The Infinix Zero 8 Full Review and Specifications

Quick specs

Processor	MediaTek Helio G90T
Display	6.6 inches (16.76 cm) 1080 x 2460 pixels
OS	Android
Storage	128 GB
Camera	48 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP
Battery	4500 mAh
Ram	8 GB, 8 GB
Release Date	2020, August 31

Unboxing and First Impression

OUR RATING

The overall rating is based on my personal review

8.8

Speaking of cameras, Infinix highlights that this is one of the highlights of Zero 8. The Quad Bayer sensor, around the rear, is presumably the Sony IMX686, which has already proved its salt on a variety of occasions, in numerous other devices. Infinix introduced some in-house AI to the end, as well as ultra-persistent video capture and in-house night mode. There is also a 90Hz refresh rate monitor and 33W of fast charging. Much of this, in a budget bundle, at an MSRP of around $300. Punchole cameras and you’re getting a very distinct unit.

Speaking of bundles, the Infinix Zero 8 has a pretty fascinating retail box. The durable carton top half features eye-catching shiny accents and rhombus references, or diamond-shaped, if you choose, aesthetic style.

Design, Controls, Sensors and Lab Test

The display on the Zero 8 is roofed with a Gorilla Glass 3 layer for cover .

Controls on the Infinix Zero 8 are straight-forward and well laid-out. You get a pleasant power button and capacitive fingerprint reader combo on the right-hand side. it’s conveniently located height-wise, offers satisfying tactile feedback, and is straightforward to feel-around because of the recess it’s positioned in. The fingerprint a part of it’s very snappy and accurate. Also, always-on. we’ve no issues with it.

Right above it – an equally well-placed volume rocker. Unfortunately, unlike the facility button, this one feels very “mushy” and isn’t satisfying to click. Perhaps if Infinix had used metal, rather than plastic thereon, for a few extra weight, things may need been better.

The MediaTek Helio G90T is hardly a powerhouse but remains perfectly modern in terms of connectivity options. In terms of network, our Infinix Zero 8 review unit features two nano-SIM slots, which may both operate in simultaneous 4G mode – dual 4G VoLTE and 4G data. Advanced network features like IMS (VoLTE\ViLTE\VoWi-Fi) also are supported. The G90T is provided with a Cat-12 4G LTE WorldMode modem with 3x CA and 4×4 MIMO and 256QAM. The fairly spacious SIM tray also features a dedicated slot for a microSD memory card.

In terms of local connectivity, Zero 8 has Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.0 and an FM receiving set. GPS is additionally, naturally on board. All basic sensors are covered too: G-sensor, e-compass, luminance sensor, proximity and a gyroscope.

The 6.85-inch display on the Infinix Zero 8 is certainly an attention-grabber. That’s primarily since the FullHD panel in question supports 90Hz refresh rate and 180Hz touch rate.

The jump to 90Hz refresh rate makes a clear difference is smoothness, both for gaming and daily use. However, this example with modern panels and their quality and behavior, especially the new high refresh rate ones is never is clear-cut as simply pointing-out the additional smoothness.

The panel on the Zero 8 is certainly smoother than a daily 60Hz IPS, but also exhibits tons of fringing and ghosting, especially in text, while scrolling. The speed on the individual pixels seems to be a touch low. This leads to smeared and harder to read the text, sometimes and does slightly soil the additional smoothness the 90Hz mode offers. And it’s not a problem associated with 90Hz operation either. Dropping the refresh rate on the Zero 8 right down to 60Hz doesn’t fix the difficulty. Pixel response times are just sluggish.

Even ignoring all of that weirdness, the panel on the Infinix Zero 8 simply fails to impress in other aspects. Its maximum brightness, as best we managed to live, reached 450 nits, which isn’t too hot for an LCD.

The slow-to-react auto-brightness mode also makes the Zero 8 hard to recommend for an honest outdoor experience.

There is also a complete lack of color modes on our review unit. a touch weird, seeing how even the most cost-effective budget handsets nowadays attempt to a minimum of offer some control to the user. Points off there. Testing within the only color mode leads to sub-par color accuracy, with a mean deltaE of seven .6 and a maximum of 13.3. an easy white point adjustment slider could have gone an extended way here as whites and grays have a bluish tint.

