Infinix refreshes its popular smartphone series with the Infinix HOT 40 Pro. Locally, the phone is packaged in a Free Fire Edition to bolster its appeal to the masses as a budget gaming smartphone. This worker boasts a massive display with 120Hz refresh rate, speedy processor, and a beefy storage. Apart from these gaming-centric specs, the handset packs a 108MP camera with portrait capabilities.
From the looks of it, this device is going for the best-value gaming smartphone title; and we are here to check out if it's definitely worthy of that title. More importantly, at the end of this review, we'd like know if the Infinix HOT 40 Pro Free Fire Edition could be a viable option for mobile gamers, and those looking for an all-rounder device without breaking the bank.
Pros
- Vibrant and stylish design
- Large display with 120Hz refresh rate
- Very Capable 108MP main camera
- Value-For-Money Pricing
Cons
- Frame is prone to scratches
- No 5G connectivity
Unboxing
The Infinix HOT 40 Pro Free Fire Edition comes in an iconic green and white package with, obviously, Free Fire characters on the face of the box. The bigger package contains the actual box of the unit, a Free Fire lanyard, and a cooling device that you can attach to your phone while playing. For a complete experience, check out our unboxing video:
Design
The smartphone's design is not different from the budget phones that we have tried before. The back panel is built with a smooth surface with a brushed design, making it more appealing to the eyes. This also complements the Horizon Gold colorway of our review unit. I'd consider this design a piece of art with its elegant and exquisite appearance when seen from a distance.
Of course, who would miss the iPhone-like camera module? Even the LED flash resembles that of an iPhone. Meanwhile, around the edge, we have a flat plastic frame which could easily pick up fingerprints and scratches. On the lighter side, I could tell that the frame's finish adds a secure grip on the device.
All in all, the design does not feel cheap at all. I'm quite surprised to know that this is just a sub-Php7K smartphone. It feels sturdy and comfortable to use; the design, alone, could compete with phones in the Php 10K range.
Display
The Infinix HOT 40 Pro is a 6.78-inch candybar smartphone which is pretty standard in 2024. Surrounding the front panel is a set of chunky bezels with the chin being more sizeable than the rest.
The screen uses an IPS LCD panel with Full HD+ resolution. It's quite understandable that it only packs an IPS panel since this is a budget-centric phone.
The massive display allows you to be immersed in your gaming sessions, whether it's with the popular Free Fire shooting game or other MOBA games. On top of that, the display exhibits good contrast and saturation. The brightness is also commendable, which allows users to use the panel even on broad daylight.
The viewing angles aren't the best but I can still manage to share the display when streaming movies to family and friends. What makes this display remarkable is the support for 120Hz refresh rate which could switch depending on the user's actual phone usage. For supported games, you can take advantage of this nifty feature.
Performance and Gaming
Of course, the phone won't leave you asking for more when it comes to performance. The Infinix HOT 40 Pro is powered by a MediaTek Helio G99 chipset. It's a power efficient 6-nanometer chipset that's very popular in the mid-range category. On top of that, the SoC is coupled by 8GB of RAM which could go up to 16GB thru extended RAM feature.
In my time testing the phone, it's brilliantly powerful in handling my day to day tasks. When it comes to gaming, the phone could handle fair to medium graphics games like Free Fire, Call of Duty Mobile or PUBG Mobile. Playing Mobile Legends: Bang Bang with this smartphone is also a breeze. However, I wouldn't expect much when pulling up graphic-intensive games like Genshin Impact or Diablo Immortal.
The HOT 40 Pro is also a great device for multimedia consumption. With the wide screen real estate, I enjoyed the immersive experience when streaming content. The phone's Widevine L1 certification allows you to fully take advantage of HDR streaming via your favorite apps like Netflix. On top of that, the HOT 40 Pro has a pretty working stereo speakers with clear soundstage even in maximum volume.
The smartphone also sports a 3.5mm audio jack just in case you need wired headphones to be fully immersed in games.
In our Geekbench 6 benchmark tests, the Infinix HOT 40 Pro scored 724 in single-core and 1990 in multi-core CPU benchmarks. When it comes to GPU tests, the phone tallied 1259 in Vulkan and 1301 in OpenCL.
