A few weeks ago, Infinix released the latest entry to its mid-range lineup. Introducing Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G, a new phone that promises an All-Round FastCharge 2.0 powered by the new Cheetah X1 chip. In case you didn't know, the price for this phone starts from RM1089.
For a device with such a price tag and specs, one might wonder if it lives up to the hype. Thankfully, TechNave has you covered on this phone. This is our verdict on it.
Design - Classy front, Classic back
For this review, we have the Vintage Green colourway. At first glance, the curved screen panel and the rear leather finish give us a premium feel for the device. The square camera island might make it look a bit clunky and silly, but that's what makes it charming.
The leather finish feels nice in our hands
The curved screen is nice too
Power and volume button on the right side of the phone
Probably one of the slimmest phones we ever had
USB-C port and speaker are located at the bottom panel
Besides that, the camera island features a triple primary camera with an RGB light. We also noticed this smartphone is quite slim. So, you might want to be more careful when carrying or holding it. Interestingly, this model sports metallic side panels. You can also find the power and volume buttons on the right side of the phone.
Meanwhile, the USB-C port is located on the bottom panel alongside the SIM card slot. The phone also runs dual stereo speakers located on the top and bottom of the phone. Personally, we appreciate the unique design. So, that's a plus in our books.
Tech specs and features - Good for its class
- Chipset: Mediatek Dimensity 7020 (6 nm)
- CPU: Octa-core (2x2.2 GHz Cortex-A78 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) chipset
- GPU: IMG BXM-8-256
- RAM & Storage: 8GB RAM/256GB storage, UFS 2.2
- OS: Android 14, XOS 14
- Battery: 5000 mAh, 45W wired, 50% in 26 min (advertised), 20W wireless MagCharge, Reverse wired, Reverse wireless
- Display: 6.78-inch, 1080 x 2436 pixels (~393 ppi density), AMOLED, 1B colours, 120Hz, 1300 nits (peak)
- Rear camera: 108 MP (f/1.8, wide, PDAF, OIS), 2 MP (f/2.4), 2 MP (f/2.4)
- Front Camera: 32 MP (f/2.2, wide, 1/3.1")
Now, let's start with the most important component of this phone - the chipset. Under the hood, it features the Dimensity 7020 SoC. It's not exactly a new chipset, but should be fairly competent and can get the job done.
The display is quite vibrant
In addition, this phone runs 8GB RAM and 256GB storage with XOS 14 (Android 14). To be honest, this is actually pretty good for its price. It also runs a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with 1080 x 2436 resolution (~393 ppi density), a 120Hz refresh rate and 1300 nits of peak brightness. For audio, it sports JBL dual-stereo speakers for an immersive listening experience.
During our time with the phone, we were very pleased with its vivid display. So, it should satisfy those who crave good visuals. Moreover, the audio quality of the dual speakers is decent. However, we noticed the audio output can be quite muddled at times. But that shouldn't disrupt your listening experience.
Decent stereo speaker
It takes approximately 59 minutes to go from 12% to 100%
Infinix promised excellent battery capability and charging with this variant. According to the company, it can reach 50% charge in 26 minutes. We tested this theory and the claim is not too far off. This phone can reach a full charge of 100% in just about 60 minutes.
On the other hand, the UI arrangement and display for the phone is quite basic. The same can be said for the folder placement and arrangement. To put it simply, we are not fans of it. On the bright side, the phone features only a few bloatware. The rest of the apps are closely relevant to our working needs and daily use. For example, Google Mail, YouTube, Google Drive and so forth.
Not a fan of this UI though
This is a refreshing move from Infinix. After all, not many smartphone companies do this. So, we hope Infinix can stay this way in the future.
Performance - Above average compared to the rest
In performance, this phone scored 456900 on AnTuTu. It also scored 918 for the Single-Core test and 2287 for the Multi-Core test in GeekBench 6. In 3DMark, it also scored a solid 3415. That makes it 65 % better than the rest. With these scores, you can expect a fairly smooth work and gaming experience.
Good score on AnTuTu
As recorded on GeekBench 6
Not bad
On top of that, you can also extend the RAM to 16GB thanks to the 8GB virtual RAM. So, feel free to tailor your Note 40 Pro experience. However, when we first tested its multitasking specs, we found the phone often crashed back to the homepage when we attempted to download Genshin Impact, Honkai Star Rail and MLBB simultaneously. It was a bit puzzling but was easily solved with a simple attempt to re-download.
Besides that, this model sports excellent battery energy retention. Once, we left the phone for almost 4 days without use with the WIFI on and it still had around 27% battery left. When it comes to gaming and streaming, it enables us to game smoothly for almost 3 hours. So, if you are looking for a phone with an excellent battery life, this could be your main pick. It also doesn't overheat much, even under intense gaming, so that's another plus for us.
The XArena app is a neat addition
Now, let's get to the juicy part - gaming. How well does it fare? How smooth are the graphics and gameplay? Thanks to the optimisation feature provided by the default XArena app, gaming felt pretty natural and responsive. For instance, our MLBB gameplay felt responsive and relatively smooth. There was barely any lag or awkward inputs throughout our gaming session.
Graphics-wise, we noticed that games like Genshin Impact or Asphalt 9 can result in pixelated or box-ish images. In case you were wondering, yes, it is noticeable. At some point, we noticed that our character stuttered when moving, or the game would skip a few frames while moving. Given its chipset, this is to be expected. Overall, it still provides a decent gaming experience.
Gameplay on MLBB feels smooth and responsive
The pixelated visuals are quite noticeable
Graphic can look a bit box-ish when racing in Asphalt 9
Camera-wise, this device sports a 108MP OIS triple primary camera and a 32MP snapper. To be honest, the camera capabilities leave much to be desired. The image output feels artificially brightened and pale in colours. In short, your picture can look a bit dull compared to the real object.
The Supernight photography mode could also use some improvement. Capturing images of moving objects at night resulted in noticeable noise and images can look a bit blurry. Similar to the standard photography mode, image output can look dull. Given its price, we can understand this. But if you are okay with casual photography, this phone gets the job done.
The selfie has an artificial feel to it
Shot on Portrait Mode
Shot on Portrait Mode
The colours look a bit dull
Shot on 108M mode
Shot on 108M mode
Shot on Standard mode - 1x zoom
Shot on Standard mode - 3x zoom
The camera is decent for casual photography
Image taken under low light
Noticeable noise when capturing images of moving objects
Fancy a game of futsal?
The noise is strong in this one
Noticeable noise for moving objects
Image can look a bit blurry at night
Stationary objects look decent
The Supernight mode has plenty of rooms for improvement
Under good lighting, the selfie camera can be delightful
Conclusion - It’s worth the buy, but not the mid-range phone of the year
Now, for the verdict you are waiting for. Is this phone worth the buy? Our honest answer is yes. Sure, it's not the best in its class. For a device in this price range, we feel there are options that are just as good if not better. For instance, the realme 12+ 5G would cost you RM1499, but it has better specs and performance.
Alternatively, you can also get the POCO X6 for RM1299. It is slightly pricier than the Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G, but you will get 12GB RAM + 256GB storage straightaway. That's a bargain.
Overall, if you are looking for a versatile budget phone and don't mind the sub-par camera, we would recommend the Note 40 Pro 5G. But, if you have slightly more money to spend, go for POCO X6.
What are your thoughts about this review? Stay tuned for more reviews like this at TechNave!
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