HDR support adds yet one more extra little bit of weirdness to the combination . Yes, you read that right, a minimum of on a software level, the Infinix Zero 8 reports that it supports both HDR10 and HLG. this is often also backed-up by the very fact that the YouTube app did, in fact, allow us to pick HDR options within the quality selector.

In person, this didn’t really end in a spectacular effect, though. If the Infinix Zero 8 does, indeed have support to interpret HDR data, it can’t really do much to display it properly. We saw little or no actual HDR benefits while watching some shadow-heavy HDR clips, we are conversant in . albeit somehow HDR worked and looked better on the Zero 8, though, another issue is that the Widevine L3 certification. meaning that none of the main streaming services, with available HDR content, like Netflix and Amazon will even serve that content to the Infinix Zero 8.

With the continued surge of high refresh rate smartphone panels, we’ve began to pay more attention to only how they handle their refresh rate. Like many others, Infinix decided to incorporate an auto refresh rate option, alongside its toggles for 60Hz and 90Hz, but in our testing, the auto refresh rate mode never put the display in 90Hz. Not even once.

The forced 90Hz mode, however, worked even as expected. All system and downloaded apps ran in sync with the high refresh rate. We had no way of verifying which games hit the 90fps but there certainly was no framerate cap at 60fps like there’s in Auto mode.

The Infinix Zero 8 features a pretty sizeable 4,500 battery pack at its disposal. It also manages to mage pretty good use of that juice, delivering a solid endurance rating of 116 hours in its native 90Hz mode

Drop the refresh rate right down to a easier 60Hz and therefore the numbers start looking even more impressive.

The Infinix Zero 8 features a single bottom-firing speaker at its disposal. meaning you simply get mono audio. there’s no hybrid setup with the earpiece or anything of the type. The speaker itself is essentially unimpressive. It only managed a mean loudness score in our tests and its frequency response is suitable, but unremarkable too.

4. Camera, Image and Video Quality

Quad camera setup on a budget

Infinix has thrown a complete of 4 cameras on the rear of the Zero 8 and another two up-front. That’s definitely a really PR-friendly number to possess , especially on a budget phone. to not mention, that it works well with the diamond geometrical design on the rear of the Zero 8.

That’s all fine and dandy, but Infinix is keeping a rather tight-lipped when it involves camera particulars. We know, for a fact, that we’ve a 64MP Quad Bayer main camera at the helm. One with a size of 1/1.72 inches and 0.8µm pixels. our greatest guess is that this could be the favored Samsung GW1 sensor. Though, the Official Zero 8 specs sheet lacks such information. There isn’t even an aperture number. The phone reports f/1.9 in software, which we are getting to need to believe.

The ultrawide camera is another mystery. we all know it uses an 8MP sensor – 1/4.0-inch in size, with 1.12µm pixels. And that’s about the extent of the data . While this mostly matches the specs of the Samsung ISOCELL S5K4HAYX sensor, powering the ultrawide camera of the Samsung Galaxy A41, we all know that the ultrawide on the Zero 8 actually has autofocus! Color us surprised. That’s not something you see too often and particularly on a budget device.

Beyond that, there are two extra 2MP cameras on the Infinix Zero 8. Info on these is practically non-existent. we will only imagine that a minimum of one may be a depth sensor. the opposite is listed as a macro unit by some sources. However, from our testing, we will confidently say that the Zero 8 rightfully leverages the autofocus capabilities of its ultrawide to try to to macros.

Making the whole camera information situation even more confusing and making us think that, perhaps neither of the 2MP cameras is especially important in any way and is just included for an equivalent of camera count. Covering either one up doesn’t seem to trip-up any camera mode during a perceptible way, so there’s that.

The camera app on the Infinix Zero 8 is straight-forward and well organized. The “AI” a part of the software comes right down to scene recognition, as signified by the tiny icon on the viewfinder. It’s faraway from the foremost sophisticated system we’ve encountered, but it seems to try to to a reasonably good job identifying the contents of the shot.

