Infinix Hot 30 series launched early this month. The Hot 30 succeeds the Hot 20 series launched late last year. The Hot lineup is the company’s best-performing series in comparison to the midrange Note and flagship Zero series. The Hot series targets the 18-25 demographic.
We take a look back at how the Infinix Hot series has evolved from its first Hot device launched in early 2015. It’s worth noting that Infinix has been in Kenya for close to 10 years – they first set camp in the country in December 2013.
NOW READ: Infinix Hot 30 Review: Pinnacle of Refinement
The first Hot was announced in January 2015 and came with a 5″ 480p screen, 16GB storage, 1GB RAM, a removable 2000mAh battery and was powered by Android KitKat. For cameras, it had a 2MP selfie camera and 5MP main camera. It was really popular as it was sold for Ksh 6,999.
Its successor, the Hot 2 was a fan favourite as well. It was launched in August 2015. This was the first Android One phone in Africa. Phones under the Android One program shipped with stock Android devoid of custom bloat-laden custom user interfaces.
The Hot 2 had a glass back, a 5″ 720p screen, 16G storage and a 1.3 GHz MediaTek quad-core processor. It ran on the latest Android 5.1 Lollipop and it later got updated to Android 6.0 Marshmallow and a minor stability upgrade later on.
It was sold for Ksh 8,999.
Hot 3 was launched in March 2016. It was my first Infinix phone actually my first Android phone – I had been a Lumia 520 user for a while. It came with a 5.5″ 720p screen, 16GB storage and 1GB RAM. It ran on Android 5.1 and Infinix XUI. It had an 8MP main camera and a 2MP selfie camera. A removable 3000mAh battery power the phone.
It was selling for Khs 7,899. The 4G LTE version was launched two months later and went for Khs 11,699.
The Hot 4 was announced in September 2016. It came with a 5.5″ 720p screen, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, a 5MP selfie camera and 8MP main camera. The Pro version had a 13MP main camera. It was powered by MediaTek 6580 chipset paired with Android 6 Marshmallow and XOS Chameleon and had a 4000mAh battery.
It was available for Ksh 9,699.
The same month, Infinix launched the Hot S. It had a 5.2″ screen, 16/32GB storage options, MediaTek 6758 processor, and 2GB RAM running on Android 6.0. It came with an 8MP selfie camera and 13MP main camera. It was powered by a 3000mAh battery.
It cost Ksh 16,000.
The S sub-series got updated with the S2 in April 2017. It had a 5.2″ 720p screen, Android 6.0, MediaTek 6758 processor, 3GB RAM and 32GB storage.
It came with dual selfie cameras comprising an 8MP welfie and 13MP regular. The back spotted a 13MP primary lens. It had a 3000mAh battery and went for Ksh 15,699.
Hot 5 got launched in August same year. It came with a 5.5″ 720p screen, Android 7 and XOS 2.2, MediaTek 6580 chipset, 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. it had a 4000mAh battery, a 5MP selfie camera and an 8MP primary camera. It was selling for Ksh 10,200.
Hot S3 landed in July 2018. It came with a 5.65″ display in an 18:9 aspect ratio. It had 3/4GB RAM and 32/64GB storage. It had Snapdragon 430 chipset powered by Android Oreo 8.1. Infinix put a 20MP selfie camera and a 13MP primary lens.
It had a 4000mAh battery and went for KES 18,999.
Hot 6 was launched in May 2018. It was powered by a Snapdragon 425 processor. Infinix kept the 18:9 aspect ratio and the screen got increased to a 720p 6″ screen. It had 3GB RAM and 32GB storage.
It had a dual main setup which included a 13MP and 2MP lens and a 5MP selfie camera. It had a 4000mAh battery and went for Kshs 15,699(32GB + 3GB RAM)
Later that year Infinix launched the Hot S3X in September.
It came with a notch for the 16MP selfie camera and a 720p 6.2″ screen. It had Android 8.1 and ran on Snapdragon 430 chipset, 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. The back had a 13MP and 2MP dual setup. The Hot S3X had a 4000mAh battery and sold for Ksh 17,399.
Infinix started 2019 with the launch of the Hot 7 in March.
Hot 7 had a notched 720p 6.2″ screen, Android 8.1 and XOS 4.1. It had 2GB RAM and 32GB storage. It had an 8MP selfie camera and a dual setup at the back which included a 13MP main and 2MP secondary. It had a 4000mAh battery and went for Khs 10,000.
The S4 launched in April 2019.
I really liked this phone. It had a 720p 6.2″ screen and waterdrop notch that housed the 32MP selfie camera. It came with XOS v5.0 Cheetah that runs on top of Android 9.0 Pie. It had MediaTek Helio P22 processor and either 3GB of RAM or 6GB of RAM coupled with 32 or 64 GB of onboard storage respectively expandable to 128GB via a microSD. Infinix S4 packed a triple rear camera set-up that features a 13MP standard sensor, an 8MP wide-angle sensor and a 2MP depth sensor. It had a 4000mAh battery.
It went for Ksh 13,999 for the 3GB RAM and 32GB onboard storage variant and Ksh 17,999 for the 6GB RAM and 64GB onboard storage variant.
Infinix Hot 8 launched in November. It had a gigantic 5000mAh battery and how it turns the phone into an absolute powerhouse. It came with a 6.52″ 720p screen and ran on Helip P22 chipset, Android 9 Pie with XOS 5, and had 2GB RAM and 32GB storage.
For cameras, you got a triple setup: 13MP + 2MP depth sensor + dedicated low light sensor. There’s also an 8MP selfie shooter. The 2GB RAM version of the HOT 8 (4G) went for Ksh 10,699 while the Hot 8 Lite(3G) went for Ksh 9,699 on Xpark.
