The craze for making the most affordable smartphone has been at a long-halt due to the semi-conductor chip shortage, and the days of fierce rivalry to create an all-rounder device that offers the best price to performance ratio are long-gone.
Infinix Smart 6 HD
6,799
What Is Good?
- 6.6" Large Display
- Front Flash
- Good Battery Life
What Is Bad?
- 10W Slow Charging
- Poor Build Quality
- Bloatware
To stir up this mix, Infinix has added a new member to its budget-friendly Smart series, the Infinix Smart 6 HD, the most affordable smartphone from the Smart Series which goes up against the Realme C30, Redmi 10A and the Tecno Spark 8c.
We all know that with the title of ‘most affordable’ comes cost cutting and few sacrifices. However, is the Infinix Smart 6 HD worth your money? Let us find out!
Infinix Smart 6 HD: Design and Build
The Smart 6 HD is extremely comfortable and grippy with a lining texture on one half and a smooth finish on the other. The back panel is in a dual matte-like plastic finish that protects it from fingerprints and smudges so that’s a plus. The camera housing is similar to the Smart 6, which at first glance appeared to me as a triple cam setup. However, it’s only there for aesthetic reasons; in reality, it holds an 8MP camera with a dual LED flash.
Overall, it has a good in-hand feel with decent looks, but the unit received had a build issue where there was a creaking sound on the back covering, indicating cost cutting in terms of build quality.
Infinix Smart 6 HD: Ports and Buttons
In terms of ports and buttons, the device has a micro-USB (Type-B) charging port on the bottom which is pretty obvious considering the price point. However i’m really looking forward to the budget phones integrating the Type-C functionality.
At the bottom we have a speaker grill which outputs mono audio and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The power button and the volume rocker are located on the right side of the frame. For the SIM we have a full-sized slot on the left, it holds two SIM cards and a microSD card.
The setup is pretty much like every-other budget smartphone however, i feel that the use of dual mic for noise suppression or stereo audio could have been a game changer
Infinix Smart 6 HD: Display and Audio
Now coming to the Display, which is one of the key highlights and selling point of this device. The Infinix Smart 6 HD has the biggest screen in the class. 6.6-inch TFT display and an HD+ resolution, with this do keep in mind that the content on YouTube and other apps can be consumed upto 720p. The display features a water drop notch, which may feel dated but for the price it is warranted.
With the screen-to-body ratio of 90.6% with 99% sRGB colour gamut, in real-life scenario, the viewing experience was decent with colours turning out to be punchy. However, the videos tend to be over-sharpened at times. The brightness in our tests ranged from 280 to 315 nits. The indoor visibility is adequate, and the outdoor visibility is reasonable for the segment.
For audio-output we have a single bottom-firing speaker (mono audio) that is loud enough to watch movies and videos. It’s surprising that it includes DTS support at such a low cost, which significantly improves audio quality, but the speaker in my testing distorted at maximum volume. The reason for this could be the creaky build quality, which causes the phone’s casing to vibrate against its own body, causing distortion.
Infinix Smart 6 HD: Battery Life and Charging
The 5,000mAh battery of the Infinix Smart 6HD is also a notable feature. On using it as a primary device for a day of social network scrolling, viewing YouTube videos, clicking camera samples for this review, a little casual gaming and music listening, the phone was 38% charged by end of the day.
It is bundled with a micro-USB cable which powers the phone with a 10W charging brick. In my testing it took 2 hours 45 minutes to fully charge but once charged, with moderate usage, Smart 6 HD managed to squeeze the juice for a day and a half.
Infinix Smart 6 HD: Performance and Software
The Infinix Smart 6 HD is still using the Mediatek Helio A22 processor (12nm) and out of the box the device comes with Android 11 Go edition which feels dated.
It packs in 2GB of RAM which can be expanded as 3GB (+1 GB of virtual storage) but in real life, the virtual RAM has very little effect on the performance. Most bloatware can be removed, but some apps are permanent. Although the bloatware interferes with user experience, it helps the smartphone manufacturers keep smartphone costs low, while still profiting from adverts. The general UI including the camera interface needs cosmetic adjustments and calls for an aesthetic update from Infinix.
However, the main highlight is the features that XOS packs in even their entry level device. The Live Transcribe, Social Turbo, Peak Proof, PiP Mode and Theft Alert
In terms of performance, there were stutters and obvious delays due to the processor used, while accessing programmes such as Instagram, Facebook, Spotify, and Gmail. Multitasking may sometimes be aggravating. However, once the app is launched, the experience is typically seamless. Casual games such as Subway Surfers, Temple Run run smooth, however battle royale games like Free Fire Max and Call of Duty: Mobile suffer with frame drop after a 10min session. Biometric includes only face unlock for Smart 6 HD, which works well both in outdoor and indoor low light situation. It takes an average of 1 second to unlock the device using the face recognition.
Infinix Smart 6 HD: Camera
The Smart 6 HD’s main camera module has an 8-megapixel sensor and a depth camera, while the front camera is a 5MP unit. Time-lapse, beauty, portrait, panorama, HDR, and video modes are included in the camera app. In my testing
- The 8-megapixel rear primary sensor produces great portraits in daytime, however the colour science needs improvement in terms of consistency, as the saturation sometimes comes out to be a little bland.
- Pictures taken in low light with the Smart 6 HD have a lot of noise and appear soft. But once i turned on the LED Flash, the noise was considerably reduced and the it was able to capture a decent selfie even in a very low light situation.
- The selfie shooter takes acceptable shots, but the HDR mode has very little influence on adjusting the dynamics.
Videos can be recorded at a maximum of 1080p/30fps for front and rear cameras. The videos appear fine in daylight conditions but have noise in low lighting.
Talking about the rear camera, for the price
- It does produces great portraits in daylight at the same time it struggles to ‘perfectly’ cut-out the hand gestures.
- The colour contrast is eye-pleasing with rich and saturated colours in daylight.
- The HDR processing however is finicky as it sometimes makes the overall image a little under-saturated. processing is one thing that i feel Infinix needs to work upon.
- During the night, in super low-light situations, the images took a hit due to it’s sensor and processing capabilities, distortion was inevitable.
The overall camera performance in daylight is good, the portraits have an almost-clean edge detection, the detailing is at par with the competitors. Although if you want to explore night-time photography, you’ll have to spend extra few bucks to get good images as the sensors and processors in the sub 7k segment aren’t strong enough to produce quality images in low-light.
Infinix Smart 6 HD: Verdict
The Infinix Smart 6 HD is a decent smartphone for people looking for a long battery life, cameras for daylight photography and most importantly, a large display. However, it falls short in terms of solid build quality, consistent HDR processing, quick charging and a zippy performance. Overall, in the sub-7k price range, it still might be an option to consider if you want to try the XOS’s exclusive features and experience a distinct Software UI, or if you’re seeking for a secondary device.
