infinix hot s3 design
At first glance, the Hot S3 doesn’t look like a phone worth Rs 10,000. Made from superior quality plastic, the handset comes with curved edges, making the phone easy to hold. A cover is also available with the phone, which will protect it from fingerprints on the back panel.
The phone has a 5.65-inch 18:9 aspect ratio display on the front, which gives the phone a tall and slim look. It takes a little effort to reach the edges of the phone. Like most smartphones these days, Infinix has provided onscreen buttons in this handset. Above the display there is a metal speaker grill, selfie camera and dual LED flash. Loudspeaker, micro-USB port and microphone are provided at the bottom of the phone. The headphone jack is on the top of the phone.
The power and volume buttons are on the right side of the phone. The SIM tray is on the left side of the handset. The power button has been given a metal texture, which is easily recognized by the fingers. The fingerprint sensor present on the back of the phone is placed slightly higher than expected.
Infinix Hot S3 specifications and software
Considering the price, better hardware has been used in the phone. The phone runs on Snapdragon 430 processor, whose highest clock speed is 1.4 GHz. The phone comes in two variants. One is equipped with 3 GB RAM and 32 GB storage and the other is equipped with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage. We reviewed the lower priced variant and the phone had more than 22 GB of storage available for use. There is also a facility to expand the storage via microSD card up to 128 GB.
The 5.65 inch display has HD Plus resolution. NEG glass protection is also provided on it. Viewing angles are good. The phone is capable of providing diverse output and there is no problem in reading on the phone even in direct sunlight. The handset has a 4,000 mAh capacity battery, which comes with a 10 watt charger. In terms of connectivity, the phone has Bluetooth 4.2, USB-OTG, GPS and Wi-Fi features. The phone supports dual SIM, which has 2 Nano SIM slots. It also has 4G and VoLTE support.
Infinix has used Android Oreo in Hot S3, which is no less than good news. The phone has Hummingbird XOS 3.0 user interface. The UI is largely similar to stock Android but is overall attractive. When unlocked, the phone can be ‘waked’ with a double tap and characters can be created to launch apps. The phone also has one hand mode. Like Huawei’s EMUI interface, the feature gets activated by simply swiping.
Some apps will be provided pre-installed in the phone. Apart from all the Google apps, the user will also get the company’s own apps like XClub, XShare, XTheme. XClub is a file sharing app, while XTheme lets you enjoy different themes. The phone also features Phoenix Browser, Magic Movie, and a social networking app made by Transition Mobile. There is also a cleaner to clean the RAM. There is also a Freezer app, into which apps can be dragged.
Infinix Hot S3 performance, camera and battery
The Hot S3 is equipped with Snapdragon 430. Despite having 3 GB RAM, the performance of the phone was much better. It is smooth to use and there are no lags or lags in the user interface. The fingerprint scanner generally works fast. The display panel will also be appreciated. In terms of screen we are looking at the previous version of Infinix zero 5 pro Would also like to praise. The Hot S3 comes with a better display for its price. Playing games and watching videos looks very attractive on this display.
Large apps and games with powerful graphics take some time to open, but considering the price, this is tolerable. A light game called Missile loaded in a moment and ran smoothly. At the same time, games like Shadow Fight 3 take time to open but do not get stuck while playing. Now coming to the battery. The Hot S3 has a 4,000 mAh battery, which lasted 13 hours and 5 minutes in our video loop test. In normal use the phone should last for a full day.
Infinix Hot S3 sports a 13-megapixel rear camera with autofocus and a 20-megapixel fixed-focus selfie camera. The camera app is basic and comes equipped with beauty, time-lapse and professional modes. Professional mode has the option to control ISO, white balance, exposure, shutter speed and focus. The phone also has filters that you can apply while taking photos. Quick toggles are also provided for HDR and flash.
The pictures taken with the phone really surprised us. Most of the photos came out beautiful thanks to the vivid display. The exposure was definitely over-exposed in landscape mode, but correcting it manually resulted in better results. The photos appeared clear overall but pixels became visible when viewed in full size. Macro shots are better and the phone is capable of capturing the juxtaposition of colors. Indoors, however, the pace of macro capture slows down. It takes time to focus.
Photos taken in low light also came with limited noise. When zoomed, pixels were visible in these pictures also. Infinix Hot S3 has a 20-megapixel front camera, which comes with dual LED flash. Selfies are better. Beautify mode is applied automatically and Bokeh mode is also provided in it. On most occasions the Bokeh effect gave better results but at times it blurred the edges instead of keeping them in focus. Video recording goes up to 1080 pixel resolution. Due to no stabilization mode, you will have to keep your hand steady while recording.
Decision
Talking about budget smartphones, this segment is getting better day by day. The Infinix Hot S3 is one of the better all-round handsets launched in recent times. Even though it is not the most powerful budget phone, it performs all the tasks well on the basis of capable hardware. Like the Infinix Zero 5 Pro, the display of the Hot S3 is also its most powerful feature. Considering the price, the camera performance does not disappoint. And the battery will also last the whole day. This phone of Rs 8,999 is a better budget handset. It will be interesting to see that this recently launched Xiaomi redmi note 5 How will it be able to challenge?