There are smartphones with very cool features and nice designs and they all come at a price. The Infinix Note 4 is a good looking smartphone which come at it’s own price but not entirely at a huge price. The mid-range priced phone is such a good one with some premium features which makes it right for those who want a good Android device but within some budgetary range.
The last year’s model The Infinix Note 3 was a good one that many people loved as it was a big upgrade from the previous version. The Note 4 wasn’t entirely the same as it didn’t really upgrade from it’s predecessor instead, just a brief addition which was a disappointment to many of Infinix lovers all around the world.
Considering the fact that the older version was powered with a 6.0 Inch screen and a 4500 mAh battery capacity and a full HD screen with 2 – 3 GB RAM and 16 GB ROM, Fingerprint scanner and pocket sensory features and loads of updates especially the XOS Chameleon 2.0, we knew that Infinix was about a good thing but what did we get this year…some mediocre additions? Well NO! Even the new Samsung Galaxy Note 8 wasn’t that very huge in terms of upgraded features compared to the previous version of the device which was a mayhem to the company last year. But Infinix is just a small company trying to make it big in the mobile market. But wait, this is a Note which is supposed to be in form of a Phablet. Degrading the screen size isn’t what many of us loved anyway.
New design which looked like a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 isn’t a game changer though but the location change of the Fingerprint scanner from the back to the front is a cool thing which is about convenience. The starter version is also powered with a 3GB RAM and a 32 GB storage which can be expandable with an SD Card. Although that’s not a big deal considering the Note 3 Pro uses a nice 3GB RAM too. But my view about the new Infinix Note 4 is a good one.
Many people i spoke with about the device said they liked it although very few complained about the screen’s reduction. It’s something i personally don’t support. A lavish 6.2 inch would have been a very great addition to the screen but it’s a decrease though. Anyway, let’s consider the full evaluation of the device here.
Design
Like seriously, what was Infinix thinking when they designed the device looking so identical to Samsung Galaxy S7 especially from it’s rear-views? The curved edges of the rear panel and the position of the camera and it’s golden colour makes it look just like the Galaxy S7 smartphone.
But well, that might be a good thing to some extent considering the resemblance between the older version and the likes of Tecno, InnJoo smartphones, this might be a good move to separate the device’s design from competitors.
One thing i’m not pleased with is the rear plastic panel which is a fingerprint magnet which makes it very susceptible to scratches. Although Infinix did added a casing within the phone’s pack, not many of us like to case our phones. The same error went on with the older version which is made with plates that still gets hot and scratches easily.
The back of the device is where the camera lives and the LED Flash. Now, don’t expect the fingerprint to still be at the back again. Infinix is sort of innovative this time around switching their device’s fingerprint scanner to the front something which had been seen in other devices like the InnJoo 3 smartphone. The scanner can also function as it’s home button.
The device is powered with a 5.7 Inch full HD display something which i don’t entirely support although some liked it that way. A phablet is supposed to be within the range or 6.0 and above. But the decrease isn’t a big deal though.
The change in the positioning of the fingerprint scanner is a good thing and now, the device now has three physical buttons unlike the older version which doesn’t. Like the sides of the Scanner which can also function as the device’s home button are the Multitasking button and the Back button.
Above are the Ambient light sensor, the device’s front facing camera and it’s flash and also the earpiece all positioned just as we’ve seen in the older version so nothing really changed here as far as i know.
USB Type-C charging port which enables the XCharge fast charging capacities is still available on this device. Another noticeable change in the design here are the two speaker grills which are located on both sides of the USB charging port but the sound output comes from only one making it a mono speaker. The smartphone is 8.4mm thick and the device weighs 204 grams.
No more SIM trays located on the sides of the older device. Now, the device’s back panel can be opened giving you access to the SIM card slots and the Micro SD Card Slot. But it’s 4300 mAh battery is non-removable.
The design is good but the fact that the rear panel is removable doesn’t add up to the fact that the battery is irremovable. The plastic back is easily susceptible to scratches and fingerprints. Even the older version’s metal build was still a better option in this case. The smartphone does have a metal frame, but it still susceptible to scratches.
Display
The device’s 5.7-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1920 X 1080 Pixel isn’t bad for the price at all. Watching videos, displaying colour-centric graphics are all doing great on the device’s screen which isn’t bad at all. The viewing angles aren’t bad with it’s cool colour reproduction. Assuming you’re watching movies with lots of night scenes, the views will still be reflective and offer a bit of good display. The older version isn’t quite awesome in this sense but still fantastic though.
