The online arm of Transsion Holdings in India, Infinix, today celebrated its 1-year anniversary in the country with the launch of Hot 6 Pro. The Hot-series from Infinix caters to the sub-10K entry grade segment, and the Hot 6 Pro is meant for users who are looking for latest trends and a big screen to enjoy multimedia content.
Priced at Rs 7,999, the Hot 6 Pro will compete with Xiaomi’s multiple Redmi-series phones and also with phones like the Redmi 5A. Is it good enough to take on these alternatives? Let’s try and answer that in our review.
Infinix Hot 6 Pro (X608) specifications
- 5.99-inch (1440 x 720 pixels) HD+ 2.5D curved glass display with 18:9 aspect ratio
- 1.4GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 425 Mobile Platform with Adreno 308 GPU
- 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, expandable memory with microSD (128GB)
- Android 8.0 (Oreo) with XOS 3.2
- Dual SIM (nano + nano + microSD)
- 13MP rear camera with Dual LED Flash, f/2.0 aperture, secondary 2MP camera
- 5MP front-facing camera with soft LED flash, f/2.0 aperture
- Fingerprint sensor, Face unlock
- Dimensions: 160.43 x 76.21 x 8.6mm; Weight: 158g
- 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS
- 4000mAh battery
- Box Content: Micro-USB cable, Adapter, TPU case, screen guard, Documentation, and SIM eject tool
Infinix Hot 6 Pro Design and Build
The Infinix Hot 6 Pro is made of polycarbonate but it looks like a matte finish full metal-body phone. To us, it actually looks and feels better than the Redmi-series alternatives that dominate this budget. However, should you use it without a case, you’d discover that the back panel retains more than its fair share of smudges.
The handset is reasonably slim, has faux U-shaped antenna bands at the top and bottom, and an 18:9 display up front. The screen is flanked by a generous amount of bezel on top and bottom, but that’s true for every phone in this price range.
Also Read: 15 Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro Hidden Feature, Tips and Tricks To Know
The power button on the right edge has a fine texture and the fingerprint sensor on the rear is easily accessible. The regular micro USB port, audio jack, and the loudspeaker grill are all present on the bottom edge. The SIM tray on the left has a dedicated card slot.
The weight is well balanced and the handset is quite comfortable to hold and to operate.
We have the Sandstone Black unit with us (the feel isn’t anything like the rugged Sandstone finish on OnePlus phones), and you can also buy it in Magic Gold and Bordeaux Red color options.
At the end of the day, If you are looking for a good looking and well-built phone, the Hot 6 won’t disappoint. For anyone who’s asking, Infinix also bundles a protective case and screen guard in the box (no headphones, though).
Infinix Hot 6 Pro Display
The 5.99-inch display on the front has 720p HD resolution and is protected by a scratch-resistant glass from NEG. The display sharpness is mediocre. Colors are slightly oversaturated and contrast is high which makes the screen appear vibrant and punchy – the way most common consumers are likely to prefer it.
Infinix Hot 6 Pro Performance and Software
Infinix Hot 6 Pro is powered by Snapdragon 425 octa-core chipset paired with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. For what it’s worth, the handset comes with a dedicated card slot that can be used to add another 128 GB of secondary storage.
Now, the Snapdragon 425 doesn’t seem ideal, especially for an online offering, since competitors like Redmi 5 offer much better SD 450 for the same price. Having said that, the performance in the first week of usage exceeded our expectations. This, however, might not hold after a period of usage.
The fingerprint sensor on the rear is easily accessible but it takes a few extra milliseconds in the unlocking process. The Face Unlock is reasonably fast under adequate lighting. It unlocks the phone even when the eyes are closed and we expect Infinix will fix this in an upcoming update.
The software running on the phone is Android 8.0 Oreo-based Hummingbird XOS v3.2. The interface is heavily customized but all options are present in the right places and the UI is simple to navigate. Infinix also bundles quite a few apps, most of which you won’t use very often.
The day-to-day experience of the Hot 6 Pro isn’t outright impressive but it should still be adequate for very basic users.
Infinix Hot 6 Pro Camera performance
The Infinix Hot 6 Pro includes dual rear cameras, which isn’t something we see very often in this price range. On the rear, the handset has a 13MP primary sensor paired with a 2MP depth sensor that’s used for shooting images with blurred background.
We didn’t go into this review expecting much in terms of camera performance and thus weren’t disappointed. Let’s face it, no phone in this price range has immaculate camera performance and a few compromises are always involved.
The portrait mode on the Hot 6 Pro is a tad slow but the end result is satisfactory. The camera struggles with metering, even outdoors, but we still managed to get passable shots when the lighting was good. In low light, the camera takes some time to lock focus and the quality, in general, deteriorates steeply. Selfie camera performance is average too.
The overall camera performance is average at best, but at the same time, any other camera phone with better optics in this budget doesn’t come to mind.
Also Read: 5 Reasons to buy and to not buy Redmi Note 5 Pro
Infinix Hot 6 Pro Battery and Audio
The Hot 6 Pro has a big 4000mAh battery that can comfortably last for an entire day of moderate to heavy usage. At the same time, the mileage turned out lesser than what we had expected considering the power efficient chipset on board. We did encounter some unexpected battery drain while running some gaming and other apps. Fast charging isn’t supported and the phone takes more than 3-hours to charge fully.
The audio output via speakers and via headphones is decent enough. The mono loudspeaker is placed on the left side of the USB port and thus gets muffled at times when we switch to landscape orientation.
Infinix Hot 6 Pro Review – Should you buy it?
A few factors that work in the favor of Hot 6 Pro are its design and display. Considering its price range, other attributes like camera, software, battery backup, etc. don’t bog the experience down, but they don’t embellish it either.
Performance-wise, Redmi 5 is still a better phone if you consider the 3GB RAM variant that also costs Rs 1K more.
A more powerful SoC would have helped its case and made it easier for us to recommend it to all classes of users. But as things stand, we can still suggest the Hot 6 Pro for basic users looking for a good looking phone with a reasonably good display.
Infinix Hot 6 Pro Advantages and Disadvantages
Pros
- Great design
- Battery backup
- Display
- Dedicated card slot
Cons
- Feeble chipset
- Slow charging
