Infinix launched a new entry-level smartphone named Infinix Hot 9 and it’s the successor to the last year’s Infinix Hot 8. The Inifinix Hote 9 featuring quad cameras, 5,000 mAh battery, selfie LED flash, and design with punch hole selfie camera at just Rs 8,999. Here’s our Infinix Hot 9 review.
Infinix Hot 9 Specifications
- Display: 6.6-inch display, HD+ resolution (1600×720 pixels)
- Software: XOS 6.1.0, Android 10
- CPU: 16nm MediaTek Helio P22 (MT6762) octa-core SoC
- GPU: PowerVR GE8320 Graphics
- RAM: 4 GB RAM
- Storage: 64 GB GB internal storage; expandable via microSD card
- Main Camera: Quad Cameras (13 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP + QVGA)
- Selfie Camera: 8 MP
- Others: Fingerprint scanner, 3.5 mm audio jack, FM Radio
- Connectivity Options: 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS/GLONASS, micro USB port
- Battery: 5,000 mAh battery
- Price: Rs 8,999
Design, Display & Build
About the design, the phone has a new look as compared to its predecessor, Infinix Hot 8. You get a glossy look at the back with patterns on it, the design looks quite appealing. The overall look and finishing of the phone is pretty good.
The back also equips quad cameras with triple LED flash on the top-left side, the camera bump is very minimal which is good on the ergonomics point of view.
You also have a physical fingerprint scanner on the back while the current smartphones are moving to a side-mounted fingerprint scanner. This is a personal choice on which side you want the fingerprint scanner to be placed.
On the front side of the Infinix Hot 9, you see a 6.6-inch IPS HD+ display with a resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels. The screen has a punch-hole camera cutout which is the ongoing trend in the smartphone industry. It’s also one of the affordable smartphones to opt for a punch-hole design.
You will find a micro USB port at the bottom, its time, Inifinix should start using a USB Type-C instead, the competition is ahead in this area. Other things at the bottom are loudspeakers, a microphone, and a 3.5 mm audio jack. It comes with DTS support for an immersive audio experience.
The right side has a power button and volume keys whereas the left side has a triple-slot SIM tray in which two slots are for 4G SIM cards while the third slot is for microSD card.
Software & User Interface
The Infinix Hot 9 comes with the latest Android 10 build with XOS 6 customized Android interface on top. The UI is highly customized with additional features and bloatware or unwanted apps.
About the features, you get quick access to the apps, gesture navigation, Dark theme, DTS sound, WhatsApp mode, Bike mode, Split screen recording, and some preinstalled apps XClub, XShare, YoParty, Freezer, and more.
If you don’t like the apps, you can remove them, however, some apps can’t be removed. The performance good in the initial use, however, not that great when you do multitasking, or install more apps.
To know more about the XOS interface, refer to our past Infinix phone reviews.
Hardware, Performance & Gaming
The Inifinix Hot 9 packs a MediaTek Helio P22 octa-core SoC clocked at 2.0 GHz. Furthermore, it is laced with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage that expands via a microSD card.
The CPU is quite obsolete, the MediaTek Helio P35 is slightly better in terms of performance. It might be good for the light task, don’t expect a fast performance out of it, you might find smartphones with better performance in this range.
The benchmarks indicate the phone offer entry-level performance which can be easily taken over by powerful smartphones such as the realme Narzo 10 with the MediaTek Helio G80 SoC in this price range.
You should avoid this device if you are into gaming, the phone offers average gaming performance, games that demand GPU won’t run on high settings, but low or medium. If you are a PUBG player and want better performance, choose a phone with a better GPU.
Cameras
What’s interesting on the phone is its quad cameras, the Inifinix Hot 9 offers a total of four cameras on the backside and one on the front. The main camera on the rear side is 13 MP with the rest three cameras – 2 MP depth sensor, 2 MP macro camera, and the last camera for low light sensing. The front has an 8 MP selfie camera.
Like the rest of the Infinix phones, this one too boasts LED flash on the cameras, you get a triple LED flash on the rear quad cameras and a selfie flash hidden in the top bezel.
About the camera app, you get very basic features such as AI Cam, Beauty, Bokeh, AR Shot, Panorama, Macro, HDR, and video recording that’s limited to 1080p video, no more features are available.
Rivals offer better camera configuration, there’s no wide-angle camera on the phone. The camera offers a standard 13 MP whereas the competition offers 48 MP cameras in this price range.
To see how the camera performs, here are the camera samples that we took from its camera.
Battery Life
On the battery side, the Infinix Hot 9 packs a 5,000 mAh battery which is larger than what smartphones offer in this range. A larger battery means you should be getting longer battery life, at least the Infinix Hot 9 is good at battery life. The HD+ display and power-saving CPU together helps in extending the battery life.
However, the charging on the phone is slow, you get a standard 5V and 2A charger which means it’s 10W. You can expect to charge the phone fully in about 2 hours.
Verdict
The Inifinx Hot 9 is currently priced at Rs 8,999 which is highly affordable due to its quad cameras offering. Also, the selfie LED flash and 5,000 mAh battery is worth considering at this price. However, the quad-camera on paper sounds good, the competition is fairly ahead, the CPU is also obsolete, there are phones with better CPU performance, and 48 MP cameras in this segment. If you are looking for a phone in this price bracket, look for other phones like realme Narzo 10A or its own elder sibling Hot 9 Pro before making a choice.
Strength
- Elegant looks
- Larger 5,000 mAh battery
- Selfie LED flash
- Dedicated microSD card slot
Weakness
- Obsolete CPU
- Average camera performance
