Infinix Hot 40i Review: A Good Choice for a Cheap Gaming Smartphone
Welcoming 2024, Infinix is again bombarding the smartphone market with a number of superior products, and one of them we will review below, the Infinix Hot 40i .
Price : Rp. 1,699,000
Color Options : Starlit Black, Palm Blue, Horizon Gold, Starfall Green
Sales Package : Infinix Hot 40i Handset, Silicone case, Charger adapter, USB-C data cable, manual book, warranty card, PIN Ejector
Released: Dec 2023.
Infinix Hot 40i Specifications
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| Dimensions & Weight (mm&gram) | 163.6 x 75.6 x 8.3 mm / 190 gram |
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| SIM & Network | Dual Nano SIM, 4G LTE/HSPA+/3G/2G, WiFi a/b/g/n/ac |
| Operating System (OS) | XOS v13.0, based on Android 13 |
| Supported storage eksternal | Yes, MicroSD card up to 1TB |
| Inch Screen – Screen Type | 6.56 inches, 103.4 cm2 (~83.6% screen-to-body ratio), 720 x 1612 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~269 ppi density), IPS LCD, 90Hz, 480 nits (peak) |
| Processor/ CPU | Unisoc T606 (12 nm); Octa-core (2×1.6 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6×1.6 GHz Cortex-A55), GPU: Mali-G57 MP1 |
| RAM & Internal Storage | 8 GB + 8 GB RAM ; 256 GB ROM |
| Camera (MP/feature) rear/front |
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| Battery type (type) | 5000 mAh Li-po (non-removable); 18W Charging (5V/2A) |
Infinix Hot 40i Features
- Removable battery : No
- Multitouch : Yes
- Dual SIM : Yes
- 3G HSDPA : Yes
- 4G LTE : Yes
- 5G Ready : No
- NFC : Yes
- USB On-the-go : Yes
- GPS : Yes
- Fingerprint : Yes
- Dual Front Camera : No
- Memory external : Yes
- Gyroscope : Yes
- Stereo Speaker : No
- 4K video recording : No
- Video player : Yes
- Music player : Yes
- 3.5 Audio Port : Yes
Infinix Hot 40i PLUSMINUS
Advantages :
- Screen with 90Hz Refresh rate
- Large memory, 8 GB RAM + 8 GB Extended
- Long lasting battery, 18W fast charging
- 50MP main camera
- Magic Ring
- NFC
Disadvantages :
- Does not support 5G network
- Screen Resolution Still HD+
- No stereo speakers
- Chipset Unisoc
Infinix Hot 40i Reviews
This smartphone is officially present in the market along with the Hot 40 Pro and Infinix Smart 8 Pro, which are also already available on the market.
Infinix positions the Hot 40i as a gaming smartphone with the tagline “Gaming without Lagging” thanks to the support of the best specifications in its class.
Not only that, young people who crave a cheap smartphone with a ‘luxury’ design can also make the Hot 40i an attractive choice that is certainly also pocket-friendly.
In this review, the team has been exploring the superior features of the Infinix Hot 40i for almost a week and here is the complete review.
Infinix Hot 40i Review – Design
Like its predecessor Hot 30i, Infinix once again presents the best design in Hot 40i. This entry-level smartphone is wrapped in a modern and trendy look. The body structure is flat like most current mid-range smartphones.
The luxurious impression radiates from the back body of the Hot 40i which has a unique structure with attractive color effects when exposed to light. In addition, the design called the Glow Line also has a shiny body side and adds an elegant impression.
Please note, this smartphone comes with four trendy color choices, namely Starlit Black, Palm Blue, Horizon Gold and Starfall Green.
Specifically for the Strarfall Green color variant, it will emit a glowing green color like fluorescent light when in a ‘dark’ place and present a ‘shooting star’ effect like Aurora. Quite interesting.
In addition to having attractive colors, the rear body of the Hot 40i is also beautified by the camera module concept which is currently widely applied to flagship smartphones , including the latest iPhone.
There are three large circles inside the box. It contains two camera sensors and a Quad-LED flash. Its position is in the upper left corner and almost takes up three-quarters of the top of the rear body.
Like some previous Infinix products , the Hot 40i’s design also leaves parts that seem less solid. When tapped, the back cover seems to have a few loose cavities.
