ve used the Infinix Hot 10 for a good amount of time and in this full review, you’ll know if the smartphone is worth getting.

Hardware and Design

Infinix Hot 10 Play is a gorgeous smartphone that rocks a colour gradient design and the Aegean Blue of our unit is an attention-grabbing smartphone. Other colour options for you to pick include Purple, Morandi Green and Obsidian Black which you’ll absolutely love.

With a 6.82″ display and a 6000mAh battery, the Infinix Hot 10 Play is huge and hefty.

The tall display comes in handy to serve all your multimedia needs and it’s no surprise Infinix is using this feature to market the Hot 10 Play.

The display is not full HD but you’ll enjoy watching videos, movies, tv series on the phone. Sadly the Infinix Hot 10 doesn’t come with the down-facing speakers – it uses the earpiece located at the top of the notch that houses the selfie camera.

However, at the bottom of the phone you get a headphone jack, micro-USB port and microphone.

You get the dual-camera module at the back with the faux quad-camera look and a rear fingerprint sensor and face unlock for biometrics.

The power and volume buttons are placed a little bit higher for smaller hands so you’ll fiddle a bit to reach them.

We have a 13MP main camera and an additional depth sensor for bokeh shots. The waterdrop notch accommodates an 8MP selfie camera.

It’s worth noting that the Infinix Hot 10 shared the same 8MP selfie but with a 16MP quad selfie camera setup that includes two 2MP lens(macro and depth) and a complementary AI lens.

Overall, the Infinix Hot 10 Play is a nicely designed phone and most people will love the shimmery back.

infinix hot 10 play comes with upgrades you want at a price point you’ll like

Under the hood, we have Helio G35 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage.

Software and Performance

Infinix Hot 10 Play packs a relatively faster processor – the Helio G35 and more RAM. It’s bigger brother had a Helio G70 chipset and 3GB of RAM – so this is a stepdown and an upgrade at the same time.

Performance is reliable. I didn’t encounter any lags while running it through my usual office work – web and social media browsing, checking emails, listening to Spotify, Google Docs and some YouTube streaming.

It begins to stutter when you push the extremes. Less intense games such as Ninja Arashi and Odyssey play well. High intense games like PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty Mobile need to be played at their medium settings for optimum gameplay.

Functional perfomance but could be better

If you’re a heavy multitasker, the Infinix Hot 10 Play had occasional hiccups that could get annoying.

Infinix Hot 10 Play comes running on Android 10 and XOS Dolphin v7.

Google’s Android 10 has its nifty 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.

XOS brings with it neat custom features such as the smart panel that allows you to quickly access frequently used apps and tools. You also get Social Turbo that is more WhatsApp oriented as you can record audio calls, a 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 and Game Space for immersive and non-disruptive gaming.

There is still bloatware which you can uninstall or disable. Expect random ads too.

I suggest downloading a third party launcher like Microsoft or Nova.

Battery

Infinix Hot 10 rocks a humongous 6000mAh battery – a trend we’ll be seeing on budget smartphones this year.

You are bound to get 2 days of battery life with light use such as web browsing, checking social media or streaming and a full day on heavy use that includes heavy multitasking and gaming. You’ll be finding yourself with like 40% at the end of the day with over 8 hours of screen-on -time.

The Infinix Hot 10 line never gives you battery anxiety and the Hot 10 Play stay true to that.

However, we still have a micro-USB charging port so charging the giant battery takes a while.

It takes an hour for the Infinix Hot 10 Play go from to empty to 36%, and then an hour to 76% and then another hour to full charge. So I highly recommend you to leave the phone to charge overnight.

With the Infinix Hot 10 Play, you are getting amazing battery life but then compromise on the charging speeds.

Cameras

And finally, lets take a look at how the cameras perform. Infinix Hot 10 comes packing three cameras -an 8MP selfie camera and a 13MP dual main camera with an additional depth sensor for bokeh shots at the back.

In well lit scenarios, the main camera and the selfie camera will get you really good looking shots and decent colours. Most photos came out with decent exposure.

Most of the shots came out with good clarity.

Youcan record videos at 1080p resloution.

Lowlight performance is a hit and miss. I wish the Infinx Hot Play came with a night mode like its bigger sibling, the Infinix Hot 10 which I lauded for its camera performance in challenging light scenarios.

Here are some samples:

Selfies and Portraits

Regular shots

Lowlight shots

Lowlight selfies and portraits

Overall, you are better suited to shoot more photos during the day with the Infinix Hot 10 and maybe some usable night shots as seen above.

Verdict

Infinix Hot 10 Play is a really good device especially if you use your phone to meet your entertainment needs but don’t want to leave your pockets high and dry. You are getting a huge display plus a huge battery and you’ll enjoy biungewatching your favourite shows and gaming all day without the need o worry about when your phone is going to die.

Infinix Hot 10 Play offers good value for money but there’s room for improvement.

If you are going to use your phone for photography, you are better served with the Infinix Hot 10 which is cheaper[Ksh 13,999] and has relatively more capable main cameras.

Pricing and Availability

Infinix Hot 10 Play will be available at their official and partner retail stores countrywide[list below] and online too for Ksh 15,499 for the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage.