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Infinix Zero 40 5G Review: Mid-Range Hero?

DA Gadgets October 27, 2024 mobiles

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Infinix
should
stop
using
the
Zero
moniker
for
their
phones
because,
honestly,
their
phones
are
not
what
they
used
to
be.
The
new

Infinix
Zero
40
5G
is
not
a
zero.
The
phone,
at
a
starting
price
of
Rs.
27,999,
offers
a
lot
of
features.
Infinix
also
claims
that
the
Zero
40
5G
is
the
first
phone
in
its
segment
to
offer
4K
60fps
video
recording
on
both
front
and
rear
cameras
and
to
feature
a
50-megapixel
ultrawide
rear
camera.
It’s
also
the
first
Infinix
phone
to
launch
with
Infinix
AI.

The
company
heavily
emphasises
the
phone’s
video
recording
features,
stabilisation,
and
its
potential
as
an
ideal
device
for
vlogging—I’ve
never
heard
the
word
“vlog”
mentioned
so
many
times
in
a
product
briefing.
So,
is
the
Infinix
Zero
40
5G
any
good?
Do
all
of
these
segment-firsts
make
it
a
hero?
You’ll
have
to
read
the
full
review
to
find
out.

Infinix
Zero
40
Design:
Stylish

• Dimensions
  –
  164.31×74.47×7.9mm
• Weight
  –
  195g
• Colours
  –
  Moving
  Titanium,
  Violet
  Garden,
  Rock
  Black

Infinix
has
done
a
very
good
job
in
terms
of
design.
The
phone
features
curved
sides
and
flat
top
and
bottom
edges,
making
it
comfortable
to
hold
and
easy
to
use
one-handed.
The
phone
is
available
in
three
colour
options,
and
we
got
the
Violet
Garden
variant.
The
rear
panel
has
a
two-tone
finish
and
the
word
‘Zero’
etched
at
the
bottom
right
corner.
It’s
a
nice
phone
to
look
at,
especially
in
the
Violet
colour
option.

The
curved
edges
make
the
phone
slimmer
than
it
actually
is

The
back
is
dominated
by
a
large
circular
camera
module,
accented
with
a
focus
ring-like
design.
The
curved
edges
make
the
phone
feel
slimmer
than
it
really
is.
The
left
side
is
clean,
while
the
power
and
volume
buttons
are
placed
on
the
right.
At
the
bottom,
you’ll
find
the
USB
Type-C
port,
a
loudspeaker,
a
microphone,
and
a
SIM
card
tray.
The
top
houses
an
IR
blaster,
another
microphone,
and
a
speaker
grille.
Infinix
has
also
provided
an
IP54
rating
for
added
protection,
which
is
a
nice
touch.

Infinix
Zero
40
Display:
Big
with
a
little
bit
of
curve

• Size
  and
  type
  –
  6.78-inch,
  full-HD+,
  Curved
  AMOLED
• Refresh
  rate
  –
  Up
  to
  144Hz
• Protection
  –
  Corning
  Gorilla
  Glass
  5

The
Infinix
Zero
40
5G
features
a
curved
display
with
slim,
uniform
bezels,
resulting
in
an
impressive
93.4
percent
screen-to-body
ratio.
The
panel
is
of
the
LTPS
variety,
which
means
that
although
it
offers
a
144Hz
refresh
rate,
it
cannot
go
all
the
way
down
to
1Hz.
You
can,
however,
choose
between
auto,
60,
120,
and
144Hz.
The
display
also
offers
a
360Hz
touch
sampling
rate
and
2,304Hz
PWM
frequency.

Running
the
screen
at
144Hz
will
drain
the
battery
much
faster

In
terms
of
colour,
you
get
a
10-bit
panel
with
100
percent
DCI-P3
colour
gamut
coverage.
There
are
also
two
colour
modes
available
on
the
phone
–
Original
and
Bright-coloured.
I’d
recommend
sticking
to
the
former.
You
also
get
TUV
Rheinland
Eye
Care
certification
and
an
Eye
care
mode.
As
for
brightness,
the
phone
gets
plenty
bright
indoors
(1,300
nits
peak),
but
it
can
be
a
bit
dull
under
direct
sunlight.

For
watching
movies,
gaming,
and
any
kind
of
content
consumption,
the
screen
is
great.
It’s
big,
colourful,
bright
(indoors),
and
offers
a
super
fast
refresh
rate.
There’s
also
Widevine
L1
certification
so
that
you
can
use
all
your
streaming
services.

Infinix
has
included
an
in-display
fingerprint
scanner
on
the
phone.
Despite
being
placed
lower
down
on
the
screen,
it
worked
accurately
and
was
fast.

