The Infinix HOT 7 is officially selling in Kenya. Infinix actually has two variants of the device, the 1GB/16GB variant that retails at Ksh.9,999 and the 2GB/32GB variant that is retailing at Ksh.10,999.
The review unit we got from the company is the 2GB/32GB variant. We already did the unboxing for you which you can read about here.
The Infinix HOT 7 is a good device. Infinix got almost everything right here: The display is good, the cameras are amazing, a huge battery and the design is also good. The performance is also fair with a major disappointment being the lack of 4G support and of course the usual lots of pre-installed apps from Infinix and XOS ads. If lack of 4G support is one of the things that will make you not buy this device you can as well wait for the HOT 7 Pro which according to Infinix will be launching in Mid April.
As I mentioned the display is pretty good. Infinix or let’s just say Transsion Holdings always puts great displays on their budget devices and this is exactly what we are also getting on the HOT 7. The device features a sharp 6.27-inch full view with a 720p display. I love the bezel-less display apart from well, the notch. I am not a fan of the notch but well, notches have taken a permanent seat at the top of most smartphone displays these days and this is something that is probably here to stay.
If you don’t like the notch like me then you can as well hide it. The Infinix HOT 7 gives you this option which is available in the display settings – so there’s the cut-out mode which allows you to keep the notch then there’s also the full-screen mode which hides the notch.
I had also earlier stated that we got the 2GB/32GB variant as our review unit. Compared to last year’s HOT 6, the performance has really improved although the interface does not look that different. The 6 came with XOS 3.3 Hummingbird on top of Android Oreo. We are getting XOS Honeybee v4.1.0, still with Android 8.1 on the HOT 7. Still, the device runs fine and gets the job well done. The flow is smooth and you also have added features which include beautiful icon designs, there’s a fingerprint call recording as well as Quck App Launch.
That said, I couldn’s see the traditional Infinix Gallery App on the device. I remember a user sending us a direct message on Twitter asking about the same thing. I was forced to use the Google photos app. What happens to users who are used to using the Gallery app? I don’t understand why Infinix decided not to add this app.
The MT6580P chip clocked at 1.3 GHz delivers a smooth performance throughout. No lags, no anything. The phone does not feel underpowered at all.
I loved the cameras on the HOT 7. I never expected much from when the company started sending out teasers about this device but well, they proved me wrong. The Infinix HOT 7 features a vertically aligned dual 13MP lens and a secondary 8MP lens with a dual LED flash and an 8Mp front-facing camera.
The dual rear main camera captures some really sharp images in most conditions. Images are sharp, colourful and very bright. The camera actually takes better photos than the Huawei Y6 Prime 2019.
The camera also has AI. Let’s talk about AI Camera on smartphones. First, AI is becoming so universal that it’s rare to spot a smartphone with some type of AI nowadays. It is a new term that we keep hearing at the launch of any latest smartphone, but what exactly does it do? Well, the AI camera automatically identifies scenes, available light and even angle screens and it’s able to tell it’s looking at food, nature, animals or even a person. It then chooses the most appropriate exposure and colour adjustments for that perfect shot.
The 8MP front shooter for selfies also does a fairly good job. Infinix added a beauty mode that smoothens your skin to help you take best selfies for your social media.
Check out some sample images I took with the phone below. More sample images are available on our Instagram page.
Additional camera settings include HDR shooting mode which should help you capture multiple exposures in a quick sequence, stitch them together to make a final HDR photo.
One other thing I loved about the Infinix HOT 7 is the battery. The device is powered by a non-removable 4000mAh battery which served me perfectly well. The battery life is fine. Well, Infinix never disappoints when it comes to battery performance in most of its devices. The HOT 7 went for almost a day a half on a single charge which is pretty good if you ask me.
In conclusion, the Infinix HOT 7 has all of its hardware and features already present on a number of other Infinix devices but still its a device I would recommend. The cameras are good, the display is amazing, and in terms of performance it also does not disappoint. The battery life is also really impressive.
The face unlocks, and the fingerprint scanner mounted at the back is fast and does its work well.
The major disappointment is just the lack of 4G but remember Infinix says it is launching the HOT 7 Pro in Mid April which will support 4G. Another disappointment is also the usual ads in XOS we are used to seeing on Infinix devices. However, for Ksh.10,999, the HOT 7 is worth considering.
Below is a brief summary of the specs:
- Display: 6.27-inch HD+ (1500 x 720 pixels, 266ppi)
- Main camera: 13MP (13+13MP for the 2GB RAM model)
- Selfie camera: 8MP
- Chipset: Quad-core MediaTek MT6580P clocked at 1.3GHz
- GPU: Quad-core 1.3 GHz
- CPU: Mali-400MP2
- Memory: 1 or 2GB RAM, 16 or 32 GB onboard storage (expandable up to 128GB)
- OS: Android 8.1 Oreo or Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition)
- Battery: 4,000mAh
- Colors: Black, Purple, Blue, Gold
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