You may not think that you can get a lot of features on your phone for not a lot of money, but the Infinix Note 12 is here to prove you wrong. Costing just RM699, its price range undoubtedly puts it in the budget phone category, but amazingly, it also has flagship features that aren’t even available in certain mid-rangers.
Flexing with a 6.7 inch FullHD AMOLED display, a 50MP AI camera, a 5000mAh battery with fast charging, dual stereo speakers, as well as up to 11GB of Extended RAM, the Infinix Note 12 sounds like an absolute dream come true on paper; but is it really as great as it sounds?
Find out more in our full review below.
Infinix Note 12 Review Malaysia 2024
Specifications
- CPU: MediaTek Helio G88
- GPU: Mali-G52 MC2
- Display: 6.7" FullHD+ AMOLED
- Camera: 50MP f/1.6 main camera, 2MP f/2.4 depth camera, 16MP selfie cam
- Battery: 5000mAh, 33W charging
- Ports: USB Type-C, NFC, 3.5mm port
- Operating System: Android 10, XOS 10
- Weight: 184.5 g
- Dimensions: 164.4 x 76.7 x 7.9 mm
- Design & Built
Right out of the box, the phone's design is very eye-catching. We received the Jewel Blue model, which has a nice frosted matte finish on the casing. There are other variants as well, including a Glacier Green colour that caught our attention.
The boxy shape may seem awkward to hold, but once it's in your hands you barely notice it. Even though it isn’t the prettiest phone we’ve ever seen, it is still one of the most impressive when we factor in its price tag.
At the bottom of the phone is where you’ll find your USB-C port, bottom-firing speakers, as well as a 3.5mm audio jack. On the right is the power button, which also doubles as a fingerprint reader, as well as the volume rocker. The SIM card slot is located on the right of the device.
The power button/fingerprint reader feels like it's in the perfect spot, as we rarely had to adjust our grip to unlock the phone. It also helps the overall experience of the phone due to its fast and accurate response.
The display is probably the main selling point of the phone, but how good is it really for a phone that only costs RM699? Well, surprisingly, very good. The AMOLED display produces some great vibrant colours, and the 6.7-inch FHD+ screen only enhances the viewing experience even further.
The one glaring weakness is probably the 60hz refresh rate. We would have liked to have seen a 90hz display, considering that this is supposed to be a gaming-oriented device, but we can easily live with the standard 60hz refresh rate.
You also get a 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut and a peak brightness of 1000 nits, ensuring that your screen will always be visible outdoors. Add this with the 92% screen-to-body ratio and you’ll have a great time with media consumption on this device.
- Camera
It's in the camera system that the phone begins to reflect its price. At the back, you’ll see a 50MP f/1.6 wide AI camera, a 2MP Depth Sensor, and a QVGA camera, plus the 16MP selfie cam up at the front. The images you get from the 50MP main camera look decent, but definitely nothing amazing. Edge separation in the portrait mode is better than we expected, but the overall sharpness of the photo is disappointing. And make sure you have a decent amount of light, otherwise, you’ll have a blurry, grainy mess on your hands. The biggest weakness of the camera setup, however, comes down to its lack of an ultrawide lens. In 2022. Seriously?
Both the front and back cameras support 2K video, but we wouldn’t exactly recommend it. It offers no stabilization and the recording looks pretty terrible overall. You can turn on the Ultra Steady mode to get some better footage but you’ll be restricted to 1080p resolution if you do.
- Performance
When it comes to performance, there isn’t really a whole lot to complain about. The 12nm Helio G88 processor is paired with up to 6GB of RAM, which in itself can be extended to 11GB with the use of virtual RAM.
Everyday tasks like social media and chatting feel smooth for the most part, with a bit of jittering here and there every once in a while, especially when you’re multitasking. Also, while this may be less noticeable for regular users, we found the 60hz display to be downright sluggish, since we were used to handling phones with higher refresh rates.
This stops being an issue, however, when it comes to gaming. We used COD Mobile and Genshin Impact as the benchmark for the phone and got some pretty great results.
COD Mobile on Medium Graphics and High Frame Rate gave us barely any problem. We were able to run the game just fine and it never lagged or crashed on us once. You might even be able to crank the settings up even higher, but we hadn’t tested that out.
Genshin Impact was a different story though. For this phone, we had to lower every setting down to the minimum. We wouldn’t call it an enjoyable experience but it was at least playable. This doesn’t mean that lag and stutters never happen though, as when there are a ton of enemies on screen, you just know that the Helio processor is being pushed to the limit.
The XOS 10-10.6 on the device is, unfortunately, running on Android 11 instead of Android 12. The bloatware on the phone is egregious, but luckily they’re easily removable. Plus, there's actually a few cool features like the WhatsApp mode and Peak Proof mode.
- Battery
If you’re thinking, how is it possible to have a decent 5,000mAh battery at that price, prepare to be pleasantly surprised. Spending the whole day with the phone on some lightweight tasks with a few short gaming sessions thrown in can still leave you with about 25% at the end of the day. That’s honestly not bad, especially when you can charge the device from 0-100% in just 50 minutes using the 33W power brick.
- Conclusion
- Our Rating: 6/10
- Pros: Superb display; long battery life
- Cons: Subpar camera system
- Who is it for? If you need a phone for daily usage, regular gaming, and don't have use for advanced cameras, this one's for you!
Overall, the Infinix Note 12 is a pretty decent phone for its price. Its strengths lie in the AMOLED display, all-day battery life, and its ability to provide an enjoyable gaming experience. In contrast, the subpar camera system that lacks an ultrawide lens and shoots below-average videos docks some points off of our rating.
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