In the last few years, cheap smartphones had a significant upshift. Companies are coming up with devices that check almost all the boxes at the fraction of renowned flagship prices. The Hong Kong based company Infinix has also emerged as a significant player in the budget to mid-range category. Their latest offering, the Infinix Note12 aims to bring the best of mid-range at an affordable price. The device was launched globally including in Bangladesh on 25th April 2022. Here’s a detailed review for potential users to decide whether Note 12 is a go or not.
Key Specifications of Infinix Note 12
Design and Build Quality
Budget to mid-range devices has a quirk of not sticking to a set of design principles. Each iteration brings something new which can often be a hit or miss. The Note 12 from Infinix also brings slight changes to the design elements from Note 11.
The apparent change is in the back where the frosted finish is now coupled with a glossy panel alongside the camera module. It gives the phone its fusion looks at the cost of being a fingerprint magnet.
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The frosted back design may appear to be glass but the device is a plastic one with a plastic back and frame. The glass front is not rated for any protection as well. Another key feature is that the device is slightly thinner and lighter than the previous generation. The dimension changes bring a better hand feel and overall ergonomics to the device.
The port and buttons remain the same as the previous generation. The top of the device is completely flush with the headphone jack, main speaker, mic, and the Type-C port at the bottom. The left houses the sim slot which also has a dedicated tray that supports up to 2 terabytes of extended storage. The power button is made completely flush with the right frame. However, the button is positioned slightly lower than the usual thumb rest position, so it will take a bit of getting used to.
Overall, the design and the build quality are on par with the price, and the design pros certainly outweigh the cons here.
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The Display
The display is a 6.7-inch AMOLED panel with FHD+ resolution. It's typical to see an AMOLED panel at this price point and the Note 12 doesn’t disappoint. The panel won't compete with the likes of Samsung’s Super AMOLED, but it’s a decent-looking one with almost 393 ppi.
The colors on the panel look sharp and saturated. This has been a characteristic feature of Infinix devices and can be calibrated from the display settings. The peak brightness of the panel reaches up to 1000 nits under direct sunlight. So outdoor legibility will never be an issue.
However, the only gripe here is the 60 Hz refresh rate. Brands like Xiaomi offer a higher refresh rate at an even lower price point. Infinix could’ve pushed to at least 90 Hz to stay on par with the competitors. Since the panel is limited to 60 Hz, it doesn’t support HDR 10 content and that might be a deal-breaker for the streamers out there.
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The Camera
The triple camera setup on the Infinix Note 12 is a rather bizarre one. The main sensor is a 50 MP one with PDAF. The other one is a 2 MP depth sensor and the other one is a QVGA sensor. it doesn’t make any sense to use a QVGA sensor as it’s a camera tech of the last decade. The depth sensor also doesn’t do much with the majority of the work being done by the main sensor alone in portrait mode.
The main sensor does a good job at capturing details with decent dynamic range preservation. The portrait mode is a hit or miss at times as the lens either captures the edges perfectly or at times, completely misses them.
But things start to tumble indoors and in low light conditions. Images appear to be soft with very low exposure and grains. The only saving grace here is the portrait mode which significantly brightens up the images. However, it still can’t do anything about the noises.
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The camera doesn’t live up to its competitors, especially at a mid-range price tag. The Realme Narzo 20 or the Redmi 10 does a significantly better job at a much lower price point.
Processor and Performance
The Infinix Note 12 comes with a MediaTek Helio G88 processor based on the 12 Nm architecture. The octa-core chips are designed in a 2 2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 and 6 1.8 GHz Cortex-A55 design with the GPU being the Mali-G52 MC2.
On paper, the processor is a perfectly powered mid-range processor. However, the reality is a bit different in real-life use. Part of that has to do with the OS itself. The XOS from Infinix is bloatware-filled with heavy skin. There are almost 15 apps that come preinstalled on the device but thankfully most of them can be uninstalled manually.
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Users will be able to play graphics-intensive games like PUBG, Asphalt 9, and COD. But the graphics settings need to be limited to a mid-range setup. Even at that, there are a few frame drops here and there.
The processor is best suited for regular uses like YouTube or social media browsing. The performance starts to bottle with processor-intensive tasks. Another negative side of the overall setup is the Android 11. While even the entry-level budget devices now ship with Android 12, it’s a letdown to see Android 11 out of the box.
Battery and Charge Time
The device comes with 5000 mAh out of the box. The battery is good enough for 8 to 9 hours of continuous usage. Note 12 supports fast-charging up to 33W so charging won't be an issue here.
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Price of Infinix Note 12 in Bangladesh
The Infinix Note 12 is officially available in Bangladesh for 18,299 BDT. It can be purchased through Daraz and the official retail stores of Infinix all across Bangladesh.
Verdict
The Infinix Note 12 is a proper shot for the company to be a market leader in the mid-range segment. However, the company more or less fails at the attempt. The display isn’t up to the mark and the camera performance is also subpar. The only saving grace is the battery and the processor. If Infinix launched this device at a bit lower price, it could have had its share of impact.