Infinix has had a track record of manufacturing affordable phones and they have always delivered. This has led to quite an uptake of its devices in the Kenyan market. The HOT series was created to target young customers with its focus on providing phones with great cameras at an affordable price.
The Infinix HOT 10T was recently launched in the Kenyan market. It has continued the tradition on the focus of an affordable phone coupled with a great camera experience.
Minus the camera experience, the phone does come with other great features that I will review below.
Build and screen
The phone comes with a 6.82 inch screen with the selfie camera nestled at the front middle of the screen. The main camera and the fingerprint sensor are at the back.
The SIM card + microSD port is on the left side while volume and power buttons are on the right side. The charging port, jack, speaker, and the mouthpiece are at the bottom of the phone.
The screen is quite bright and its best to leave it on automatic light mode so that it can adjust depending on the light situation where you are. It also comes with eye care mode and a dark theme that has become a popular feature in smartphones.
Software
The Infinix HOT 10T comes with the latest Android operating software i.e. Android 11 plus Infinix’s own operating software XOS 7.6. It comes pre-installed with the usual Google apps such as Gmail, Maps, YouTube, Docs, Sheets among others. It also has other apps within the Transsion family apps such as Phoenix Browser, BoomPlay, Scooper, Vskit among others.
Having the latest OS is an advantage and it is apparent in how the phone operates. However some of the Transsion apps have unnecessary notifications that sometimes spoil the experience. You can fiddle with the settings and turn the notifications off but I have always felt that these apps should be opt in instead of being automatically able to work as they do off the bat. However it is a good thing that these notifications can be turned off.
Other than that slight annoyance, the software experience is actually great. There is also an added advantage in the PalmStore where users can be able to install extra apps from the Transsion Universe.
Speed and storage
The Infinix HOT 10T comes with a Helio G70 processor, 4 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage. The internal storage comes in handy especially if you are a heavy user. It is a great idea to provide users with the option of the 128 GB version especially if they take a lot of pictures, download music and fill their phones with a lot of apps.
The processor and the RAM do actually work well to provide the user with a seamless experience. I found that when gaming, the phone does actually handle itself quite well. The only thing is that you can’t run the game when some heavy apps are operating. It’s a small price to pay if you ask me. It also does fine when running multiple apps together such as TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook. Video calling also does well on the phone.
Camera
The phone comes with a triple camera set-up at the back that consists of a 48MP main camera, 2MP Depth + AI Lens. The selfie camera comes with an 8 Megapixel camera.
The camera features include;
- Short video – Perfect for taking short videos to share on TikTok, Instagram, Vskit and Twitter
- Video quality on the phone ranges from 720P, 1080P to 2K.
- AI CAM with HDR and a 48MP picture option for really high-res pictures
- Super Night mode for excellent night pictures
The pictures are super bright especially in good light situations. Low light situations are saved by the Super Night Mode which increases the light in a low light environment.
In general, I like the camera and the pictures are quite clear and the level of detail is amazing.
Battery
The 5000mAh the phone comes with is honestly impressive. This is a phone that you can comfortably use for a full day even with heavy use. I noticed though that gaming drains the battery a bit because the screen is on all the time. But even then, I was able to squeeze in a respectable 10 hours from the phone after gaming non-stop for 4 hours. With this phone, you can comfortably leave your charger at home.
The only downside to the battery situation is that the phone comes with a USB charging port which charges a bit slowly. It would have been nice if it had the USB-C one which is known to charge faster.
Final thoughts
The Infinix HOT 10T is actually quite good and the price is very attractive. There are those annoying notifications but they can’t be turned off and you can have a great experience. This one, I would happily recommend.
The Infinix HOT 10T 128GB + 4GB version is retailing at Ksh. 17,499 and the 64GB + 4GB version is retailing at Ksh. 15,499. The device will be available in Infinix outlets countrywide.