We appreciate that things just like the 64MP mode toggle and therefore the HDR mode selector is front stage and center as quick toggles, rather than being buried in settings. Naturally, a number of the toggles change consistent with the currently active camera. The ultrawide, for instance, doesn’t have 64MP mode. an equivalent is true for the equally well-organized settings menu, which changed counting on which mode you launch it from.

Camera performance on the Infinix Zero 8 may be an assortment. Naturally, there’s quite a little bit of expectation adjustment involved when going into a budget phone. Especially thereon hasn’t necessarily focused all of its efforts into the simplest possible camera experience, but has also splurged around for other things, sort of a high refresh rate display. That being said, modern Quad Bayer cameras have already proven their salt time and time again and are known to bring a particular level of hardware potency to the table. On top of that, again speaking strictly about hardware, Zero 8 also has the advantage of rocking autofocus on its ultrawide camera.

Starting with the most 64MP snapper, in its default auto AI camera mode, we get some 16MP stills, which may only be described as unimpressive.

Shots are soft and really grainy. And it’s not just uniform areas, just like the sky or grass that are suffering. the difficulty is visible all throughout the frame. The detail in finer patterns is usually lost. At an equivalent time, the algorithm sometimes makes up some non-existent geometrical shapes of its own.

The dynamic range may be a bit narrow, too. Colors are a touch more desaturated than what we might have liked to ascertain. But that’s definitely low on the list of issues we see here. HDR does have some positive effects on the most camera, recovering crushed details within the shadows. However, Auto HDR isn’t consistent enough and doesn’t always kick-in when needed. Here are some shots from the most camera, with HDR forced to OFF.

Moving on to the 8MP ultrawide camera, we get an ideal visualization of our biggest issue with the camera experience on the Infinix Zero 8 – inconsistency. Compared to the most camera, the colors here are totally different. Frankly, we just like the more-vibrant color science of the ultrawide a touch better. the most point, however, is that there’s room for improvement, and a more unified look and feel is one thing that would use work

Shots from the ultrawide still look quite soft and grainy. However, both are on a way more acceptable scale here since we are talking in ultrawide camera terms. Dynamic range is even more limited and therefore the 8MP snapper on the Zero 8 features a clear tendency to frequently overexpose. HDR helps noticeably more here than it did for the most camera. Even it’s auto triggering mode may be a bit more accurate. Here are some shots with no HDR.

By default, ultrawide shots undergo an algorithm that crops away a number of the frame and does its best to straighten-out the objects in the frame. The one on the Zero 8 does a reasonably competent job, which we will appreciate from these ultrawide samples, crazy the correction toggled off.

Although there’s no dedicated telephoto camera on the Zero 8, it still offers a 2x toggle, alongside the regular digital zoom. That’s to not say that the 2x isn’t digital. It is, entirely so. there’s some upscaling involved, as well, since the shots still begin in 16MP.

The automatically-applied amount of sharpening may be a bit more heavy-handed in zoom mode, though, which could not be to everybody’s taste. Even so, the results don’t look regrettable. As long as you don’t pixel-peep, they’re perfectly usable.

Software & performance

Android 10 with XOS 7 on top

Infinix features a custom XOS launcher of its own. The Zero 8 is running version 7 of it, but not tons has changed since the last XOS 6 skin, we saw on the Infinix X5 Pro.

OSX remains during a ll|one amongst|one in every of”> one among the heaviest and busiest skins we’ve seen in a while. It comes chock-full of additional features, which you’ll or might not appreciate.

The Zero 8 also features a ludicrous amount of pre-loaded applications, most of which may easily be defined as “bloat”. There are advertisements everywhere the place. such a lot in order that you’re constantly bombarded with these from the very arithmetic mean you initially set-up the phone. Out of the box, the notification bar tends to urge filled-up with persistent notifications and ads almost faster than you’ll get obviate them. Even the app drawer itself features a row of app ads at the highest .