Camera
Few buyers purchase an entry-level gaming smartphone with camera capabilities in mind. Nevertheless, the HOT 40 Pro defies this as it combines an efficient chipset and large display with an impressive 108MP primary camera. The camera is a Samsung ISOCELL HM6 sensor which is pixel-binned by default to produce bright and clear photos, even at night.
If you want to take advantage of the full 108MP resolution, you can activate the full resolution mode by simply tapping the "108M" icon on the upper portion menus of your camera app when in Photo Mode. This allows you to crop the image without losing significant amount of detail in the photo. However, I prefer turning this option off by default since 108MP photos take insane amount of storage space.
The camera app also got a lot of modes to optimize the usage of the smartphone's camera. I love that I can access these modes by swiping up from my main camera app interface. There are several modes I found useful like the Pro, Timelapse, Dual Video, Film, Slow Motion, and Super Night.
With the that being said, photo quality is not too shabby at all for a sub-Php7K phone. Photos offer good amount of detail in good lighting conditions. We have no dedicated telephoto lens here; however the sensor could give you 2x-zoom quality photos without losing much detail. The additional two cameras are AI portrait and macro sensors which could be welcome features if you're fond of portrait shots and macro mode.
In the case of portraits, the phone gives passable subject-to-background separation; I mean it's not something that I would look for in this segment.
Check out our sample photos:
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| Sample photo: 1x zoom |
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| Sample photo: 2x zoom |
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| Sample photo: low-light |
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| Sample photos: Selfies and Portrait |
Photos taken in lowlight are also okay. They come with adequate amount of details; colors may be muted but I think the sensor works pretty fine in these challenging lighting conditions. For videos, you can record clips up to 2K resolution in 30 fps. I still prefer to use the default 1080p 30fps due to the fact that it produces clips with accurate colors and good dynamic range.
Software and Battery
We have the XOS 13.5 layered on top of Android 13. The skin is giving gaming vibes with the electric green accents and neon color choices. There's a Free Fire default wallpaper but you can easily customize it depending on your preference. This goes the same with the icons and the overall theme.
If you've used an Infinix phone before, you know what to expect when it comes to the software. We have a separate notification shade from the usual toggles and controls. Aside from the basic software, the phone offers shiny tricks like floating windows, Smart Panel, MemFusion for your RAM expansion, Game Mode, and more. One notable software feature is the Magic Ring which displays service notifications inspired by iPhone's Dynamic Island.
All in all, the XOS is not that hard to use especially for new users. There may be a learning curve but once you get passed it, you'll definitely love the handful of features it offers.
The Infinix HOT 40 Pro Free Fire Edition sports a 5000 mAh battery. This is a common capacity for budget smartphones in this price range. The phone also supports 33-watt fast charging which is quite a surprise for me considering its price. In our battery charging test, the Infinix HOT 40 Pro filled its tank from 0% to 100% in just over one hour.
Should You Buy the Infinix HOT 40 Pro?
The Infinix Hot 40 Pro is breaking in hot in the entry-level segment. Its highly competitive pricing could definitely steal a good amount of lightning from its contemporaries. The Hot 40 Pro is a best-value phone that's easy to recommend due to its wide display with 120Hz refresh rate, powerful and efficient chipset, good camera capability, and long battery life.
It's safe to say that the phone could capture a huge chunk in the budget gaming segment. However, even if you're not into gaming, the Infinix Hot 40 Pro could still be an efficient worker for your day-to-day smartphone activities. It's definitely another hit from the company.
Infinix HOT 40 Pro Free Fire Edition Key Specs
- 6.78-inch IPS LCD FHD+ 120Hz display
- MediaTek Helio G99 Chipset
- 8GB RAM (+ 8GB Virtual RAM)
- 256 ROM
- 108MP rear camera
- 2MP Macro + AI camera
- 32MP Selfie Camera
- USB-C Port
- Dual-SIM
- Side-mounted Fingerprint Sensor
- XOS 13.5, based on Android 13
- 5000 mAh battery
- 33-watt Fast Charging
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