Content
- Short and to the point (for those with little time)
- Introduction
- Positioning
- Appearance
- Screen
- Camera
- Performance
- Battery life
- Conclusion and impressions
Short and to the point (for those with little time)
Infinix Note 8 was with me during my trip to Lake Baikal. The smartphone proved to be excellent, withstanding both outdoor activities and many hours of being in a frost of -25 degrees. If you are looking for an inexpensive but high-quality device, then you should pay attention to the Infinix Note 8. I would like to point out the outstanding qualities of the smartphone in points:
- Battery 5mAh… Despite the frost and active use of the camera, the smartphone was enough for 2 full days of work. Check out the section on battery life. The device gives out 12 hours of screen time in everyday tasks + there is a quick charge via Type-C
- 64 MP camera and dual front cameras… The Infinix Note 8 has a surprisingly good camera that takes great photos day and night. See examples of day and night shots in the Camera section. For the money, the Infinix Note 8 is great!
- Sound and screen 6.95 inches… Large and bright, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass. There is enough power to work outdoors during the day. The size allows you to comfortably watch videos. In fact, I used the screen as a kind of second monitor for watching Netflix while I was working on my laptop. The smartphone has stereo speakers, so the sound is in order.
- Gaming Chipset… The Helio G80 is a 2020 chipset that I like a lot for its balance of performance and battery life. The performance is sufficient for any games and tasks.
I will immediately note the cons:
- No NFC… I was not too upset, because on Baikal people prefer the transfer to Sberbank Online, and for the rest I have a bracelet with NFC from Xiaomi. However, the lack of NFC is certainly a minus, which, given the price of the smartphone, it is quite possible to put up with.
- Advertising in the shell. The shell offers various games and gadgets. This is a minus. The plus is that all advertising is completely disabled in a couple of taps… See the section “Impressions” for how to do this. In this case, I just don’t like the trend. I remember the version of the shell, when there were no ads at all, now it appeared, but it can be turned off.
- The smartphone is bought on AliExpress. You don’t have to worry about the guarantee and reliability of delivery, in Russia the process is debugged. In this case, the only sad thing is that there is no way to twist the smartphone before buying it live. I remember how I once bought a Motorola Defy over the Internet and was very surprised at how small the smartphone turned out to be in life.
Considering the price, the Infinix Note 8 is a very good value for money. On AliExpress, a smartphone can be easily found for 12 thousand rubles. From time to time there are sales when the price drops to 9 rubles. For this price, you generally need to take it quickly and without hesitation.
The smartphone has a rich package bundle. In addition to fast charging at 18 W, the set includes headphones, a protective film on the screen and a case.
Introduction
I used Infinix Note 8 as one of my main smartphones while traveling around Lake Baikal. The trip involved spending many hours on the street at a temperature of -25 – -20 degrees, active climbing on ice grottoes, climbing rocks and other active rest. And I cynically reasoned that I would rather break a test device for 12 thousand rubles than my phone, for which I paid 5 times more.
Infinix Note 8 left a pleasant impression. Perhaps one of the main things is how the smartphone survived the frost. The iPhone simply turned off, the charge of another Android smartphone dropped to 5%, while in warmth the battery warmed up and showed 65% of the charge, and Infinix Note 8 only notified that the flash and continuous shooting did not work because of the cold. I also want to note the high sensitivity of the screen when working with touch gloves. On other smartphones, the screen either did not respond, or slowed down. And the Infinix Note 8 is great.
I was also pleased with the overall reliability, since due to the use of gloves, the Infinix Note 8 fell more than once or twice in the snow and on the ice. But here it should be noted that the smartphone was in a silicone case that came with the kit. By the way, the set also includes a protective film, but I was too lazy to glue it.
But enough is enough, let’s go directly to the overview.
Positioning
Infinix is a Chinese brand of French origin. Since its inception, Infinix Mobile has focused on two areas: fashion and cutting edge technology. French roots explain the desire for beauty. By the way, unlike other Chinese brands, Infinix Mobile’s main development centers are located in France and South Korea. And the introduction of advanced technologies is an attempt to separate from competitors in the price segment, since the latter prefer to use, as they say, time-tested solutions.
Infinix Note 8 belongs to the flagships in the company’s portfolio. As the main advantages that should hook the buyer, the company highlights:
- 6 cameras and a 64 MP main module;
- Gaming chipset MediaTek Helio G80;
- 6.95-inch screen with embedded dual front camera;
- 5mAh battery, 200W fast charging, Type-C charging;
- Stereo speakers + DTS Audio Processing;
- Attractive design;
- Favorable price.
Appearance
On the official website, Infinix is very proud of the smartphone design. In my opinion, the appearance is standard. Probably, only the unusual pearlescent color is worth noting. There is also a black and turquoise option available. Judging by the pictures on the site, drawn edges start to play in these colors on the back of the smartphone. The mother-of-pearl cover is monochrome and no texture. In general, the device is comfortable and ergonomic.
The camera block is small and does not cling to clothing.
Fingerprint scanner on the right side. The location is convenient, it works well. But with gloves it is easier to use the face unlock.
Tray for 2 nano-SIM cards and a separate slot for microSD up to 2 TB.
At the bottom there is a USB Type-C connector, a speaker and a 3.5 mm jack
The screen is flat, the set includes a protective film. A dual front camera is neatly cut into the screen. The protective glass is Gorilla Glass. The manufacturer did not indicate the glass model, but apparently it is 5.
The smartphone is big. The peculiarity of the mother-of-pearl cover is that fingerprints are invisible on it.
The Infinix Note 8 cannot be called slippery, but I preferred to wear it in a case that allowed the smartphone to survive a dozen falls from the height of a trouser pocket and a chest pocket.
Screen
The manufacturer did not skimp on the screen. Huge IPS LCD panel measuring 6.95 inches. Good viewing angles. Excellent brightness in the region of 500 nits makes it comfortable to use even on a clear day outside.
A dual front camera is embedded in the screen. Here everyone has their own taste preferences. The camera did not interfere with me either in games or in films. By the way, the screen size allows you to comfortably use the split screen option and work with two applications at the same time. For example, it’s convenient to watch YouTube and do something else.
The rest of the settings are standard. See screenshots below: there is a dark theme, a mode “In the pocket” (so that the screen does not light up when the smartphone is in the bag), font sizes, various themes and wallpapers, there is a screenshot editor and a video screen recording.
Considering the size of the screen, I would like to separately note the presence of one-handed operation mode.
And finally, I must say that the smartphone is loud and has high-quality sound and stereo speakers. It is unlikely that you can use a smartphone as a portable speaker, but watching movies and TV shows is very pleasant. Everything bangs richly and explodes.
Camera
The smartphone has as many as 6 cameras: 4 main and 2 front. Cameras shoot well, but their number is pure marketing. See for yourself. The 64 MP main camera is assisted by 3 more 2 MP cameras, which are responsible for depth, macro photography and artificial intelligence. The front camera is a 16 + 2 MP combination. Here the secondary camera is used for blurring. In general, they could do the same on the main module and leave only one 2 MP module, which would be responsible for depth, macro, and AI.
The camera application is convenient and straightforward. All settings are at hand, switching between modes is done with swipes. Of course, there is also artificial intelligence that recognizes scenes.
Separately, I think, it should be noted the presence of such an unusual feature as eye autofocus. Before that, I met this only on DSLRs and the latest flagships from Sony. Below is a video with an example of work.
However, frankly speaking, the number of cameras and marketing highlights don’t bother me much. The main thing is that the cameras shoot well and preferably in the auto mode, when you point and click “Capture”. And with that, the Infinix Note 8 is in complete order. The smartphone takes great photos.
First, a few general photos. Look at detail and color rendering. It should be understood that a solid white background and bright sun is a significant test for a smartphone. This combination makes the eyes watery, which is a much more advanced photographic technique.
I will separately note examples of shooting against the sun. This is an ice sculpture.
The smartphone also has a macro camera that offers to shoot from a distance of 4 cm. You don’t have to wait for a special quality from 2 MP. Look below an example of a macro shot and a regular photo, when the smartphone is at a distance of 6-8 cm from the object. The second option is much more interesting.
The front camera copes with its duties smartly. Both ordinary photographs and portraits are very good.
Infinix Mobile is actively promoting the “super night” mode. They also came up with a flashy marketing name, “Ultra Night Mode 2.0”. That is, they did everything to make a simple buyer filled with skepticism and distrust in advance. I was no exception and initially shot in night mode rather for formality. And only looking at the photos on the computer, I realized that I was wrong. Look at the icicles in the cave, filmed in the twilight, at the houses in Irkutsk, at the landscapes of Lake Baikal after sunset. The smartphone produces a high-quality and clear picture.
For cameras Infinix Note 8, you can put a solid five and be called, perhaps, the best photo flagship for your money. A year ago, around this time, I reviewed the realme 5 pro, which also had excellent cameras. It is interesting that the smartphone was quickly sold out, after which it disappeared from sale, and the subsequent models of the camera line did not give such a cool result. There is a suspicion that the Infinix Note 8 will suffer the same fate. Probably, from time to time, manufacturers, either in an attempt to attract attention, or for some other reason, miss the mark and put cameras of a much higher class on the available models of smartphones. Such moments are worth catching and using.
Performance
8-core 2020 Helio G80 chipset with 2 powerful 2 GHz cores and 6 energy efficient 1.8 GHz cores, good ARM G52 MC2 950MHz graphics, 6 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage – Infinix Note 8 offers a very powerful filling, more typical for smartphones at the cost of 20 thousand.
Speaking of performance, you should also keep in mind the huge screen. I think it will not be a mistake to say that the smartphone is great for gaming. Infinix Note 8 perfectly “twists” any modern toys.
Speaking about performance (although this is more related to optimization and the area of work of engineers), I would like to note the overall speed of the smartphone. All menus fly, the user will not encounter freezes and lags.
Battery life
Battery life is perhaps one of the main benefits of a smartphone. The device works not only for a long time, but for a very long time. Even in the PCMark test, which simulates everyday tasks (browser, applications, graphics processing), the smartphone lasted an impressive 12 hours at maximum screen brightness. When watching videos offline, you can talk about 16 hours of screen. That is, you can watch entire seasons of TV shows on a single charge.
The smartphone is equipped with 18 W fast charging, according to measurements, charging takes about 1.5-2 hours (I noticed that the voltage in the villages on Lake Baikal is unstable). The manufacturer says that a kind of “Dual Engine” technology is used when charging, which has reduced the temperature by 8 degrees. I don’t know the details of the technology, but the smartphone really hardly heats up when charging.
Conclusion and impressions
When you first turned on the smartphone, it did not make the best impression, as it immediately began to advertise applications, themes and various mini-games. Take a look at the ad selection right in the menu.
So, perhaps, first of all, I’ll tell you how to turn it off. Long tap on the start screen – menu – Other settings. And here you need to disable popular queries, search for instant applications, mini-programs.
It’s nice that all ads can be easily turned off.
Without advertising, the smartphone is immediately perceived better. There are some interesting features in the XOS 7.1 shell that I want to share. Firstly, there is audio decoding in the shutter, that is, you can conveniently pronounce the text.
There is an Xclone mode that allows you to clone social networks to log in with multiple accounts at once.
If you drag from either edge of the desktop, you can pull out the Quick Access Toolbar. I recommend not to forget and use.
There are also fun features. For example, Social Turbo for social media. This option allows you to set up various make-up effects and chat via WhatsApp video.
The game mode was very amusing. There are classic options like customizing notifications, screen recording, etc. Have fun with the “Fight game addiction” option. Probably, it is more suitable for parents, since there you can set a password and set the time, when and how much you can play. For example, you can set that on weekdays from 8 am to 8 pm the smartphone will allow you to play a total of 30 minutes. There is also an option when the smartphone just once every couple of hours will remind you of the dangers of games.
As a result, the Infinix Note 8 is an excellent smartphone in terms of price / quality / function ratio. The main disadvantage is the lack of NFC. You can advise on the money saved to buy a bracelet with payment via NFC. The rest of the smartphone will delight: camera, screen, battery life are the main strengths. Performance will allow you to run any games and applications. The branded shell is also good, especially if you turn off ads. The device can be safely recommended for purchase. On AliExpress, it is sold for 11 rubles.
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Published – 25 February 2021
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