Granted, a number of these pre-installed apps are created by Infinix and do serve a specific purpose. Other third-party ones are more or less launchers and hubs. Instant games, within the sense of web-based gaming experiences are a standard sight among the latter. While not necessarily bloat within the traditional sense, these tend to get an obscene amount of notifications, which is that the point at which we start taking issue with them. a number of these notifications are persistent, as well.

We can only imagine that Infinix is leaning hard into this strategy so as to subsidize its phones the maximum amount as possible and convey down end-user costs. we will respect that, but it’s something worth noting, going into the Zero 8. Be prepared to spend a while uninstalling things. a number of which could even require ADB instruction uninstalls, since they’re protected apps.

We can somewhat understand and justify third-party app deals. However, the bloat on the Zero 8 extends to some basic features, which may be a lot harder to forgive. as an example , the default keyboard prompts the user for quite few permissions and access to all or any kinds of information the primary time you are trying to type. Other core parts of the UI do an equivalent too.

Even putting privacy and security concerns aside, this simply makes for a cumbersome experience. Initial setup on the Zero 8 was truly annoying, with prompts and wizards and permissions everywhere the place. then , many of the apps we tried launching, had some data, access or account requirements of their own to nag about. a number of these apps install even more bloat and shortcuts on the Zero 8.

It’s an amazingly poor user experience overall. Once XOS7 gets properly decluttered, it does become noticeably more usable, though.

Upon successful screen unlock with the fingerprint reader, or face unlock, you’ll be taken on a homescreen that’s basically an equivalent across all launchers – a Google widget, and shortcuts for the foremost important apps.

The leftmost pane holds cards, which is another word for widgets. there’s plenty of these , a number of them contain ads, but you’ll disable those (thankfully).

There is an app drawer if you made the decision to use one – the strange A-Z orange icon at rock bottom . there’s a lockscreen “magazine” feature for changing its wallpaper automatically, if you’re into that kind of thing.

In another odd setup, Infinix has a number of its own in-house apps pre-loaded in XOS7, and certain ones basically double features, already covered by Google apps. just like the Files app and therefore the default AI Gallery, which is, honestly, great in the least. It even offers an honest set of basic editing options and a few extra features for cleanup, photo compression, and hiding items.

Performance benchmarks

The Infinix Zero 8 is predicated on a Mediatek MT6785 Helio G90T chipset. It’s manufactured employing a 12nm process and it includes a pair of faster 2.05 GHz Cortex-A76 cores and 6 more Cortex-A55 ones, clocked at up to 2.0 GHz. Our unit, as tested, has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of expandable storage.

In the GPU department, we’ve a Mali-G76 MC4 pushing pixels on to a panel, with a native FullHD+ resolution of 1080 x 2460 pixels. While that does put the GPU during a little bit of a strenuous situation, overall, the Helio G90T is one among the stronger chipsets available within the budget smartphone segment.

Naturally, we wouldn’t pit the Infinix Zero 8 against flagship or maybe mid-range offers. Instead we’ve opted for a colourful selection of other recent budget chipsets, just like the similar Helio G85, G80 and therefore the P35 solutions from MediaTek. Also, competition just like the Snapdragon 665, 720G, also as some manufacturer-specific chips, just like the Samsung Exynos 850 and therefore the Kirin 810, by HiSilicon. All of those , attainable within the budget of the Infinix Zero 8.

CAMERAs

The Infinix Zero 8 can capture video at up to 4K@30fps on its main camera. that has both 1x and zoomed 2x mode. you furthermore may get 1080p@30 and 1080p@60fps. The 8MP ultrawide is of course limited to FullHD video. All of those get saved in h.264 format – AVC video, with 48kHZ AAC audio. The latter is simply mono, though.

Videos look a touch underwhelming at maximum resolution. Colors are rather dull, but the most issue has got to be the limited dynamic range. Shadows get absolutely crushed. The video is additionally rather vulnerable to vibration. The wind in these samples is clear. However, this is often with stabilization turned off.

