Infinix Hot 40i Review: Improved Performance, Subpar Camera

Infinix Hot 40i Review: TechLekh Verdict

The Infinix Hot 40i resembles the Infinix Smart 8 Pro, both featuring an iPhone-like large camera design. They also share an HD+ 90Hz punch-hole display and a 5000mAh battery.

However, unlike the Smart 8 Pro, the Hot 40i is equipped with a more powerful Unisoc T606 chipset, providing better performance, albeit at a higher cost. The camera, unfortunately, failed to impress.

If you’re looking for a budget phone that performs well, the Infinix Hot 40i is a solid choice. However, if you’re considering the higher 8GB variant, the Redmi 12 or Redmi 13 might be a better option due to their superior camera and performance.

Infinix Hot 40i is an entry-level phone launched in Nepal in April 2024, four months after its announcement. Although, it’s an affordable phone, the Hot series is more expensive compared to Infinix’s Smart series.

The price of the Infinix Hot 40i in Nepal starts at Rs. 14,999, which has 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. The higher variants have 8GB RAM which costs Rs. 17,499 for the 128GB model while the 256GB variant is priced at Rs. 19,999.

The phone has a 90Hz HD+ IPS LCD display, 50MP main camera, 32MP selfie camera, 5000mAh battery, and 18W charging support. It is powered by a Unisoc T606 processor.

I’m Pranish Khadgi, and this is my Infinix Hot 40i review.

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Infinix Hot 40i Review

Design

• 163.6 x 75.6 x 8.3 mm
• 190 g
• Dual SIM (Nano-SIM)

The design of the Infinix Hot 40i resembles the iPhone look with its huge three circles (two cameras and a flash) arranged in a triangle on an island.

Infinix has been doing this with its many other budget phones including the Smart 8 series as well. However, although the Hot 40i too has a plastic back, it has a slightly better feel in hand than the Smart 8 series.

Moreover, the back panel of the Hot 40i has a cool-looking star trail design and is visible when hit by the light at an angle.

Moving to the ports and buttons, the bottom side has a 3.5mm headphone jack, microphone, USB-C port, and a speaker.

The power and volume buttons are located on the right side, whereas the SIM card tray is on the left side. The power button has a different color than the volume buttons and also doubles as a fingerprint sensor, which works well.

Furthermore, the front has a punched-hole cutout for the front camera, which is good to see in an entry-level phone. The bezel size with a relatively larger chin is average for a budget phone. Additionally, the top bezel has cleverly tucked a notification LED light that lights up when charging and receiving notifications.

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Display

• 6.56 inches IPS LCD
• 720 x 1612 pixels
• 90Hz refresh rate
• 480 nits (peak)

The 6.56-inch IPD LCD display has a resolution of 720 x 1612 pixels and it supports a 90Hz refresh rate. The colors of the display could have been more vibrant.

Unfortunately, the Infinix Hot 40i can only view up to 720p video only on YouTube. However, if we look at the cheaper Infinix Smart 8 Pro, the 8 Pro can view up to 1080p video.

The 90Hz refresh rate may not be as smooth as higher-end models but for the price it’s fine. The brightness of the display is not enough for comfortable outdoor use.

Performance

• Unisoc T606 (12 nm)
• Octa-core (2×1.6 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6×1.6 GHz Cortex-A55)
• Mali-G57 MP1
• 128GB 4GB RAM

The Infinix Hot 40i is powered by the Unisoc T606 chipset. It is an entry-level octa-core chipset with two big Arm Cortex-A75 cores and six power-efficient Arm Cortex-A55 cores, all running at up to 1.6GHz.

The Unisic T606 is a good chipset for an entry-level device. It is superior to the Helio G36 and a good upgrade over the Infinix Hot 30i’s Helio G37, but it lags behind the Helio G85 and Helio G88 chipsets.

The model I have is the base model with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. The phone may not be the quickest, but it runs well for basic tasks like browsing and using social media apps.

To test how it performs under heavy tasks, I tried playing PUBG Mobile on it. The phone supports up to Ultra frame rate. The gameplay was enjoyable, while the phone delivered an average frame rate of almost 40fps.

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Camera

• Rear Camera: 50 MP, f/1.6, (main)
  • 0.08 MP, (auxiliary lens)

• Front Camera: 32 MP, f/2.2

The rear has a dual camera setup consisting of a 50MP main camera and the gimmicky “AI camera.” The front has a 32MP selfie camera.

Main Camera

The photos from the main camera appear underexposed. They have decent detail in good lighting conditions, but shadow details are crushed, making the overall photos seem a bit dark.

In bright and even lighting conditions, the photos have good colors. However, due to poor dynamic range, the majority of the photos are not satisfactory.

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Front Camera

The 32MP front camera of the Infinix Hot 40i is impressive when it works. The face tone appears natural and has good detail. However, it can be a hit or miss.

At times, the processing, when the HDR effect kicks in, makes the picture slightly underexposed and overly brightens the face, resulting in an unnatural, cloudy effect around the face.

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Videos

• 1080p@30fps

You can shoot up to 1080p video at 30fps using the Infinix Hot 40i. The video quality is average, as expected from a budget phone, with moderate detail and sharpness. The videos are not stable and tend to be shaky.

Battery and Software

• 5000mAh, 18W charging
• Android 13
• XOS 13

The Infinix Hot 40i has a 5000mAh battery that provides ample battery life, easily lasting an entire day on a single charge. It supports 18W charging, which is an improvement over the mere 10W. However, it still takes over a couple of hours to fully charge. It took two hours to charge the phone from zero to 90 percent.

In terms of software, the phone runs on Android 13-based XOS 13. Unfortunately, it’s not the latest Android 14. Swiping down from the top right corner brings up the quick settings, while the left side shows notification panels. Infinix phones also have an app called Freezer, which prevents apps placed in it from running in the background.

The phone has a software feature called the Magic Ring to show information about charging status and voice calls around the front camera cutout.

The cheaper Infinix Smart 8 Pro has a toned-down version of XOS 13 based on the Android 13 Go edition. In contrast, the Hot 40i has a full-fledged Android 13 with more features. It includes a Smart Panel feature that allows quick access to commonly used apps by swiping and pausing from the left or right edge of the screen.

Additionally, it supports a three-finger swipe for capturing screenshots. The app hiding feature from the Smart 8 Pro has more capabilities on the Hot 40i, called XHide. It can be accessed by swiping up from the home screen with two fingers and lets you hide pictures, videos, apps, recordings, and documents.

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So, this is my Infinix Hot 40i review. What do you think about the phone? If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments!