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In mid-February of 2022, we had time to get acquainted with two smartphones of the young but ambitious Infinix brand. As we found out during the hands-on of the HOT 11S NFC and SMART 6 models, the brand knows how to make inexpensive devices with good specs and powerful enough SoCs for the segment. Today we will review Infinix HOT 12 Play NFC in detail and find out what this new budget phone can offer.
Despite the fact that in general Infinix HOT 12 Play NFC exists in several modifications with different amounts of RAM/Storage, in Ukraine it is available only in one basic modification with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. As we found out in our first hands-on with the brand, the HOT series from Infinix includes budget smartphones, and HOT 12 Play NFC is exactly what it is – a budget smartphone. Phone’s local price is 5,799 UAH, or approximately $159, which is quite inexpensive. And now let’s find out in detail what this new product can offer a potential buyer for such money.
The smartphone comes in a medium-sized cardboard box, decorated in a bright branded green color with black accents. The contents of the box are on the one hand standard, but at the same time, there is everything you need. In addition to the Infinix HOT 12 Play NFC, inside you can find: a 10 W power adapter, a USB Type-A to Type-C cable, a plastic protective case, a SIM-card removal tool and various accompanying documentation. There’s also a protective film on the screen out of the box, which is always a good addition.
The protective case, as I already mentioned, is plastic and covers the back, right and left sides, as well as the corners of the smartphone. That is, the upper and lower edges of the device remain open. At the same time, the case is not as simple as, for example, in the Infinix SMART 6. The case has matte finish, and on the back, a relatively large vertical glossy inscription FUTURE NOW is visible. However, the case itself is quite thin, so theoretically it is not very durable.
In general, the design of the smartphone is largely the same as in HOT 11S NFC, however, you may notice some minor differences. They can even be called pleasant, although there are controversial moments, of course. In any case, the smartphone looks modern and, let’s say, more interesting than some competitors from the same price range. It combines a lot of trendy design solutions that are usually found in smartphones of a higher level. So the design of Infinix HOT 12 Play NFC can be called one of its advantages, in my opinion.
The front panel of the phone looks very modern. Yes, the frames may not be the thinnest, but let’s not forget that this is an inexpensive smartphone. However, the front camera is cut right into the screen, and is also in the center. It is more pleasant than when the camera is in the left or right corner. And obviously, looks refreshing, compared to tear-drop notch still found in the smartphones of this price category. Otherwise, there is nothing special: the diameter of the camera hole is not the most compact, the top and bottom frames are wider than the sides, especially the bottom chin.
The back panel is interesting in several ways. Firstly, thin vertical lines pattern runs along the entire back. Secondly, the pattern is changing from top to the bottom of the phone’s back. And lower third of the phone looks slightly different than the top. It is worth noting that this is not the same as what we saw in the Infinix HOT 11S NFC. Such a design move clearly makes the smartphone visually more interesting.
The camera unit looks quite stylish for an inexpensive smartphone. It is a narrow glass rectangle with rounded corners, on which there are two large camera holes, one small decorative one, a flash and inscriptions with camera specs. Plus, it has its own unique pattern – circles spreading from the wide-angle camera module.
As you might have noticed, my smartphone sample has an unusual green color. It is called Daylight Green and, among other things, it has a light gradient effect. The upper part of the case is lighter, while the lower part is already slightly darkened. In addition to this option, the brand offers three more colors to choose from: Racing Black, Horizon Blue and Champagne Gold bronze. All of them, judging by the images, have the same gradient effect and shimmer in the light in the same way.
Smartphone’s body is made of plastic, the frame and the back are uniform and have a glossy finish. But despite this, it’s hard to leave the fingerprints on it. At least they are not visible on the light-colored body of the phone. The front is, of course, glass with a protective film on it. The assembled smartphone is quite high-quality, I would even say – excellent, for its class. It does not make any weird sounds when you try to bend it or squeeze it, and of course there are no problems with the build during normal operation of the phone.