Selfie camera quality

The selfie camera setup on the Infinix Zero 8 is sort of potent. the most 48MP camera here is additionally a Quad-Bayer unit and produces 12MP shots. These look great, with tons of detail, great colors, and sharpness. Honestly, they leave little to be desired, outside, perhaps, flagship-grade features, like autofocus.

Auto HDR detection for the selfie cameras on the Zero 8 is additionally spotty sometimes . When it does kick in, it typically features a very noticeable, positive effect on shots. Especially those involving bright backdrops and shadows on countenance . Here are some HDR OFF shots for.

In comparison, the 8MP ultrawide secondary selfie snapper, once more , falls a touch short. Especially within the dynamic range department.comparison.

The competition, our verdict

The MSRP for the Infinix Zero 8 is around $250

As you’ll imagine, this price point is an actively contested one, and there’s many choices. Samsung actually has a minimum of a couple of viable devices, a part of its ever-growing A and M families. The Galaxy A51 packs similar hardware to the Infinix Zero 8, including a four-camera setup, with a Quad-Bayer main snapper. Plus, a serious draw here is that the Super AMOLED panel. It’s not a quick one, and only does 60Hz, but the advantages in color and contrast are obvious. You won’t be getting quite as potent of A battery and charging setup, though. and therefore the Galaxy A51 might be pushing the bounds of our budget.

Keeping that in mind, if you’ll get your hands on a Galaxy M31s, it seems to supply even better value for money, rocking an equivalent overall internals, but with a higher-res 64MP main camera and a much bigger 6,000 mAh battery, with faster 25W charging. That one seems only to be selling in India at the instant , though.

xiaomi has quite a couple of devices to supply . If you’ll get your hands on a Redmi K30 Ultra, it seems to supply the simplest , all-round value, including things like an AMOLED panel with 120Hz refresh rate, a quad-camera setup with a 64MP Quad-Bayer and a fanatical telephoto and a 4,500 mAh battery, with 33W charging, a bit like the Infinix Zero 8. Sadly, it’s also somewhat limited in availability and pushing the budget a touch .

The Redmi Note 9 Pro could be easier to accumulate , but it does accompany quite few sacrifices, the OLED panel, 5G and therefore the telephoto. At that time , it’d be better to travel for a few extra savings with the Redmi Note 9 or check out the marginally older, but better value Redmi Note 8 Pro. Not a simple decision there.

Navigating Realme’s lineup is hardly any easier. The Realme 6 stands out as a really close match to the Infinix Zero 8. It also features a 90Hz IPS panel, the MediaTek G90T chipset, a quad-camera setup, including a 64MP main snapper and an 8MP ultrawide, a similarly-sized 4,300 mAh battery, with 30W charging and really solid battery endurance.

That being said, if maximizing battery life may be a big priority for you, it’d be worthwhile to measure with a couple of other hardware compromises, but got for the Realme C15 and its massive 6,000 mAh pack. counting on local availability and the way low you would like to require your budget, the Realme C12 is additionally worth a glance then is that the C11. All of them are very similar.

Honorable mentions on the competitors list include the Nokia 5.3

The verdict

Infinix devices aren’t a standard sight around our parst. Neither are they available or popular on a world scale. In practice, the brand has managed to carve-out good market shares and make a reputation for itself in some particular markets like Egypt, Indonesia, and Nigeria and now they’re making a push in India also .

You still get proper Google services but the software experience is sort of different with a number of it specifically tailored to the requirements of local markets. This includes things like system-level WhatsApp integration, various support and repair apps for after-sales care, and a slew of other app markets and game launchers baked-in. All, likely, reflecting the requirements and preferences of local users.

The unfortunate flip side of this ‘market tuning’ is that the unusually high volume of ads and sponsored content, pre-loaded as a part of XOS7. A practice that has become mostly unacceptable to Western and global audiences within the previous couple of years, but remains a wonderfully valid way of bringing costs down and additionally subsidizing the value of any handset.

Put all of this together and you finish up with an Infinix Zero 8 which clearly brings tons useful to the table, but does so with a distinctly local-market flavor. Clearly, a technique that’s working for Infinix and zip to scorn or really complain about.

PRICING

250USD