Infinix has been pitching the concept of having one of, if not the slimmest, phones in the market for a couple of months now, and we finally got to see it in the flesh with the Infinix Hot 50 Pro+ that we have been reviewing for a couple of weeks. After a good time of usage and testing, it’s safe to say that the budget piece tries its best to live up to the hype, and that is a good thing. So, what makes this device special or rather, hype-worthy?
Design & Durability
You cannot talk about the Infinix Hot 50 Pro+ without addressing its appearance, as it has been the manufacturer’s biggest selling point for some time now. The main highlight is its sleek design, complemented mostly by the record-breaking 6.88mm slim frame. From the jump, you can tell why there has been so much marketing around the slim design with the frame barely being there. The 3D curved display and brushed finish at the back also go a long way to complement the whole design giving the phone a premium look that you don’t get to see alot in the budget segment.
The triple-camera setup is also one I would describe as minimal which is in line with the whole look of the phone so that’s a positive as well. You also get dual JBL speakers which has been a thing with alot of the Infinix models this year. I also love how lightweight the phone feels considering its size.
When talking about how slim a phone is, there tend to be alot of questions about how ready it is for impact in case of unfortunate accidents. Well, it was surprising to see how much the manufacturer made sure to market the phone’s durability and its general ability to withstand most incidents that would threaten to leave a modern-day smartphone broken in various ways. The back cover is silicon so you don’t have to worry about breakages if it falls. While the screen itself is not the strongest out there, you do get a free protector which would be enough to make sure you don’t have to incur damage costs. The phone also comes with an IP54 water and dust resistance ensuring it’s air-tight enough not to let in any water or dirt particles.
Display & Performance
The Infinix Hot 50 Pro+ comes with a 6.78-inch IPS display which is more than big enough for whatever you want to watch. The quality was also surprising with colours popping up well enough and the general quality and resolution being something you can only associate with expensive AMOLED screens. The curved design as mentioned before also contributed to making the viewing experience more immersive.
When it comes to general performance, the phone holds its own. I am not always the biggest fan of XOS but there’s no doubt that the software has gone a long way to improve over the years and Android 14 as the base makes sure to add to the smooth nature of the user interface while adding more fun and interactive features. If you don’t like the skin as a whole, you can customise with your launcher which is a common thing across the Android field.
The phone’s MediaTek Helio G100 chipset gets to give the right response times with most of the apps and simple games without any lagging. Of course, this would tend to get challenged if you run graphic-heavy and power-demanding apps or games as it’s not the high-end processor you would get in the more costly models.
AI also gets to be a solid part of the phone’s functionality with Infinix’s own Folax which is now part of the company’s ecosystem and can perform a huge list of tasks if you want it. What I like, however, is that it’s not forced upon you in the general interface which might put people who are not familiar with AI functionality off sometimes.
8GB RAM makes sure you get to run multiple apps in the background that you can easily switch to without losing progress which is a huge plus. The only complaint I have is the 128GB storage I got with this phone which got eaten up pretty fast as I installed more apps and captured more content.
In general, you will find the Hot 50 Pro+ does its job to the best of its ability without promising you more than it can give.
Cameras
For optics, the Infinix HOT 50 Pro+ has dual-rear shooters that can record videos up to 2K resolution at 30fps. This includes a 50-megapixel main camera paired with a 2-megapixel depth sensor.
The cameras work surprisingly well. It can do wonders even with just a bit of light. From experience, it was able to produce some nice shots with great attention to detail.
For how much the phone is worth, I had low expectations under this segment. Even the selfies with its 13-megapixel shooter turned out okay. However, I did observe that the cameras lean more towards vibrancy over colour accuracy. All I can say is that users will surely enjoy using this device for taking snaps and videos. These are only complemented by the additional modes and tools that the device offers.
Battery
When it comes to power, I don’t think anyone would have a single thing to say negatively about the Hot 50 Pro+. The phone gives you a 5000mAh battery which has been the standard for most phones in the market across all price segments bar a few exceptions. This makes sure you get more than enough run time through your day on calls, texts and social media without worrying about when you’ll get to recharge. On average, I got about 9 hours with little workload on the phone. On a busy day with music and games playing, that was cut down to 6 hours, give or take. So you can go about your day trusting that this device will not leave you stranded on a journey or a day without power.
Thermals were never a worry which is something you tend to see users complain alot with phones that have little space in the hood. Luckily, Infinix has made sure to bring in tech that accommodates and the fact that the battery cells make sure the battery is not under too much pressure in a thin body helps with that as well.
Unfortunately, you don’t get the fancy charging tech that the brand’s mid-range phones offer and the price cut clearly shows why.
Verdict
Generally, the Infinix Hot 50 Pro+ is probably the best budget smartphone I have reviewed this year and the long list of pros can show you why. The design is a huge plus for this phone and separates it from alot of budget smartphones we have seen that do very little to look their best. It’s a smartphone that I can see many assume to be more expensive than it looks and that is a good thing. But the performance also trying its best to live up to the phone’s look goes a long way to make sure you get your money’s worth on daily usage.
The phone retails for an official price of KES 25,999 with the exact tag varying across stores. So, I would definitely recommend to someone looking to upgrade on a strict budget.