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Selfie-camera, as we said earlier is at the top and center of the screen in a cut out, above it – a slot for the conversational speaker. To the right of the grid of the latter, the proximity and illumination sensors are located, and even more: to the right of them is the frontal flash. It can be used to illuminate your face when taking a selfie, and it also lights up when your smartphone is charging. But at the same time, unfortunately, it cannot be used as a notification light, and there is no dedicated LED for this task.
On the right side of the smartphone are the power button and volume rocker. On the left, there is a full-fledged slot for two nanoSIM cards and a microSD card. Despite the lack of moisture protection in the smartphone, the card slot is additionally protected by a rubberized seal.
The top side of the smartphone is completely empty, and the rest of the usual elements are on the bottom side. These are: multimedia speaker grill, a USB Type-C port, a 3.5 mm audio jack and the main (and only) microphone.
On the back panel, in the upper left corner, we see a rectangular block with two cameras and a flash, next to which the fingerprint scanner is located. At the bottom, only the inscription Infinix is placed vertically without other official inscriptions and markings.
Infinix HOT 12 Play NFC is, without exaggeration, a large smartphone with a display as large as 6.8 inches. It may seem that it is not much larger than the 6.4-6.5-inch smartphones we are used to, but it is really large. Phone dimensions are 170.5×77.6×8.3 mm, and the weight is 195 g. There is only one more thing to add – it is impossible to use the smartphone normally with one hand, simply pick the phone up and reach the elements at the top of the screen. You have to either use the other hand, move your fingers and change the normal grip, or resort to one-hand use mode. There is such a mode here, you can turn it on in the notification shade.
As for the location of the physical control keys on the side, they are placed at a normal, comfortable height. Not too low, but not too high either. There is absolutely no need to reach for them, except a little bit for the volume up button in some situations, but nothing critical. What many will definitely have difficulties with is using the fingerprint sensor on the back. It is located too high and even with long fingers it is not very easy to reach it. If it was moved lower by at least half a centimeter, it would be easier. Or if it was combined with the power button, which would’ve been even better.
Of course, the dimensions cannot be attributed to the shortcomings of the device. We are living in a huge smartphone screens world, and Infinix HOT 12 Play NFC just follows the trend with its enormous screen. So in terms of ergonomics, the fingerprint scanner can be the most confusing. You will definitely have to get used to its location. Otherwise, it is more or less normal: the edges of the back are rounded, the body itself is not very slippery, and the mass is usual for such a size.
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The Infinix HOT 12 Play NFC screen has the following specs: 6.82″, IPS LCD panel with HD+ resolution (1612×720 pixels) and a pixel density of 259 ppi, and an aspect ratio of 20:9. Moreover, the smartphone screen has 90Hz refresh rate and 180Hz touch sampling rate.
What can be said about such a combination? It is worth highlighting two main features of the display: a large diagonal and high refresh rate. These are really two of its key features that can tip the scales in favor of this new phone. Competitors rarely sport any of these features, so that’s a success for Infinix.
Although the screen cannot be called perfect either. The resolution for such a diagonal, for example, is not very high. If you look hard at the small elements of the interface (icons, text), you can notice that their clarity is not high enough. But at a normal distance, everything looks OK and in real everyday use there is simply nothing to complain about, especially if you are undemanding and not used to high pixel density. But it would also be wrong not to mention it.
The picture quality will satisfy an undemanding user. The reserve of brightness is quite enough to use the smartphone indoors or in the shade on the street, but not under direct sunlight. The color rendition is close to natural, not oversaturated, but it cannot be adjusted with regular means. Viewing angles are normal for the class: with linear deviations, the image simply becomes a little warmer, but with diagonal deviations, as always, dark tones fade.
Regarding the refresh rate, things get quite interesting. In the options, the user can choose one of three modes: automatic adjustment, 60 Hz and 90 Hz. The interesting thing is that when the forced 90 Hz mode is selected, the smartphone interface is not always smooth. It seems that the system frame rate drops sharply and one gets the impression that all animations are “slow
