Infinix S4 vs Nokia 3.2: A battle of specs and price

Infinix recently just launched their new device the Infinix S4 which was followed immediately by Infinix Smart 3 and Smart 3 Plus. HMD Global has also not been left behind when it comes to the Kenyan market and have also recently debuted the Nokia 3.2 device in the past few weeks.

Talking about these two devices Infinix S4 and Nokia 3.2 they are almost in the same price range targeting the low-end users with some midrange level specs under the hood. Without wasting any time, can we straight away dive right into it?

Display

Infinix S4 features a 6.2-inch HD+ IPS LCD water-drop display with a 19:9 screen to body ratio which the company says occupies 88.6% of the front. On the other hand, Nokia 3.2 features almost the same display size having a 6.26-inch HD+ display with the same screen technology and do have the same resolution, saturation and clarity of colors on the screen thanks to the 16M colors. With similar 720 x 1520 pixels resolution Infinix S4 has two extra PPIs than the 269 on the Nokia 3.2.

Chipset

In terms of chipset, this is where the real show takes place. Sturdy chipset directly translates to the performance of the device. But the chip is not the only thing to look at of course. A MediaTek Helio P22 powers the S4 while a Snapdragon 429 powers the Nokia 3.2 although both SoCs use the same ARM 12nm architecture.

Fundamentally, Helio P22 SoCs are better than its counterpart Snapdragon 400-series SoCs especially with their improved AI performance and also Bluetooth 5.0 support a rare feature at this price range. Helio P22 is made of 8 cores of Cortex-A53 CPU clocking at 2.0GHz while Snapdragon 429 in the Nokia 3.2 has only four cores of the Cortex-A53 CPU clocking at 1.8GHz.

Generally, Helio P22 chip performs better than Snapdragon 429 even with the couple up of the Adreno 504GPU that battles the PowerVR GE8320 GPU on the Helio P22. The only advantage the Snapdragon 429 can boast over the Helio P22 SoC is the integrated LTE technology which offers faster download speeds in return.

Memory

When it comes to memory Infinix S4 has two models with different configurations; 3/32GB or 6/64GB model while the Nokia 3.2 comes in either 2/16GB or 3/32GB memory options. The Nokia 3.2 couldn’t have a 6GB RAM model all due to the limitations of the Snapdragon 429 chip which doesn’t allow over 4GB of RAM stocked in a device.

In terms of pricing, Infinix S4 is priced quite well with the 3/32GB variant going for Ksh 14,999/=  while Nokia’s 3/32GB option costs about a thousand bob less. In case you mind some more storage both phones have microSD card support up to 128GB for Infinix S4 and up to 400GB for Nokia 3.2.

Battery

To ensure the big displays are sustained for a longer time, both devices have a 4000mAh Li-Po battery. With Nokia 3.2 there’s fast-charge capability and uses a 10W charger. About the endurance time, we haven’t had a hands-on experience though Nokia boasts about the 3.2 having a 2-day battery life. But we’ll have to test that first before we can conclude on anything.

Platform

Both devices run the latest Android 9.0 Pie though a significant difference is the incorporation of Nokia 3.2 in Google’s Android One program. Which means that Nokia 3.2 will be provided with the next major Android OS updates, and monthly security will also be provided for the next three years from the time of announcement.

For the case of Infinix S4, you might as well be on your own though Infinix usually doesn’t leave out their devices in the cold in terms of security patches however with no doubt you won’t be covered with two OS updates. On top of Android 9.0, Pie Infinix has its own XOS 5.0 chameleon UI while the Nokia uses pure Android.

Camera

The camera is one of the smartphone features that pay a crucial part in the choice of a phone for selfie lovers. Even to me, that’s one of the many critical elements I take into consideration while looking for a phone which can stand by my side as a daily driver. Infinix S4 has a triple lens setup on the primary camera with 13MP main lens, 8MP telephoto lens, and a 3rd 5MP depth sensor.

Some cool features supported by the rear camera include Quad-LED flash, panorama, HDR and you can beautify your pictures with the AR capability. On the front, the selfie camera is made of a 32MP snapper with f/2.0 aperture.

Nokia doesn’t feature any triple camera setup and is only made of one 13MP 1/3″ lens with an f/2.2 aperture and features an LED flash which is less as compared to what Infinix S4 is offering. The selfie camera is just a 5MP lens with a similar aperture as the primary camera.

As for a review on the real-life photography, we haven’t got the Nokia 3.2 yet but you can check out our Infinix S4 review all about the cameras.

Other notable features in the two devices include;

Bluetooth 5.0 in Infinix S4 while the Nokia 3.2 has last gen Bluetooth 4. Nokia has a dedicated Google Assistant button that enables quick actions like calling a friend, listening to music on the go without unlocking the device. Both have OTG, micro USB 2.0, and 4G LTE support.

Turning over to the fingerprint sensor, Infinix S4 has it on the back of the device while for Nokia 3.2, the sensor is only available for the higher 32GB variant. To counter this Nokia 3.2 has Biometric face unlock on both options: other sensors on the device include; Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, and Accelerometer.

You can get the Nokia 3.2 in either Black or Steel while there’s a range of color options. If you have to go with the Infinix S4 which include Space gray, nebula blue and twilight purple.

Verdict

Comparing what these two devices have to offer it majorly depends on what you prioritize in a phone. In terms of photography, I would recommend Infinix S4, which has some excellent specs on paper.

Other guys like me who value Android updates, fast charging and apparently hate android bloatware go for the Nokia 3.2 already, but in terms of general performance definitely Infinix S4 should do the job pretty well. The pricing isn’t much of a difference with Infinix S4 3/32GB model going for Ksh 13,999 while the higher 6/64GB model costs Ksh 17,999.  Nokia 3.2 goes for Ksh 13,999 for the 3/32GB model the lower variant is approx. costing Ksh 12,500 as per now.

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