Infinix
Zero
40
Software:
AI
this
and
AI
that

• OS
  –
  Android
  14
• UI
  –
  XOS
  14.5
• Latest
  security
  patch
  –
  August
  5,
  2024

The
phone
runs
Android
14-based
XOS
14.5
out
of
the
box.
As
expected,
it
includes
a
fair
amount
of
pre-installed
apps,
but
fortunately,
most
can
be
uninstalled.
The
user
interface
is
fairly
clean,
with
smooth
animations.

Infinix
has
also
included
an
edge
control
feature
that
lets
you
take
advantage
of
the
curved
screen
and
quickly
access
your
favourite
apps.
There’s
an
IR
Control
option
in
the
Quick
setting
and
within
the
Welife
app
to
control
other
devices
using
its
infrared
blaster.
The
phone
boasts
a
“Works
with
GoPro”
certification,
but
all
it
means
is
that
you
can
control
a
GoPro
action
camera
using
the
GoPro
Quik
app—a
feature
that
virtually
any
smartphone
is
capable
of.

The
AI
eraser
does
a
decent
job

The
Zero
40
5G
has
many
AI
features
as
part
of
the
Infinix
AI
suite.
You
get
an
AI
Eraser
in
the
Gallery
app
that
works
pretty
well
for
removing
objects
from
photos,
though
its
performance
can
be
inconsistent.
Sometimes,
I
could
remove
an
object
with
a
single
attempt,
but
other
times,
it
took
multiple
tries
to
achieve
the
desired
result.

Other
AI-powered
features
include
Smart
Cut-out,
which
allows
you
to
cut
out
objects
from
photos
easily,
and
AI
Vlog,
which
can
automatically
create
a
vlog
using
up
to
20
clips
from
your
gallery.
Additionally,
Smart
Search
lets
you
find
pictures
in
the
Gallery
app
by
simply
typing
a
text
description.

There’s
an
AI
Wallpaper
Generator
that
creates
images
based
on
your
photos
or
text
input,
though
I
couldn’t
test
this
feature
due
to
a
recurring
“server
is
being
upgraded”
error.
The
Infinix
Folax
voice
assistant
is
also
built-in
and
capable
of
answering
questions,
translating
text,
controlling
basic
phone
functions,
and
more.

Some
of
the
AI
features
didn’t
work

While
it’s
nice
to
have
all
the
above-mentioned
AI
features,
Infinix
has
a
lot
of
work
to
do,
as
some
of
them,
including
the
wallpaper
generator,
refused
to
work
for
me.

In
terms
of
software
support,
Infinix
has
promised
2
years
of
Android
OS
updates
and
3
years
of
security
patches.

Infinix
Zero
40
Performance:
Good
enough

• Chipset
  –
  MediaTek
  Dimensity
  8200
  Ultimate
• RAM
  –
  12GB
  LPDDR5x
• Storage
  –
  Up
  to
  512GB
  UFS
  3.1

The
MediaTek
Dimensity
8200
Ultimate
chipset
is
quite
capable
and
easily
handles
day-to-day
tasks.
Multitasking
is
a
breeze,e
too.
It
even
fares
well
in
gaming
and
doesn’t
produce
a
lot
of
heat
when
under
heavy
use.
The
phone
has
12GB
RAM
and
256GB
or
512GB
storage.
There
is
also
a
virtual
RAM
expansion
feature,
and
you
get
a
microSD
card
slot
to
add
more
storage.

The
phone
is
good
for
gaming

Regular
performance
is
pretty
good,
and
I
didn’t
really
face
any
lag
while
running
multiple
apps,
using
the
camera,
or
performing
various
day-to-day
tasks.
We
ran
our
usual
set
of
benchmarks
on
the
phone,
and
it
performed
similarly
to
other
phones
in
the
segment.

Gaming
on
the
phone
is
fun,
thanks
mainly
to
the
large
screen
with
144Hz
refresh
rate.
I
ran
BGMI,
Asphalt
Legends
Unite,
and
Genshin
Impact
on
the
phone
and
was
able
to
play
all
of
them
without
much
lag.
In
BGMI
and
Asphalt
Legends
Unit,
I
was
able
to
play
with
the
highest
available
graphics.
However,
with
Genshin
Impact,
I
couldn’t
play
with
the
highest
settings,
and
I
also
found
that
the
phone
would
heat
up
after
just
15-20
minutes.
I
also
noticed
this
heating
when
using
the
rear
camera
for
4K
video
recording.

The
phone
does
heat
up
when
running
heavy
games

The
Infinix
Zero
40
5G
delivers
good
call
quality
and
audio
performance.
It
features
a
dual
stereo
speaker
setup
with
“Sound
by
JBL,”
along
with
support
for
DTS
Hi-RES
Audio
and
Hi-Res
Audio
Wireless.
Calls
came
through
clearly,
both
through
the
microphone
and
ear
speaker.
The
dual
speakers
provide
good
stereo
separation
and
are
loud
and
clear
but
fall
short
in
bass.

