I wanted an android phone alternative and I managed to get one from a phone company called Infinix. I had to choose between the Infinix Note 3 and Hot 4. But after unboxing the Note 3 I choose to stick with the Hot 4 because I found the Note 3 too enormous in size.
At first sight, the Hot 4 looks plain good if you get the black variant. It poses a question of mystery as to which phone one is holding. It’s only until you flip it to the back that you see the Infinix branding below the fingerprint scanner.
The back of the phone felt like cheap plastic something that I didn’t mind considering the phone costs 359,000/-. It however gives you a sense of grip for the phone and since the phone isn’t too curved.
I also liked the fact that there is no camera bump at the back but let’s call it a camera dimple about a similar dimple where you place your fingerprint. This means the phone won’t shake or move when placed on a table.
Ripping the back cover open reveals the 4,000 mAH battery, 2 sim card slots and memory card slot.
Powering it on
I must say the power button is in the right place considering the size of this phone. The power button is one the right side of the phone somewhere around the middle but below the volume buttons.
Don’t expect a grill on the button to differentiate it from the volume rockers but the space between the two will enable you figure it out. Again once you have set up your fingerprint, you tend to forget the power button. Of course you will need when turning off the display.
The 720p display looks much better than it would if you follow the specs. The blacks seem very black and the white can be blinding. The only issue I had was during extremely bright days when the sun is overhead. You literally can’t see a thing despite blowing up the brightness.
As usual the setup process of the phone is as standard as that of other android phones except that the Hot 4 asks you to set up your fingerprint.
I also noticed the icons and X launcher that comes with the phone. One of the first things you will notice are the icons and launcher which remind me of very cheap phones.
In fact the launcher doesn’t allow you remove an app from the home screen once you have added it. I ignored this until my apps synced and then i had to install the Google Launcher.
The Camera
I opened the camera app which automatically opens in the beauty mode which makes your selfies look awesome. The camera has its ups and down but i preferred the 5MP selfie camera over the back 8MP which beats the competition when compared to budget smartphones.
Am the kind that takes photos in the dark which made me use the front facing flash. The front flash is a hit or miss because sometimes it will blind you and not balance the light but most times it will take a bright selfie in the dark.
The fingerprint scanner came in handy when taking selfies which eased the usual fumbling to find the shutter button.
The Launcher
The first thing I hated about the phone was its launcher which is vertical but it doesn’t look right design wise. And before Infinix pushed an update once you drag an icon to the homescreen you can’t remove it from the home screen unless you uninstall.
It must have been an XOS bug but after an update it is impossible to drag an App icon to the home screen. However beware to turn the setting in Google Play that automatically adds icons to the home screen.
Its an annoying problem that can easily be fixed. Just download Nova launcher or Google launcher and your launcher problems are solved. (You are welcome)
The stock apps
To be honest am the kind that loves the Stock android experience and despite the Hot 4 coming with Android 6, I didn’t use the factory Gallery, SMS and Music apps often. Android is open which allows you download separate apps from the app store. I found myself downloading Messages for SMS because it allowed me easily switch between sim cards when sending texts, Google Play Music and Google Photos.
As you download and install apps that’s when you notice the 16GB memory of the phone which was enough until I got a system update notification.
But it turns out Infinix had a software update bug which requires users to have an SD card installed. Despite having over 2GB of free space the update failed, in fact when i reset the phone it insisted that I added an SD card despite the phone having a lot of free memory.
Urggghhh…….I really hope they fix this problem after reading this.
Sweet Battery
I used this phone for browsing, gaming and taking photos but the battery wasn’t easily shaken. In fact the 4000mAh battery is what made me love this budget smartphone. The battery will make you forget everything you don’t like about this phone.
I tested the phone alongside my iPhone and other friend’s phones on nights out I always went home with enough battery to play my ‘sleep playlist’. During days of light usage where I mostly made calls on my secondary sim, I got up to 3 days of battery usage. The average battery usage is about a day and half.
This was the first phone I used where I was comfortable not carrying my USB charger around. It was a big battery which meant that it actually takes time to fill up but any percentage above 30% can push you for quite long.
I had to say bye to….
Forget 4G and really fast performance as the 2GB of RAM isn’t a workhorse like premium smartphones and yeah things like NFC and fast charging are missing.
In general……
This is one phone that gives you more than you actually pay for. It is one of those phones that bring MKBHD’s “good phones are getting cheap, and cheap phones are getting good” statement. Everything from the fingerprint scanner to the battery and enormous display will make you love this budget smartphone. Don’t expect flagship performance but this phone is actually good and the UGX 359,000/- price tag makes it even better.
Image Credit: TechsNG.com
This awesome article Living with the Infinix Hot 4; when a budget smartphone overwhelms was first posted on GURU8