But overall, the Hot 40i’s plastic body is still relatively comfortable to use and carry with one hand. Its weight also feels quite light with dimensions that fit in the palm of your hand.
Unfortunately, Infinix did not wrap the Hot 40i design with special protection technology such as scratch-resistant glass or an impact-resistant body. So, it’s best to be a little careful when using and placing this smartphone.
If possible, also use a special soft case that has been provided in the sales package to simply protect the Hot 40i body.
Still on the body side. Infinix places a number of control buttons and connection ports on the side and bottom of the body. On the right side there are volume buttons and also the lockscreen or power button which also functions as a fingerprint panel.
On the opposite side, the Hot 40i places a card compartment consisting of 2 operator SIM card slots and one tray for a microSD card as an expansion memory space.
Moving to the bottom, there is a 3.5mm audio jack, microphone, USB-C and speaker grill. Unfortunately, the Hot 40i does not support stereo speakers.
Infinix Hot 40i – Display / Screen
This sector does not seem to have many improvements presented by Infinix. Because, the screen specifications carried by the Hot 40i are recorded as still the same as its predecessor, especially the Hot 30i.
The IPS LCD screen it carries is still 6.56 inches in size with a punch hole concept with HD+ resolution with an aspect ratio of 20:9 and has a screen brightness level of up to 480 nits.
Even so, to display multimedia content such as streaming video or while playing games, it is still quite good and comfortable on the eyes.
Regarding comfort, the Hot 40i screen is supported by DRE (Dark Region Enhancement) technology which allows the screen display to remain clearly visible even when used directly under sunlight.
Not only that, the Hot 40i screen also supports a 90Hz refresh rate and a touch sampling rate of up to 180Hz, which can provide comfort and smoothness when fingers browse the surface of the screen to open menus or search for applications.
Plus point, thanks to the XOS 13.0 interface you can set the screen refresh rate options as needed. Starting from the highest 90Hz, the standard 60Hz, or you can also set it automatically by selecting the Auto-switch Refresh Rate option.
For those of you who like watching streaming videos such as Netflix, the Hot 40i apparently only supports WIDVINE L3+ certification, which means it can only display SD quality video content (480p).
Oh yes, one unique feature of the Hot 40i regarding the display is the support for the Magic Ring feature. This feature allows users to display various notifications at the top of the screen in a shape that resembles Dynamic Island on the iPhone 15 Series.
Here, you can set the Face Unlock notification, Background call, Charging Animation, Charge Complete Reminder and Low Battery Reminder. You can find this Magic Ring setting in the Special Function option.
Infinix Hot 40i – Camera Review
The Infinix Hot 40i comes with the exact same camera configuration as the Hot 30i . On the back, it is equipped with a 50MP camera sensor which is quite large for a cheap smartphone, and another is the AI Camera which is technically not disclosed by Infinix.
As before, the camera capabilities on Infinix smartphones are quite good at producing good quality photos in locations with abundant lighting. However, the quality decreases slightly in low light.
Luckily, the Hot 40i includes a Quad-LED flash that can at least boost the camera’s performance for those needs. In addition, this smartphone also supports automatic settings for the Night view option. So, when you are in a dark location, the camera system will automatically detect the surrounding light and set it to the Night view option to produce better shots.
You can also choose Super Night mode if you want to take photos in really low light conditions. In terms of quality, it’s pretty good for a million-dollar smartphone.
The camera interface is standard and makes it easy for users to explore all the functions provided. Unfortunately, there is no Pro or manual mode option on this device.
For those who like vlogging, the Hot 40i’s rear camera can also be used to record videos with Full HD 1080 @30fps quality.
Meanwhile, for those who want to take selfies, the 32MP front camera of this device is supported by artificial intelligence (AI). The results of this selfie will look smoother and shinier.
To get the most out of it, you can also activate filters, beauty effects and portrait mode which can make the background image look blurry.
Curious about the photo results of the Infinix Hot 30i, you can see them below.
Infinix Hot 40i – Performance Review
For the engine, the Hot 40i is actually not much different from the Hot 30i. Both use a chipset with 12nm fabrication. However, the Hot 40i uses the Unisoc T606 which consists of an Octa-core processor (2 × 1.6 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6 × 1.6 GHz Cortex-A55) and is combined with Mali-G57 MP1 graphics.
In terms of performance, there is little difference with the Hot 30i chipset which uses the MediaTek Helio G37.
