Infinix Hot 9 Review: Big battery, modern design, quad cameras don't make up for the sub-par chipset

On the front, the Infinix Hot 9 features a hole-punch camera cut-out as opposed to a waterdrop notch. The hole-punch notch gives the device that modern 2020 feel and is the only smartphone to opt for a hole punch notch at this price point.

The Infinix Hot 9 arrives in two colours options — Violet and Ocean Wave. We got our hands on the violet unit. The finish was too flashy for our liking, but if you want something beyond basic colours, then this may be appealing. The phone has a gem-cut texture design on the back. Additionally, you get a fingerprint reader on the back with the ‘Infinix’ branding under it.

The good thing about the Hot 9 is that it does not seem cheap when you pick it up, even though it is made up of plastic. While the vole rocker and power button are located on the right of the phone, the SIM tray is moved to the left. The speaker grille is found on the bottom of the device alongside a headphone jack and USB port.

Display                     

The Infinix Hot 9 sports a 6.6-inch LCD screen with an HD+ resolution. The screen has a punch-hole camera cutout and noticeable bezels on the bottom. The display features Adaptive Brightness, Eye Care and an Inadvertently mode to avoid accidental touches. The brightness level on the screen a slightly above average while viewing angles are pretty good.

Additionally, you will not have any issues starring at the screen under bright sunlight. Watching videos on the screen is also pleasing due to its vibrant colour reproduction.

Overall, the display is really good for a smartphone at this segment, despite its low resolution. Finally, the hole-punch on the screen is on the larger side and can be seen as a hindrance in certain scenarios.

Performance

The Infinix Hot 9 is equipped with a MediaTek P22 SoC paired with 4GB of RAM. The MediaTek Helio P22 is a decent chipset, but we are a little disappointed not to see a newer chip, considering the P22 was also used on the Hot 8.

The chipset works well enough to take on daily tasks and run casual games. However, it does struggle to handle heavy-duty games.

We managed to run Call of Duty Mobile on low graphics without much trouble. The Hot 9 managed to score 103391 points on AnTuTu. For comparison, the Realme C3, which is pretty much in the same price range, recorded a score of 194023 points, almost double. If gaming is your priority, we suggest opting for the Realme C3 or Realme Narzo 10A.

Battery

The Infinix Hot 9 packs a 5,000 mAh battery, which is quite reliable. Additionally, the low-resolution display, a power-efficient chip, and low screen brightness, all contribute to the Hot 9’s excellent battery life. Infinix adds a 10W charger in the box, but it took us around two hours to fully charge the 5,000 mAh battery. The Hot 9 can easily deliver a day and a half of battery life for the average user.

Software

Infinix ships the Hot 9 with XOS 6 based on Android 10. The UI has tons of customisations and a smart panel that gives you quick access to apps. You also get gesture navigation, quick controls for screenshots and screen recording. The Social Turbo feature in the Settings app lets users record WhatsApp calls, create stickers and easily save WhatsApp statuses.

Infinix has also been touting big improvements on the audio front with DTS surround sound. We found that DTS sound enhancements make a difference when using a pair of headphones. The Hot 9 gets a Game mode that blocks incoming notifications and can also reject incoming calls to prevent distractions. You can also remap the volume rocker to a button while gaming. It is worth noting that XOS 6 comes with tons of pre-installed apps, which does make the interface seem cluttered.

Camera

The Infinix Hot 9 gets a quad-camera setup on the back with a 13-megapixel primary sensor, a 2-megapixel depth sensor, 2-megapixel macro camera, and a low light sensor. The hole-punch camera cutout on the front houses an 8-megapixel front camera.

The phone gets a triple LED-flash on the back, and a selfie flash hidden in the top bezel for selfies. The camera app is pretty straight-forward; the UI is easy to use and also gives you access to the Google Lens.

Photos taken with the main camera in daylight managed to reproduce decent colours and maintain good details. You get noticeably less noise in daylight, but the camera does tend to overexpose the sky at times. Bokeh mode lets you set the level of background blur before taking a photo. That being said, edge detection is off, and blurring is not consistent.

We are not big fans of a macro camera being offered as an individual camera, and the Hot 9 has not changed our minds in the slightest bit. Details are average, and there is definitely room for improvement.

The Infinix Hot 9 does not have a dedicated night mode; instead, you get a low light sensor.  Images shot in low light at night seem oversaturated and distorted with too much noise. The flash helps at night, but all it does is add light, quality of the photos are not improved as HDR is automatically turned off when you use the flash.

The story is the same on the front. The selfie camera offers decent results in daylight or well-lit areas. But the camera falls apart in low light, the front flash does not help all that much, but is definitely better than not having a front flash.

The selfie camera does not handle colours very-well, and photos lack sharpness. The Infinix Hot 9 can take videos in 1080p resolution, which can deliver decent results if the lighting is right, but the lack of stabilisation means you can barely move while recording videos.

Verdict

If you are only concerned with appearance, then you should definitely consider the Hot 9 as it does seem to have that 2020 vibe.

Additionally, the display is one of the best we’ve seen at this price. Then there is the massive battery, which only strengthens the Hot 9’s case. The Infinix Hot 9 is certainly the best-looking smartphone under 9000 rupees.

However, the deal-breaker for us is the two-year-old chipset. The Hot 9 has some small improvements over some of the competition here, but phones packed with the MediaTek G70 chipset, completely obliterate the Helio P22. Infinix’s software skin also seems too cluttered for our liking.

When it comes to cameras, the Hot 9 does not get much wrong, when you consider its price. It opts for the same formula that has worked well for the Realme C3 and Realme Narzo 10A. In some areas, it even comes out on top. But the cameras just do not do enough to stand out.

In our view, the performance gains Infinix losses with the chipset is not made up in other areas. So if you want the best bang for your buck, we recommend looking elsewhere.