Infinix NOTE 40 Pro Review: Infinix launched the NOTE 40 series in Kenya about four weeks ago. The series comprises the NOTE 40, NOTE 40 Pro, and the most advanced model, the NOTE 40 Pro+ 5G.
The NOTE series has always been one of our favourites from the company because Infinix always goes all in to give us a decent price at a very good price. For example, pricing for this new series starts at Ksh.31,099 for the NOTE 40, Ksh.38,699 for the NOTE 40 Pro 4G, Ksh. 49,199 for the NOTE 40 Pro 5G, and Ksh.46599 for the premium NOTE 40 Pro+ 5G.
When you look at the NOTE 40 Pro which is what we have for review, at that price, Infinix is giving you interesting features such as Wireless MagCharge among others. The phone is the most affordable phone that boasts wireless charging as of now.
But does it live up to its on-paper specifications in real-world use? We already did the unboxing video, in case you missed it you can check it out below:
Infinix NOTE 40 Pro Design, Build and Display
One of the most attractive things about the Infinix NOTE 40 Pro is the design. It’s a very stylish phone and the Vintage Green colour variant with a mixture of goldish colour camera modules we received for review looks really nice. The phone also features a green leather back that provides a good grip when you hold the phone in your hands. Infinix has also bundled a similarly styled case in the box to give the phone a more premium look and protection. The case, called a MagCase comes with similar magnetic wireless charging capabilities as MagSafe that we have seen on iPhones.
As earlier mentioned, there’s a slightly protruded golden-coloured rectangular camera module at the back that has three camera cutouts and a HALO light, a new feature for the device.
At the bottom we have some Infinix branding scribbled in golden. For inputs and ports, the microphone, USB-C port and a single speaker grill are all located at the bottom. The SIM card tray is also here while the power button and volume rocker are on the right side. The top side includes a secondary speaker and IR blaster.
For the display, we’re getting a curved 6.67-inch 10-bit AMOLED panel that bears FHD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and 1300 nits peak brightness WITH Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. This display features very sleek bezels and a punch-hole notch at the top for the selfie camera. We’ve always been a huge fan of curved displays so Infinix adding it to the Infinix NOTE 40 Pro was a good idea, it gives the phone a premium look.
The display is also very bright and the viewing experience is quite satisfactory. It offers you punchy color and good visibility even under direct sunlight. The phone is also HDR-certified for a broader contrast and colour range meaning you can but just for YouTube. Watching on platforms such as Netflix and other OTT platforms, the maximum playback setting is limited to FHD.
This viewing experience is complemented by stereo speakers, which are fine-tuned by JBL and provide relatively crisp audio playback. Remember Infinix and JBL first talked about this partnership at CES 2023 and we first saw Infinix use these speakers on the NOTE 30.
The design, build and display are really impressive and other than the Vintage Green, you can also buy the phone in Titan Golden. There is no 3.5mm headphone jack, which seems to have become the new normal for almost all smartphones. The phone also includes an in-display fingerprint scanner, which is very fast.
Infinix NOTE 40 Pro Performance and software
When it comes to performance, the Infinix NOTE 40 Pro is powered by the Helio G99 Ultimate processor. It handles regular tasks like web browsing, taking lots of photos, and switching between apps quite easily without experiencing any lags or hesitations. Infinix couples it with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage.
The 5G variant is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 7020 chipset.
On the software front, the Infinix Note 40 Pro boots XOS 14 atop Android 14 out of the box. If you have used XOS then you can tell it has come a long way. It never used to be our favourite because of the annoying ads and intrusive notifications that we have spoken about in almost all the reviews we have done on Infinix devices. This time around though, XOS feels way lighter, smoother and cleaner, there’s hardly any bloatware. The only pre-installed apps are Caricare, Chrome, Facebook, and others which you can get rid of. Infinix has also promised two years of Android updates, which means the phone will get Android 15 and 16.
Important to also mention is that the phone comes with an AI assistant called Folax. It can help you with several tasks such as making calls, taking photos, playing music, setting alarms, and more.
Infinix NOTE 40 Pro Cameras
There’s a 108MP main lens at the back and 2MP snappers for depth and macro. For selfies, Infinix is giving us a 32MP front camera.
We loved the main camera, it produces some satisfactory results producing images with decent details and colour accuracy, especially with decent lighting. The dynamic range could however be better but the photos are usable. Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) also works well and shots of moving subjects are stable.
You have several camera modes to play around with including film, AI Cam, portrait, super night, dual video, and slow-mo among others.
There is no 4K video support and the maximum you can get with both the main and selfie lenses is 2K 30fps.
The 32MP front-facing camera captures good selfies with decent facial detailing so nothing to really complain about here. See sample shots below:
Infinix NOTE 40 Battery and charging
The charging ecosystem is one of the key highlights of this phone. You will be surprised to know that the Infinix NOTE 40 Pro is the first Android device with support for magnetic charging.
First, let’s talk about the battery, it’s a 5000mAh battery. Inside the box, Infinix has also added 70W charger and a 15W wireless charging pad that the company is calling MagPad. Infinix is calling the wireless charging tech MagCharge.
You can charge the phone with a regular adapter and USB-C cable that offers a 70W fast charging speed. Using the charger, the device can be charged from 0 to 100% in about 40 minutes. For the wireless solution, you can opt for the MagPad that can be snapped onto the device (with MagCase) anywhere to start charging.
Well, In an era where some companies are not providing even a single adapter inside the box, Infinix has really tried.
There is also a battery management feature that lets do do lots of things like speeding up charging, toggle reverse wireless charging so that you can juice up other devices among other things.
Should you buy the Infinix NOTE 40 Pro?
Honestly, the Infinix NOTE 40 Pro is a good deal if you’re in the market for a phone under Ksh. 40,000. It delivers a compelling package with a blend of new interesting features the competition might not be offering.
The MagCharge technology and a premium design with a vegan leather back are just some of these features. The performance also feels pretty good for a phone at its price. Two things you’re not getting though are the microSD card support and the camera doesn’t also support ultrawide.
You can buy the NOTE 40 Pro here.
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