The Infinix Hot Series is one of the most popular lineups in Infinix’s portfolio, and we’ve got our hands on the new Infinix Hot 11S this time. Despite being a low-cost smartphone priced under Rs 10,000, the device has a large display and a powerful Helio G88 chipset. So, here’s our take of the Infinix Hot 11S.
Infinix Hot 11S design and display
To begin with, the Infinix Hot 11S has a plastic body with a textured design that changes hues when seen at different angles. It is more prone to fingerprints and smudges due to its glossy back. Fortunately, the company includes a clear case inside the box.
In terms of aesthetics, the camera module is slightly raised, which means it could be scratched if placed on a flat surface. On the back, there is a fingerprint sensor that is both fast and accurate.
The volume rocker is positioned a little higher than we would prefer, making it difficult to reach with one hand. While the power button is placed below it. The buttons on the side could have been placed more strategically. A SIM tray and microSD card slot for storage expansion is located on the opposite side of the frame. On the device’s bottom are a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB Type C port and a downward-firing speaker.
It is a large phone, but it is not bulky and is very well designed, and ergonomic. In terms of display, the Infinix Hot 11S has a 6.78-inch full-HD+ LTPS LCD display with a resolution of 1,080×2,480 pixels and a refresh rate of 90Hz. It has a 180Hz touch sampling rate, 500 NITS brightness, and minimal bezels on the screen with a 90.5 percent screen-to-body ratio. Because it has a regular FHD+ IPS LCD, you will notice a lack of sharpness. But aside from that, the display quality is quite good with moderate brightness, slightly over-saturated colours, and good viewing angles. At times you might notice a bluish tint.
At the top, you’ll notice a flash for the selfie camera, which is located on the right side of the earpiece and also lights up while charging.
The touch response is good too, so all in all, it’s a pretty good display for the price.
Infinix Hot 11S Performance and Camera
In terms of performance, as previously stated, the Infinix Hot 11S is powered by the MediaTek Helio G88 SoC with 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and a 64GB storage option. A microSD card can be used to expand the internal memory up to 256GB. The Helio G88 is an excellent chipset for low-cost smartphones, and it is also available on Redmi 10 devices.
During our normal testing, we encountered no hiccups. Surprisingly, the device performs well at multitasking with only minor lags. Similarly, we were pleased with the gaming performance. COD Mobile runs smoothly with medium graphics and a high frame rate. While playing Asphalt 9 at high graphics settings, we noticed some frame drops. Infinix has included a gaming dedicated game mode to improve gaming performance.
The Hot 11S, like all other Infinix devices, comes with an XOS 7.6 skin on top of Android 11. The issue with this operating system is that it comes with a lot of bloatware, and you will be bombarded with notifications and advertisements on a regular basis. The only way to disable this is to disable the app’s notification altogether.
With that said, let us now discuss the camera’s performance. The Infinix Hot 11S features a triple rear camera setup consisting of a 50 MP AI triple rear camera with the widest f/1.6 aperture and quad-LED flash, a secondary lens with a 2MP depth sensor, and an AI lens. The smartphone has an 8MP front-facing camera with an f/2.5 aperture for selfies.
In daylight, the primary sensor captures details with good sharpness levels. The colours are also good and appear natural. The images appear bright and slightly oversaturated in some cases. Given the camera resolution, the dynamic range is adequate.
This phone lacks an ultra-wide camera as well as a macro lens. We did, however, attempt some close-up shots, which turned out well. Images look good in this price range, and the hues look natural and vivid in good lighting. Sharpness levels are also satisfactory. Aside from that, there is a 2MP depth sensor that produces portrait shots with natural skin tone, good details, and sharpness levels. The edge detection appears to be flawless as well.
The low-light images were surprisingly good too. We were not expecting them to be this good, especially in this price range. With minimal noise and a high level of detail, perfect shots can be obtained. In low-light situations, you can activate the night mode, which did a wonderful job for us.
In terms of the selfie camera, the overall quality of the selfies appeared natural, with close to life skin tone and details. Sharpness and dynamic range are also ideal on the Infinix Hot 11S. There is a portrait mode for selfies, that works well, but falls short of perfect edge detection.
There is a down-firing speaker that is loud enough and even better than what is found on other smartphones these days.
Infinix Hot 11S comes with a 5,000mAh battery and 18W fast charging support. The battery endurance is impressive; we were able to get a full day of battery life while watching YouTube videos, gaming, web browsing, and scrolling through social media accounts.
Conclusion
To summarise, the Infinix Hot 11S is an outstanding budget smartphone. This phone is even less expensive than the Redmi and Poco devices. Except for the bloatware that comes pre-loaded on the device, we faced no performance issues. So, if you’re on a tight budget but still want a good smartphone, the Infinix Hot 11S is a great choice.
Pros
- Tough design
- Good battery life
Cons
- Bloatware
- Lacks ultra-wide camera and macro lens
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