Pros: Good quality LCD panel, 960fps Slow-mo, Performance, All-day battery life, Excellent network reception.
Cons: No AMOLED display, Average cameras, Single speaker, Bloatware & Limited Software support.
The smartphone market under Rs 20,000 has shrunk and there are not many prominent players as before. That’s mainly due to the rise of component prices which has led the sub-Rs 20,000 players to play in the pricier field between Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000.
However, there are a few smartphone companies that are trying to settle down in the sub-Rs 20,000 segment, which was and is one of the most popular price segments for smartphones. One such company that’s been pushing its limits is Infinix.
China’s Transsion Holdings-owned brand Infinix has been aggressive in the said price segment, and this time, it has done it again. The company launched Infinix Zero 5G 2023 series in India this month, which consists of the Zero 5G 2023 and Zero 5G 2023 Turbo.
Both phones are priced under Rs 20,000. The former is one of the cheapest Dimensity 920 phones and the latter is the only phone with Dimensity 1080 chipset in the segment.
Since the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 is the newest chipset in this range, I took the Infinix Zero 5G 2023 Turbo for a spin — to find out how the phone performs and if it’s worth your attention.
Having said that, I’ve been using the Infinix Zero 5G 2023 Turbo for over two weeks, and here’s my review.
Infinix Zero 5G Turbo 2023 price and specs
| Model | Infinix Zero 5G |
| Model no. | Infinix X6815C |
| Price and variants | Rs 19,999 (8GB/256GB) |
| Colors | Coral Orange, Pearly White |
| Availability | Flipkart |
| Display size | 6.78-inch punch-hole LCD LTPS display |
| Display specs | Up to 120Hz RR, 240Hz TSR, FHD+ (1080 x 2460 pixels), 500 nits peak brightness, Widevine L1 |
| Protection | NEG Glass protection |
| Security | Side-mounted FPS, facial unlock |
| Camera setup | Rear – triple cameras, Front – single camera |
| Camera specs | 50MP Samsung (OIS), 2MP macro, 2MP depth | 16MP selfie |
| Video maximum | 4K at 30fps, 1080p at 60fps, 960fps Slow mo| Front – 1080p at 30fps |
| Chipset | 6nm MediaTek Dimensity 1080 (TSMC), Mali-G68 MC4 |
| RAM and storage | 8GB LPDDR4x RAM, 256GB UFS 2.2 (Memfusion/MicroSD Card) |
| Battery and charging | 5,000mAh battery + 33W fast charging |
| Operating system | Android 12 OS, XOS 12 |
| Software support | 1-year software, 2 years security |
| IP rating | No IP rating |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, E-compass, Gyroscope, fingerprint |
| Network and connectivity | Dual Nano SIM 5G – N1, N3, N5, N7, N8, N20, N28, N38, N40, N41, N71, N77, N78 | Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1 |
Design and Display
The Zero 5G 2023 Turbo boasts a simple design on the back and the front. The rear finish on the Coral Orange shade makes it special. The 2023 Zero phone builds on the design that was announced last year but distills it even further.
The vegan leather back on the device feels great in the hands and also adds some grip, although I’d recommend you slap on the transparent case that’s provided in the box.
That’s only for protection, or else you are just fine without the case since it doesn’t hide the beauty and the rough grip of the phone.
The Coral Orange shade is more vibrant than Skylight Orange from last year. It also comes in a Pearly White shade that lacks the leather-like finish but offers a sheer amount of elegance.
The device has a punch-hole display on the front with a thick chin (almost like a double chin) at the bottom. The side and the top bezels are just fine. However, the punch-hole cut on the phone is huge in my opinion, if it had been smaller it had looked more appealing.
Nonetheless, it checks the modern design. The device has metal framing, which holds the NEG Glass front and the plastic back.
It has a volume rocker and the power button on the right spine, there’s a SIM card tray on the left spine, and at the bottom, there are multiple things to look at. It has a USB Type-C port (limited to USB 2.2), a speaker grille, a microphone, and everyone’s favorite 3.5mm audio jack.