There are really slim black borders all around the display and unless you have a keen eye, you won’t notice them, as they don’t hamper the overall experience. Playing HD games or watching 1080px video resolutions on the device’s screen is a perfect match and so there isn’t any unnecessary load time or stuttering.
The Infinix Note 4’s Ambient light sensor helped protect eyes in the darkness and that’s a good thing although not new to Infinix Note series.
User Interface
Straight out of the box, the Infinix Note 4 runs on the Android Nougat 7.0 which is available for the Older version through upgrades.
The device is also powered with Infinix’s customized version of the Android OS the XOS 2.2 which also helped in terms of the device’s UI and UX. Now comes with some upgraded apps as seen in the older version of the device like the XOS apps and other Google licensed applications.
The X-Power application which helps in battery optimization and usage is a very good thing considering the power centric behaviour of the Android OS itself whereby Apps and software gets updated behind the scene at all times. Being able to manage those applications for longer period is a good thing and this can also be useful especially in countries with lower electricity access.
Don’t also forget the X-Hide application which can help you manage your application’s privacy and bunch of other X-apps which all do one thing or the other making the device preloaded with apps which are well groomed for the phone so you won’t need to download a third party application for those features you already crave for in your older device. Although these X-Apps aren’t new to the XOS powered Infinix smartphones.
The Magazine Lockscreen is a very beautiful feature too which is a bit buggy in the older version but now works perfectly on this version. It simply loads wallpapers randomly while presenting you with amazing quotes all for the beautifications of the device. You can very much count on this.
Performances
The truth be told, don’t expect this smartphone to perform like an high-end device. I’m not saying it’s not well groomed in it’s own respect but the reality is that there are some noticeable lags when it comes to it’s overall performances like when you’re running a large application and other applications are running in the background. This happens because of memory leakage whereby you sort of run out in performance and you’re gonna have to quit some applications though not all.
Calling, Text messaging, Social Networking, Snapping pictures or recording Voices or Videos are doing great. When i tried playing 5 games and then tried opening the Microsoft Word the was a sort of brief pause before the device could re-trigger itself. This means that excessive usage of the device’s RAM can have effect on it’s overall performances.
Heavy games like Asphalt 8 cannot run at stable frame-rate. In fact, there are times when the game looked like it was running in stop motion. So, if you are looking to play graphically heavy games, you need to look elsewhere.
Camera
Jut like the older Infinix Note 3, The Note 4 features a 13 MP Rear camera and a 8 MP Front facing camera which Infinix claimed to be a good light manipulator when facing direct light in the darkened environment with the presence of it’s Blue-Glass feature.
When taking selfie with the front camera, the look is a very good one. The presence of a front flash is also a good one especially when you’re in a low light environment. Although everything looks good with the front camera in lightened environment, it’s not always good in low light even with the so-called front flashlight. The rear camerra is a very great one. The 13 MP works well in low light and even better in high light environment. Iit also feature a flashlight which makes it all look good.
Overexposure can be a task to be manually managed if you suddenly move the camera from a place to the other. But all in all, the image rendering is quite okay and not bad at all for an Infinix Note 4 smartphone.
The camera on the smartphone has the standard set of features, such as smile recognition, gesture recognition to click pictures and more, and these features work well.
Battery Life
4300 mAh of battery means a long time of usage which is something we want in Nigeria due to power outage at all times. Now, the battery lasted for 11 hours when i tried it. Now, i’m a very heavy phone user because I need to connect with friends and families online and offline using social media applications, texting and calling and also streaming videos and playing games or reading news articles online.
All these comes at a battery life cost. For these reasons, i will give the battery a thumb up since it was efficient in this situation. Assuming you’re not like me who make little usage of the smartphone daily, then you can have a it work for you for a day and half.
When left untouched, the battery is very good and can last for several hours. Although this is a test so i didn’t pity the battery as i used it as i would use it if i own it. The end result wasn’t bad at all.
Overall
All in all, the smartphone is a very good one which still featured some premium functionalities. Since it’s not everyone of us that can afford a Samsung GALAXY S8 or an iPhone 7 Plus, Iinfinix still come up with something better especially for the budget.
In Nigerian Naira, the smartphone is priced starting from ₦53, 000 up to ₦60,000 all depending on your nearness to the market which includes shipping and tariffs and so on.
A memory SD Card slot and USB Type-C for fast charging alongside good battery management application are some of the of the features someone would expect from such a smartphone.
Plaing it beside other smartphones like the InnJoo 3, the Infinix Note 4 still do well without a doubt.
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