Infinix S5 closed off 2019 and had a 16MP main camera, 5MP wide-angle camera that also took macro shots, 2MP camera for depth sensing and a QVGA ‘AI’ camera. We get a 6.6″ 720p screen. Infinix S5 came with Helio P22 processor, 4/6GB RAM with 64/128GB storage, Android 9 Pie and XOS version 5.5 baked in.
Infinix S5 packed a 4000mAh battery and a 32MP front-facing camera.
The 4GB RAM/64GB onboard storage variant went for Ksh 16,499 shillings while the 6GB RAM and 128GB onboard storage went for Ksh 20,999.
May 2020 brought in the Hot 9 which had a 720p 6.82″ screen, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of onboard storage powered by MediaTek Helio A25 running Android 10(Go Edition) and XOS 6.1. We have an 8MP selfie and 13MP and a macro lens.
Infinix Hot 9 Play came with a 6000mAh battery and was available on XPark for Ksh 13,299, Jumia for Ksh 13,499 and in Infinix’s official retail stores.
Infinix Hot 10 succeeded the Hot 9 in September 2020. We got an immersive 6.78″ Infinity-O display rocking a resolution of 720 by 1640 pixels.
We had 16MP primary camera, 2MP macro camera, 2MP depth and an AI lens and an 8MP punch-hole selfie camera. The processor got upgraded to Helio G70 processor coupled with 3GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage.
Running the Infinix Hot 10 was Android 10 and XOS Dolphin v7.
The regular Hot 10 sold for Ksh 13,999 and the Hot 10 Lite for Ksh 10,499.
2021 saw the Hot 10 series continue with the launch of the Hot Play in March. Infinix Hot 10 Play shipped with a 720p 6.82″ Dot Drop display. It had Helio G35 processor together with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage.
Running the Infinix Hot 10 Play was Android 10 and XOS Dolphin v7. It had a gigantic 6000mAh battery and went for 15,499 for the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage.
Hot 10T got launched in May same year. Infinix Hot 10T had a 6.82″ display with 90Hz refresh rate and a resolution of 720 by 1640 pixels and ran on Android 11 and XOS 7.6.
It shipped with Helio G70 processor coupled with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. There was a triple rear camera set-up that features a 48MP, an 2MP and an AI lens. At the front, we had a 8MP selfie camera. A 5000mAh battery powered up the Infinix Hot 10T and the 4GB RAM and 128GB storage version retailed for Ksh 17,499 while the 4GB RAM and 64GB version went for Ksh 15,499.
The last of the Hot 10 series was the Hot 10i in July 2021. It came with a 6.52″b 720p screen with a waterdrop notch for the 8MP selfie camera. It had a 13MP camera and an additional QVGA camera. It had a Helio G25 chipset and PowerVR Rogue GE8320. The phone ships with 2GB of RAM and either 32GB or 64GB onboard storage.
We had a 10W power brick that charged up the 6000mAh battery. It ran on Android 11 Go and XOS 7.5.
Hot 10i sold for Ksh 11,499 for the 2GB RAM, 32GB storage version while the 64GB storage variant sold for Ksh 12,599.
Infinix Hot 11 kicked off 2022 with the Hopt 11 Play. It had a 6.82″ 720p screen running on Android 11 and XOS 7.6 powered by Helio G35. It came with 4GB RAM and 64/128GB storage. We had a 13Mp dual main and 8MP selfie camera.
It had a 6000mAh battery and 10W charging. Pricing started at Ksh 15,699 for the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage while the 128GB version sold for Khs 17,499.
Four months later we saw the Hot 12 series. We checked out the Hot 12 Play which had a gigantic 6000mAh battery and a Type-C charging port, 13MP and a 2MP additional lens, 8MP front-facing camera, a 6.82″ 720p screen with 90Hz refresh rate powered by Helio G85 processor and Android 11 and XOS 10.
Infinix Hot 12 Play shipped with 4GB RAM(3GB virtual RAM) and 128GB of onboard storage. Pricing started at Ksh 16,499 all the wayto Ksh 18,499.
- Infinix Hot 12 Play Full Review: The Sweet Spot
- Infinix Hot 12 Play vs TECNO Spark 8P Comparison Review: Easy Choice
Late last year, Infinix launched the Hot 20 series. Hot 20i had a 6.6″ screen with 500 nits peak brightness, MediaTek Helio G25 processor coming with 4GB RAM(3GB virtual RAM) and 64GB onboard storage and 5000mAh battery that supports 10W fast Type-C charging.
Pricing started from Ksh 12,599 to Ksh 15,399.
Infinix Hot 30
Infinix has progressed really well from the years before with the Hot series. We now have bigger screens with high resolution and high refresh rates. The phones come with better and faster processors plus higher RAM and storage options. The company said that its newer devices will now come with more than 128GB storage and up to 8GB virtual RAM as seen with the Hot 30 series.
The new phones now launch with the latest Android and XOS version. We also get bigger batteries with Type-C charging ports and fast charging speeds. Cameras also get improved as well.
Infinix Hot 30 has a 6.78″ 1080p screen with 90Hz while Hot 30i has a 6.56″ 90Hz 720p screen. Hot 30 comes with Android 13 and XOS 12.6. We also get 8GB RAM and 8GB Virtual RAM and storage options going up to 256GB.
Infinix Hot 30 is available for Ksh 22,899 at the company’s retail stores countrywide and online too at XPARK – their official online store.
- Hot 30i: Ksh 15,499
- Hot 30 Play: Ksh 18,399
- Hot 30: Ksh 22,899
Stay tuned for our full review of the Infinix Hot 30.