Infinix
Zero
40
Cameras:
Decent

• Rear
  main
  –
  108-megapixel
  wide,
  OIS
• Secondary
  –
  50-megapixel
  ultra-wide,
  120-degree
  FoV
• Front
  –
  50-megapixel
  wide

Infinix
is
heavily
marketing
the
Zero
40
5G
video
recording
capabilities
and
even
calling
it
a
vlogging
phone.
As
per
the
brand,
it’s
the
first
phone
in
the
segment
to
offer
4k
60fps
recording
on
the
primary,
ultra-wide,
and
front
camera.

The
phone
supports
4K
60fps
recording
across
three
cameras

In
my
testing,
while
you
get
4K
60fps
across
all
three
cameras,
there’s
no
stabilisation
supported
in
this
mode.
However,
the
video
performance
is
just
about
average.
While
there
are
good
levels
of
detail
in
4K
resolution
on
all
three
supported
cameras,
the
dynamic
range,
colours,
focus
shifting,
and
stabilisation
are
average.
There
are
two
levels
of
stabilisation
available
on
the
phone
–
Ultra
Steady
and
Ultra
Steady
Pro.
If
you’re
shooting
using
4K
resolution
on
any
of
the
cameras,
you
can
only
use
Ultra
Steady
at
30fps.
And
the
stabilisation
here
isn’t
excellent.
The
Ultra
Steady
Pro
does
offer
slightly
better
stabilisation,
but
it
only
works
in
1080p.
However,
no
Ultra
Steady
Pro
stabilisation
is
available
on
the
front
camera
in
any
resolution.
You
also
get
some
Vlog
filters
on
the
front
camera
in
the
video,
but
they’re
passable
and
don’t
shoot
in
4K.

Now,
let’s
talk
about
still
photography.
The
photos
taken
in
daylight
conditions
offer
good
details
across
both
main
and
ultrawide
cameras.
Even
HDR
performance
is
pretty
good
for
a
phone
at
this
price
point.
You
will
find
colour
inaccuracies
between
the
two
cameras
though,
and
there’s
also
some
over-saturation
going
on.

Top
to
bottom:
3
x
Main
Camera;
3
x
Ultrawide
[Tap
to
Expand]

Photos
taken
using
the
primary
rear
camera
in
lowlight
conditions
bring
in
some
noise,
but
it’s
definitely
usable.
Ultrawide
camera
performance
in
the
dark
is
average
at
best,
has
more
noise
than
the
main,
and
is
once
again
plagued
by
colour
inaccuracy.

Top
to
Bottom:
2
x
Main
camera;
2
x
Ultrawide

There’s
also
a
3x
mode,
but
it’s
only
a
zoomed-in
crop,
and
is
mostly
a
miss.
Portrait
photos
are
average,
with
the
bokeh
looking
fake
most
of
the
time.

Infinix
Zero
40
Battery:
Average

• Capacity
  –
  5,000mAh
• Fast
  charging
  –
  45W
  wired,
  20W
  wireless
• Charger
  –
  Included, MagCase

Infinix
has
equipped
the
Zero
40
5G
with
a
sizable
5,000mAh
battery,
but
it’s
average
in
terms
of
battery
life.
While
it
lasted
over
a
day
with
regular
use,
it
underperformed
in
our
HD
video
loop
test.
With
the
brightness
at
50
percent
and
the
refresh
rate
set
to
144Hz,
the
battery
drained
in
just
about
14
hours.
However,
you
can
extend
the
battery
life
by
enabling
adaptive
brightness
and
switching
the
refresh
rate
to
120Hz.

You
get
a
MagCase
in
the
box

Charging
the
phone
is
fast,
thanks
to
the
included
45W
charger.
A
full
charge
from
0
to
100
percent
took
about
1
hour
and
10
minutes,
which
is
decent.
The
phone
also
supports
wireless
charging
at
20W.

Infinix
Zero
40
Verdict

The
Infinix
Zero
40
5G
is
a
good
choice
if
you’re
on
the
lookout
for
a
mid-range
phone
that
offers
good
design,
a
good
set
of
cameras
that
you’ll
mostly
use
in
the
day,
good
gaming
performance,
decent
battery
life,
and
a
nice
big
curved
display
with
fast
refresh
rate.
If
you’re
looking
for
a
phone
for
vlogging,
this
is
not
the
one.

In
terms
of
alternatives
in
the
same
price
range,
you
can
try
the

Motorola
Edge
50
Pro
(Review),

iQOO
Z9s
Pro
(Review),
or
the

Nothing
Phone
2a
Plus
(Review).
All
of
these
have
their
own
advantages
and
disadvantages,
so
we’d
recommend
reading
the
reviews
before
making
a
decision.