Moving to the display, the Zero 5G 2023 Turbo sports a 6.78-inch LTPS LCD display with an FHD+ resolution. Although it’s an LCD panel, it’s of good quality, but still, I wish it had an AMOLED screen.
As for the form factor, it’s a bit taller than usual phones of this size. The screen has up to 120Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate.
Out of the box, the refresh rate is set to ‘Auto-switch’, which works fine. However, I forced it to 120Hz and the display is fluid, with no issues anywhere.
The screen has 500 nits of peak brightness, which is enough for normal daylight outdoors, but in harsh sunlight, the screen is only slightly visible.
It has Widevine L1 support, which means you can stream OTT content in the high settings on HDR.
Wrapping it up, the Zero 5G 2023 Turbo has a good design and a sharp and fluid display, but a smaller punch-hole cutout and a brighter panel would have been great.
Cameras
The cameras on the Infinix Zero 5G 2023 Turbo are a hit and a miss, depending on the situation. The 50MP Samsung main camera on the rear performs well in the daytime but it sometimes overexposes the shots.
As it is with Infinix phones, there’s AI CAM as the default mode. The camera app on the phone also offers HDR support, which brightens the overall image. Interestingly, the camera detects the subject in the frame. So it will tell if you are shooting a Cat or Dog.
The shutter isn’t too fast here, there’s half a second delay. But compared to what you see while clicking a picture, the final result always comes out to be better, that’s probably due to the processing that it does in the background. And that’s why the shutter delay. While the camera does a decent job in the daytime, it isn’t always consistent.
As for nighttime, the camera performs well and if there’s an extremely low-light environment, you can use the Super Night mode.
The Super Night mode is fine for pitch-dark environments, but if there’s some amount of lighting then it’s best to avoid using it since it brightens the shot and adds some noise to the final picture.
Whether it be daytime or nighttime, it’s better to manually take control of the exposure, as by adjusting it, the end result comes out great.
There’s a macro mode on the phone as well that does a decent job. The depth camera may not always be useless, if adjusted well, the portrait results may look good.
In addition to the regular camera, the device has Sky Shop, which lets you change the entire sky in a picture. This means you can make the pictures look dramatic. This is available in higher-end Infinix phones and it’s great to see the feature on the Zero 5G 2023 Turbo.
Moving to videos, the 50MP main lens supports OIS (Optical Image Stabilization), but it’s limited to 1080 at 30fps. Although, the device is capable of shooting 4K videos at 30fps.
There’s nothing much to say about videos here. In 1080p 30fps, the stabilization is decent enough. However, I wished it had OIS for 1080p 60fps as well.
The video quality is decent, both during the day and at night time. Interestingly, the camera supports 960fps slow-motion video. The slow-motion video isn’t sharp but does the job.
Apart from this, the device has a Film mode that lets you shoot vintage videos, travel videos, street footage, and more. Basically, these act as video filters.
Performance
If there’s something at which the Zero 5G 2023 Turbo excels, it’s the performance. The smartphone is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 1080 SoC, which is a 6nm chipset made by TSMC.
This is a new chipset and is capable of doing most things efficiently. Day-to-day tasks on the phone are a breeze.
When it comes to gaming, the smartphone can play almost all games in medium to high settings. Whether it be COD Mobile or Apex Legends, the device performs well in FPS and mobile shooters.
In some graphically demanding titles like Genshin Impact, it stutters a bit in the highest settings. However, in medium settings, the device can play the game at 60fps.
The smartphone doesn’t heat that much, but it does get warm at the back near the camera with an hour of gaming. It also gets warm while shooting videos for long hours. But by no means it’s a heater.
Coming to the memory, the device has 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage. In my usage, the phone did keep about 3-4 apps active in the background for a while.
Both the RAM and storage are expandable. RAM is expandable up to 3GB, via MemFusion, which is basically Infinix’s name for virtual RAM. The storage is expandable via a microSD card. And Yes, it does have a dedicated microSD card slot.
Apart from the real-life performance, the device also performed well in benchmarks. The Dimensity 1080 SoC is a clear winner here and it stood above Snapdragon 695 SoC, which is a popular chipset in the sub-Rs 20,000 segment.