To boost the performance of its innards, the Hot 40i includes a fairly spacious memory. The default RAM is 8GB which can be expanded using the MemFusion feature which makes part of the storage as virtual RAM with options up to 8GB. So, the Hot 40i seems to have a total RAM capacity of 16GB.
Meanwhile, for internal storage, the Infinix Hot 40i unit we reviewed has 256GB of storage. For those of you who like to store various files on your smartphone, don’t worry because the Hot 40i is also equipped with a microSD expansion memory slot with capacity support of up to 1TB.
The collaboration of these internal specifications makes the Hot 40i’s performance anti-lag, according to the tagline it carries. Acceleration in running various applications, including multitasking processes, can run smoothly without any obstacles.
To prove it as a gaming smartphone, in this Infinix Hot 40i review we also tried a number of games. For Free Fire, Mobile Legends, COD Mobile, AoV, PUBG Mobile can be executed optimally.
In fact, the graphic settings in some of these games can be set to the maximum level.
For those who like playing adventure games like Genshin Impact, the Hot 40i can still run them well.
This capability is also inseparable from the support of the X-Boost feature owned by the Infinix Hot 40i. The latest generation gaming engine developed by the Infinix R&D team is able to calibrate frame by frame for smoother game performance.
Similar to several previous Infinix smartphones, the Hot 40i also includes a game mode that allows users to be free from all notifications while playing games. Through a special pop-up, users can also set to hide notifications, record the screen while playing games, reject calls and so on.
Still curious about the performance of the Infinix Hot 40i in this review? Here we also attach the benchmark results using several applications, and the results when using AnTuTu v10.2.1 Hot 40i posted a score of 260 thousand. One level better than its predecessor Infinix Hot 30i which only reached an average of 144 thousand.
Here is a more complete list of benchmarks:
Infinix Hot 40i Battery
Large and long-lasting battery capacity is still one of the considerations for consumers when choosing a smartphone, and the Infinix Hot 40i accommodates this well.
Infinix’s latest entry-level smartphone is equipped with a 5000 mAh battery, which for normal use can last more than a day on a single charge. This capability is thanks to a reliable power management system, as well as the support of a number of complete battery-saving features.
In Hot 40i, Infinix presents Power Marathon which has become its signature feature and is available on almost all smartphones it releases. In it, you can find a number of important options related to optimizing power sources. There are Power Boost, Ultra Power Saving and Battery Saving options.
Based on technical data, this smartphone battery can provide 9 hours of gaming time, 30 hours of video streaming, 45 hours of phone calls, and standby for more than 34 days.
Even in Ultra Power Saving mode, the Hot 40i’s 5% battery is claimed to provide 24 hours of standby time and 2 hours of talk time.
Infinix Hot 40i itself is also equipped with fast charging technology, which supports 18W power via USB-C cable. In this Infinix Hot 40i review, we tried its fast charging technology and charging up to 15% only takes about 3 minutes.
Other features
In addition to those mentioned above, the Infinix Hot 40i still includes a number of other superior features that are certainly quite useful for consumers. The first is NFC, with this feature users can use it to check and top up e-money balances. Suitable for those who like to travel using public transportation such as Commuter Line, Busway, MRT, even those who often enter and exit toll roads.
Another feature that is also quite useful is FM Radio which is currently rarely found on smartphones. On the Hot 40i, you can enjoy FM radio by plugging in a headset (wire/cable) that functions as an antenna.
Another feature that is also included by Hot 40i is its ability to increase speaker volume up to 200% which can spread in all directions. However, the internal speaker of Hot 40i itself only supports Mono quality, aka not stereo. It is quite useful for those who like to enjoy multimedia, including playing games.
Conclusion
Infinix Hot 40i is designed with a modern and contemporary design, and is supported by capable specifications in its class. Making this smartphone an attractive choice for novice consumers who have limited funds.
The slogan “Anti-Lag Gaming” that it carries has been proven to be able to be accommodated optimally, and at least can bring its users to achieve victory when playing together.
In addition to gaming, there are many more capabilities of this smartphone that can be used to support daily activities, and it seems that it will make the Hot 40i the most competitive product at the million price level.
For those interested, the Infinix Hot 40i can be purchased for a price tag of IDR 1,699,000 at all mobile phone stores in your city, or through the official Infinix store on your favorite e-commerce.