Infinix S4 Review: A Well Put Comfortable Water-Drop Notched Smartphone
Infinix Mobility launched its first smartphone this year and happens to be the Infinix S4. On the first glance we noticed that the company did quite a number of changes compared to its predecessor. From our first impressions we note the Infinix S4 as the company’s best smartphone they have come to release so far.
The S4 happens to be Infinix’s first handset to come with a water-drop notch housing a 32MP front sensor. With this huge sensor comes no surprise considering that the ‘s’ in the series stands for selfie. The company puts much effort in its camera performance since it’s one of the key selling points.
PC Tech Magazine was given a Blue color variant for a two-weeks review. The Infinix S4 also comes readily available in black, grey, and purple color options.
Our full review
Design and Display
The Infinix S4 has a huge display 0.2-Inches bigger than the predecessor. It comes with a 6.2-Inch IPS LCD with an aspect screen ratio of 19:9 and a resolution of 1520 x 720 pexels. Infinix manage to reduce of the side bezels from the predecessor to give a huge display. The display tops a water-drop notch, a first of its kind on any Infinix smartphone.
The Infinix S4 is designed with a poly-carbonate plastic, and a glossy finish, that can be confused for glass. The back is cleanable to remove fingerprint marks, or dust or water. However, the phone comes with a transparent back guard that can reduce on all this effort.
The design has been twisted a little bit compared from its predecessor. The 3.5mm audio jack is shifted at the bottom, next to the microUSB port, and a mono speaker. The volume and power buttons remain on the right and the sim & microSD card tray at the left.
At the back is the triple rear camera placed vertical, and a fingerprint mount sensor. The interesting part at the back is the renaming of the series phone. It is seen with an S that symbolizes the series.
Performance, Software and Storage
The performance is fine and well put. As we have seen the Infinix phones transition, they have come to optimize the performance of their smartphones for better user experience.
The company upgraded the chipset to a Mediatek MT6762 Helio P22 and an Octa-core processor with a clock speed of 2.0 GHz. In my opinion you a guaranteed to run heavier applications, however if multi-tasked, they slow the performance, as well as cause multiple hangs. But still on running a heavier app such as a gaming app, as we did, the phone’s performance faired a little bit.
Looking at the software perspective, the S4 comes with Android 9.0 (Pie) an upgrade from the Oreo version. Which is so great considering its the latest mobile OS for Android devices. It is topped on with an XOS cheetah v5.0.0 UI which has been fully optimized to offer faster app operation speeds and higher network speeds due to its seamless integration for optimum performance.
While on storage, the Infinix S4 comes with an on-board 32GB which is expandable with a microSD card of up to 128GB.
Battery Performance
To note, Infinix didn’t mention whether the S4 supports quick charging, therefore we assume it doesn’t. The non-removable Li-Po 4,000 mAh battery can run for 2 days on a single charge specifically for optimal users. We extensively used it for a day and prompted us to recharge. However, the performance comes with ‘Incredible Energy Intelligence’ termed by Infinix. It provides optimal power output conservation by intelligently directing power only to the apps that need it. Explaining the reason it can go up to 2 days on a single charge.
Camera
The Infinix S4 is headlined for its cameras most especially the front facing cameras. The S4 comes with a well put 32MP front camera with an aperture of f/2.0 upgraded from the 20MP we have seen from the predecessor. The photos taken are good though we noticed that they didn’t appear sharp. But the photos remain well presentable.
The colors appear vibrant, balanced, and well saturated. Same case happens to the triple rear camera which comes with 13MP primary sensor + 8MP wide sensor + 2MP depth sensor (betters portrait photos adding the bokeh effect).
The cameras are integrated with AI technologies. The technology improves the selfie environment and upgrade your beauty. It is able to beautify you photos to appear stunning. Like we mentioned before, even though they don’t appear sharp and crispy, they still stand well presentable.
Fingerprint mount and FaceID
The Infinix S4 comes with a fingerprint mount and FaceID features as added security options on the phone. This doesn’t differ from the phones we have come to see — the fingerprint setup takes less than or a minute to setup.
Similar to the FaceID feature, it takes a minute or 2 to setup. With the fill light activated, it handset will be in position to unlock your phone even in low light setting. The fill light brightens the users face (thanks to AI tech) to be in position of being read.
What we liked
- The water-drop notch is much better the regular notch we have come to see. The notch gives comfortablity unlike the other notches that prompt you to get rid of.
- The cameras were great. They provided photos that were good and worth sharing. The 32MP camera is good but we think Infinix can make it better in their up coming phones.
- The ‘S’ branding at the back impressed us so much. It is much better than naming that we have come to see from its predecessors.
- The wide display is great. Give better viewership and readability without the of overall scrolling.
- We liked the new XOS. Infinix improved it a lot, it now presents clean apps and interface and it’s way more swift.
What we didn’t like
- 720p. Why? Infinix is still stuck with this. Some manufacturers are now adopting 4K and 8K display resolutions, Infinix should at least be closer with 1080p resolution.
- The Pre-installed apps is not worth it. No it’s not. Because they prompt the user to update the apps at the time of usage. It is much best if the user downloads the app themselves which in this case they’re downloading the latest app.
- The instant app option in the menu, was not a ‘thing’ for us. I don’t think it is worth having, looks inconveniencing,
In conclusion
The S4 is well put, thought through and comfortable smartphone from Infinix. It is so far the company best release handset, giving the best impression with the notch, display, camera, and the performance. We therefore anticipate that the next handset will be much better than the S4 considering Infinix is keeping up with the trends.
