Infinix Zero 30 5G Review: Mid Range Phone with ChatGPT Assistant Support

September 11, 2023, 08:45 AM
by Shahriar Rabab

UNB News
Publish- September 11, 2023, 08:45 AM
Shahriar Rabab

Infinix Zero 30 5G Review: Mid Range Phone with ChatGPT Assistant Support

Infinix Zero 30 5G (Image: Youtube screen grab)

The Infinix Zero series of smartphones has been the perfect upper mid-range smartphone from the brand. The lineup offers premium design and cutting-edge hardware technologies. In September 2023, Infinix launched the Zero 30 5G in China as a direct successor to the Zero 20. So how does it fare with its competitors? And what sets it apart from the rest? Let’s find out the key specs, pros, cons and price of Infinix Zero 30 5G in Bangladesh.

Key Specifications of Infinix Zero 30 5G

Design and Build Quality

With each iteration of the Zero series, Infinix seems to outdo itself in terms of design, build quality, and the overall look and feel of the device. The Zero 30 features a 164.5 x 75 x 7.9 mm dimension with 185 gm of weight. The lightweight build is attributed to the plastic frame and the vegan leather back (Rome Green). The frame of the phone has been gold tinted on the Rome Green and the Golden Hour color variant which gives it a unique look. The other color variant of choice for the users would be the Fantasy Purple one.

The back camera housing has also been significantly expanded to make up a large rectangular slab on the back. The housing almost goes from edge to edge but not quite. For people with OCD, the unusual side positioning of such a large camera housing may seem out of place.

The front and back of the device are both protected by Gorilla Glass 5 (Fantasy Purple and Golden Hour). Additionally, the device is IP53 dust and splash-resistant.

Moving on to the ports and buttons, everything comes standard on the Zero 30. The Type C port, main speaker, and sim slot are located on the bottom with the power button and the volume rocker positioned at the right. The Zero 30 has an in-display fingerprint scanner for an added layer of security. Another great thing about the Zero 30 is the included stereo speaker which makes it an excellent device for music and media consumption.

The minimal yet premium design choices include the only subtle “zero” branding on the back. The Zero 30 looks much more premium than its sub-250 USD price tag and that’s a great thing for anyone looking for a stylish smartphone.

The Display

The display on the Zero 30 is a curved AMOLED panel with 1B colors, 144 Hz refresh rate, and 950 nits of peak brightness. However, the specs aren’t the first thing that the users would notice. The 6.78-inch display has an almost uniform bezel design on the front that takes the screen-to-body ratio to an unprecedented 90%.

Users would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between this panel and a flagship one thanks to the minimal curve and the symmetric bezel. The display has a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels with a 20:9 aspect ratio and 388 ppi density. Additionally, the display also supports Widevine L1 so users would be able to stream HD codec content directly from the streaming platforms.

The display can be manually set to either 60 Hz, 120 Hz, 144 Hz, or auto mode. However, setting 144 Hz as a constant would drastically reduce the battery life.

Overall, the display is easily the strongest suit of the Zero 30. It is bright, crisp, and fluid to the touch which easily makes it the best in its price class.

The Camera

There’s a triple camera setup on the Zero 30 with the main sensor being a 108 MP wide-angle shooter with f/1.7 aperture, PDAF, and OIS. The supporting sensors are a 13 MP f/2.2 ultrawide shooter and a 2 MP depth sensor.

In a word, the high megapixel count doesn’t translate into higher photo quality. Pictures in the daylight looked decent with a decent amount of contrast and dynamic range. However, the shaded areas often appeared too dark or soft compared to the focus area. The green and reds were over-saturated which at times made it look artificial. The portrait mode performed decently but the edge detection near the hair seemed to be off at times. Other than that, the subject was well exposed with good details and sharpness.

The camera however faltered in night and low light conditions. Pictures taken without the night mode had grains and noises with little to no exposure. The night mode made the situation a bit better but it wasn’t quite on par with other mid-range smartphones in this price range.

The Zero 30 has videography support of up to 4K at 30 and 60 fps. On paper, the main sensor has OIS support but it doesn’t trigger during 4K shooting. Whether it’s a software or hardware issue, remains to be seen. The 1080P at 30 or 60 fps videography has the OIS which produces passable results.

The front camera is a 50 MP f/2.5 sensor which Infinix is branding as their vlogging camera. Again, users would be able to shoot at up to 4K with the front camera but the output lacked stability and seemed to be on the choppier end.

Processor and Performance

The Infinix Zero 30 is powered by Mediatek Dimensity 8020 based on the 6 Nm architecture. The processor has an octa-core design with 4x2.6 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55 and Mali-G77 MC9 as GPU. In effect, the Dimensity 8020 is comparable with the Snapdragon 870 which makes it a great mid-range processor.

The performance of the chipset has also been on par with the benchmark standards. The processor scored 58738 on Antutu V10 and 3122 on GeekBench V6. In the test, the device could play all the leading 3D titles in the highest graphics settings with some frame drops here and there. At moderate settings, PUBG was able to support extreme frame rates which is a testament to the processor’s power.

However, the device also heated up quite fast. It wasn’t anything unbearable but the heat was noticeable. Another issue is with the UI itself. The XOS is still a bloatware-heavy OS with its ads and renditions. Thankfully, most of these bloatware can be uninstalled and the ads can be restricted.

A fun new addition is the onboard AI assistant on the Zero 30. It uses ChatGPT to answer any queries of the users which is a handy little feature on its own. Infinix has also announced one year of OS updates and two years of security updates which quite frankly is very disappointing.

Other than the slight issues with updates and OS, the Zero 30 is a solid performer that will give any device in its price range a run for its money.

Battery and Charge Time

The Infinix Zero 30 5G comes with a 5000 mAh battery on board. There’s a 68W wired charging support that can take the device from 0 to 80% in 30 minutes. With an auto-refresh rate, users can expect to get around 6 to 7 hours of SoT with this device.

Pros and Cons of Infinix Zero 30

Pros:

· 144 Hz Curved AMOLED Panel

· Premium design

· 68W fast charging

· Capable processor

· Stereo speakers on board

Cons:

· Bloatware filled OS

· Subpar camera performance.

Price of Infinix Zero 30 5G

The price of Infinix Zero 30’s 12/256 GB version is around 24,999 INR or 33,000 BDT (1 INR = 1.32 BDT) in the Indian market. The device is yet to launch in Bangladesh. However, the official price of Infinix Zero 30 in Bangladesh may grossly differ once it becomes officially available.

Verdict

The Infinix Zero 5G brings a unique mix of design and performance which isn’t very common in this price range. The device has a premium look and feel to it which is complemented by the exceptional display, performance, and battery life.

On the flip side, the camera underperforms quite a bit which might be a deal breaker for many. If you can overlook the sub-par camera performance, then yes, the Infinix Zero 30 5G can be a great buy for anyone looking for a capable mid-range smartphone.