Battery and fast charging
Another aspect where the Infinix Zero 5G 2023 Turbo shines is in the battery. Infinix has stacked a 5,000mAh battery inside the phone that offers a full day of usage.
Frankly speaking, I am a person who doesn’t game much on mobile. When it comes to my usage, I browse through the web to read articles, use most social media apps, and watch multiple YouTube videos.
That said, in my usage, the device lasted for around one and a half days. This is just when I was at home with the phone connected to Wi-Fi and the refresh rate set to 120Hz.
On days when I was out of my comfy room, using Google maps, camera, and music, I got a full day of usage. Not to mention, the phone was connected to 5G via my Airtel SIM when outdoors. Also, I turned on the mobile hotspot to share the internet with my secondary device.
So in the battery department, there are no complaints. And if you want the battery to last even further, there’s Ultra Power Saving mode. The feature only lets you use your phone dialer, messaging app, and calendar.
Charging the phone from 0 percent to 100 percent is fairly quick, thanks to the 33W fast charger, which by the way comes in the box.
However, this is the same as the last year. I expect Infinix to offer a better solution next time, anything over 45W would do just fine.
Software experience
If there’s anything that Infinix has to work on the most in its phones, it’s the software. The smartphone boots on Android 12 OS out of the box with XOS 12 on top.
Agreed there are many features that the XOS has to offer, but the skin forces users to agree to several policies throughout the UI.
Be it the Weather app, the AI gallery, or the messages app, there’s a User Agreement and a Privacy Policy that you need to agree to.
Also, there’s some pre-installed bloatware such as Palm Store, Hi Browser, AHA Games, and Facebook, to name a few.
Third-party apps can be uninstalled but proprietary apps like Hi Browser and Palm Store cannot be uninstalled, although, you can disable them.
Other than this, the user interface is fine. It has some useful features like Eye Care, Peak Proof, Kids mode, and Focus mode.
As mentioned above, Infinix has offered Android 12 OS out of the box, which is unfortunate since Android 13 has been out for some time.
Also, the company is promising only one software update (till Android 13), but thankfully, it will get two years of security updates.
So if you use your phone for not more than two years, you’d be fine with the device. But we expect Infinix to improve on the same and offer at least two to three years of software updates and three or more years of security updates.
Connectivity and extras
I’ve had no issues with connectivity on the phone. The calls were clear and loud to me and to the other party. In fact, the microphone on the device does a pretty good job of canceling the background noise while on a call.
This means if you are in traffic, the other party won’t be hearing the car honks.
When it comes to 5G connectivity, the device has 13 5G bands. In my testing, the device managed to achieve a download speed of 250Mbps+ on my Airtel SIM.
As for security, the device has an in-display fingerprint scanner, which works 8 out of 10 times. There’s facial unlock support as well, but it doesn’t work if the device is not in use for a long time.
Interestingly, the device retains the 3.5mm audio jack for connecting your wired earphones. It has a lackluster single-speaker setup that’s loud but the sound starts to crackle when the volume is cranked up to the highest. Also, it gets easily muffled when playing games.
Conclusion
Infinix has certainly tried to push limits with this one. The Infinix Zero 5G 2023 Turbo comes with a simple yet eye-catching design, offers a good LTPS display, and is high on performance. It provides a good battery life and has consistency in network reception.
However, its average cameras, bloated UI, and limited software support are some of the things to consider before purchasing.
If you can get past the aforesaid limitations and your budget is strictly Rs 20,000, then it’s a good device to consider for the asking price of Rs 19,999. With card offers or exchange discounts, the device can be picked up for a cheaper price.
But is worth noting that there are other offerings as well in this segment, which you can check before purchasing the Zero 5G 2023 Turbo.
Some of the competitors of the device are Realme 10 Pro and Poco X5 Pro. The Realme 10 Pro has a design of its own but packs a slightly weaker chip (mainly for gaming). Also, it has a maximum of 1080p 60fps video recording support, unlike Zero 5G’s 4K 30fps support.
The Poco X5 Pro, on the other hand, offers an AMOLED display and an ultra-wide camera. It also has a 67W fast charging speed. However, it’s in another league of Rs 25,000 range.