Infinix Hot 9 comes in as successor to the Infinix Hot 8. It was announced on the 23rd of March 2020 and is expected to be available by April.
The company, as usual, is targeting developing markets like the India market, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Malaysia.
I have spent about 2 weeks with the new device and I must say that it arrives with a number of decent features and specifications, while arriving at an affordable price.
Below is a video of a comprehensive hands-on review. If you enjoyed the video, you can find other recent smartphone video review on the Oscarmini YouTube channel. But, if you prefer to read, then let’s jump right straight to the features and specifications.
After the review, you will know if the Infinix Hot 9 is the smartphone for you because we will list out its weakness, as well as strengths. Enjoy the read!
Unboxing
Some of the items you find in the box of the newly launched Infinix Hote 9 is conventional. There’s the normal phone case, screen protector, SIM ejection pin.
Other items you can find in the box include a charger brick, micro USB cable, and leaflets.
Design and Build
The design of the Infinix Hot 9 is way too good for its price. As a matter of fact, you will notice a big upgrade in terms of the design of the Hot 9 when compared to the Infinix Hot 8.
The Infinix Hot 9 is made of a glass front and a plastic frame and back. On the front side of the device, there’s a huge 6.6 inches HD+ punch-hole display. Also, the bezels on the side of Hot 9 are well-trimmed which makes it possible for the device to achieve an 82.8% screen-to-body ratio.
I quickly turned to the back of the device and easily noticed the beautifully curved edges. Still at the back, you will find the quad-camera setup at the left-hand side alongside a dual-LED flash.
Still, at the back panel, you will find the responsive fingerprint sensor with the Infinix logo below it.
Under the Hot 9, there’s a USB port, a 3.5mm jack, and a microphone. Meanwhile, the right side still holds the volume rockers and the power button. Turn it over to the left side and you will see the tray that contains the dual Nano-SIM and memory card.
The overall design of the Infinix Hot 9 was impressive as it was able to arrive with features that can easily fit into the latest trend.
Finally, for color options, you have the Quetzal Cyan, Midnight Black, Violet, and the Ocean Wave.
Display
One of the things I love about Hot 9 is its beautiful display which is similar to that of the Infinix S5. It’s a 6.6-inch IPS LCD punch-hole display that houses a single camera cut-out. The display is impressive and has a screen resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels and was able to achieve a screen density of 269 PPI.
Performance and Specs
Performance-wise, the Infinix Hot 9 still followed the steps of its predecessor. The smartphone features a moderate performance – though you can’t query it for that when considering the price at which the device is sold.
Running power-intensive applications on the Infinix Hot 9 could result in quite a number of lags. Nevertheless, I was able to use some power-intensive apps and also play high graphic games like PUG and more. They all played fine with a very low setting, but in a normal setting, you’ll experience so many lags.
The Infinix Hot 9 arrives in five storage options which is the 32GB storage with a 2GB RAM, 32GB storage with 3GB RAM, 64GB storage and 3GB RAM, 64GB storage and 4GB RAM, and finally the 128GB storage with a 4GB RAM. Luckily, you can further expand the storage of all the models via the microSDXC (dedicated slot).
All the storage options are paired to an Octa-core Mediatek MT6762 Helio P22 processor which is assisted by a PowerVR GE8320 which handles all your graphics processing.
In addition to the aforementioned, the Infinix Hot 9 also rocks an XOS 6.0 interface which is based on the Android 10, the latest operating system.
Battery
Another place where you notice an upgrade is in the battery department. The Infinix Hot 9 now rocks a huge Non-removable Li-Po 5000 mAh battery. I tried using it for the whole day with intensive activities, but the battery could nearly see me through. But with moderate use, you are guaranteed a full day use.
You wouldn’t find any wireless charging nor any fast charging technology, but overall, the battery was impressive.
Camera
One of the major upgrades lies in the camera system of the Infinix Hot 9. Upfront, you will find a quad rear camera which gives you room for more camera features.
The sensors at the back of the Hot 9 varies according to the storage variants you choose. The 64/128 GB internal storage variants rock a 16MP primary camera, while below 64GB internal storage will have a 13MP primary camera.
Other cameras included in the quad-camera setup includes a 2MP depth camera, a 2MP macro camera and a QVGA camera created to aid photos taken in low light conditions.
Some of the features of the quad-camera include HDR features, Panorama, and a triple LED flash. The cameras can also record 1080p videos @30fps.
Finally, the front camera sensor is an 8MP shooter capable of shooting both photos and shoot videos of 1080p at 30fps.
Price
The Infinix Hot 9 happens to be among the best deals that you can find in the market. Even though the Hot 9 didn’t rock in with the world’s most powerful processor or the 120 Hz refresh rate, it still arrives with some high-end specifications at an affordable price.
Hot 9 will be sold for $100 which is about Naira in Nigeria. Meanwhile, you get this device for about 7550 rupees in the Indian markets.
The impressive specifications and low price tag of the Hot 9 make it a very strong candidate that will experience more sales in the Asian and African markets. In fact, the low price tag makes the Hot 9 the best phone in the economic category.
To purchase this device, visit any authorized retailers around your region or online stores that can deliver it to you.
Verdict and Conclusion
Despite not rocking the fastest chipset, the Infinix Hot 9 is the smartphone for almost everyone. It comes with an extremely affordable price tag while still offering you all those premium features which you see on high-end smartphones.
You can hardly find any fault in the Infinix Hot 9, beginning from the battery life down to its large screen. After spending about two weeks with the Hot 9, I can boldly tell you that the device is among the best deal currently in the market.