Introduction
Infinix has rapidly been gaining traction lately thanks to its excellent mid-rangers such as the Infinix Note 11 Pro and Zero X Pro. Along with sister companies Tecno and Itel the Chinese Transsion Holding's maker has captured significant market share in Africa and South Asia and has been looking to expand its global reach.
Hot on the heels of the Zero X Pro, which we found to be an excellen deal, we now get to review the Zero 5G - the first Infinix 5G phone. Beyond the NR support, the Infinix Zero 5G brings a 120Hz 6.78-inch LCD, a big 5,000 mAh battery and an attractive "uni-curve" design.
Infinix Zero 5G specs at a glance:
- Body: 168.7x76.5x8.8mm, 200g; Glass front, plastic frame, plastic back.
- Display: 6.78" IPS LCD, 120Hz, 500 nits (peak), 1080x2460px resolution, 20.5:9 aspect ratio, 388ppi.
- Chipset: MediaTek MT6877 Dimensity 900 5G (6 nm): Octa-core (2x2.4 GHz Cortex-A78 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G68 MC4.
- Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM; UFS 3.1; microSDXC (dedicated slot).
- OS/Software: Android 11, XOS 10.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 48 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/2.0", 0.8µm, PDAF; Telephoto: 13 MP, f/2.5, 50mm, 1/3.1", 1.12µm, PDAF, 2x optical zoom; Depth: 2 MP.
- Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.0, (wide), 1/2.76", 1.12µm.
- Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
- Battery: 5000mAh; Fast Charging 33W.
- Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); FM radio; 3.5mm jack.
Infinix's lineup is a bit of a confusing place lately, but the short version is this: rather counter-intuitively "Zero" is its flagship family. However, despite being the 5G handset by the company the Zero 5G ranks pretty low within that family. It's a bit better than the Zero X Neo, but beyond the chipset nowhere near as well-equipped as the vanilla Infinix Zero X and the Zero X Pro. In fact even the less premium in name Infinix Note 11 Pro has the Zero 5G outdone with stereo speakers, bigger display and higher-res main camera.
But performance and connectivity are arguably the two most important aspects of modern smartphones so the Infinix Zero 5G may well have a trick up its sleeve. The MediaTek Dimensity 900 is a pretty notable step up for the company which has previously stuck with MediaTek G chips. And Infinix went with speedy UFS 3.1 storage and LPDDR5X RAM to go with it, maximizing its potential .
Unboxing
Infinix is generous when it comes to accessories. Not a common sight on the smartphone market these days. The retail box for the Zero 5G is quite thick and sturdy with a two-piece design and a thick and secure cardboard cradle for the phone on the inside. The rest of the accessories are come in plastic packaging, which is far from the most ecological thing to do. A small gripe for sure, but these things can quickly scale, and we wish Infinix would reconsider and opt for more cardboard instead.
Inside the box, you get a 33W charger. It is rated for 5V@2A or 10W@3.3A and you get a fairly short but sturdy USB Type-A to Type-C cable too. You probably want to hold on to it as well or only replace it with other 5A-marked cables to accommodate the way Infinix has its 33W charging set up.
Beyond that, you also get a transparent TPU case of decent quality and with good grip. It even has a lip to protect the camera island. Last but not least, Infinix has thrown in a pair of wired earbuds with a built-in inline microphone. Nothing particularly flashy, but still great added value overall.
Design
The Infinix Zero 5G has an interesting design, particularly around the camera island. It is immediately reminiscent of the Oppo Find X3 in the way that it curves and slopes the back surface onto the camera assembly. And while Infinix was able to imitate the design of the far more premium Oppo quite well it couldn't quite match the Find X3 build quality as it's made of plastic.
As a whole, the Zero 5G uses a more retro two-piece design, with a unibody shell on the back and a front display assembly slotted into that. The sides are smooth and curvy. So much so, that the Zero 5G is incredibly slippery. We would recommend using a case for grip alone.
Beyond that, the particular shiny surface Infinix has managed to achieve is a fingerprint magnet. It feels like it is constantly greasy and dirty when in use.
Speaking of ergonomics, the camera hump on the Zero 5G is so big and oddly shaped that it wobbles quite a bit on a flat surface. So while what Infinix calls uni-curve design fares decently in terms of looks it's not doing well in terms of ergonomics.
We do like the selection of colors, though. These include Cosmic Black, Skylight Orange, and Horizon Blue, apparently inspired by: "far away galaxies", "the bright and energizing sun," and "mesmerizing sky," respectively. Skylight Orange seems to feature some sort of textured finish on the back, which probably mitigates our unit's dirt and grease issues. Though, we haven't seen that one in person, so we can't say for sure.
Also, on the plus side, the Zero 5G is reasonably light at 199 grams, partially because of its bill of materials. 8.77mm of thickness is also reasonable when considering the 5,000 mAh battery inside.
Build quality and materials
The Zero 5G is a budget device and, as such its body is plastic. Infinix calls it a "composite material that mimics the look and feel of glass creating an elegant device that feels premium to the touch", but that's just plastic with extra words.
We do agree that the material itself does a good job at imitating glass, though. We would have personally preferred a matte finish that does not gather as many prints and grease, but we are inclined to agree that the Zero 5G has a premium look and appears quite elegant from afar. In-hand, however, its mid-range standing is immediately obvious.
There is a bit of a hollow feel to the back of the Zero 5G, but overall the phone feels sturdy enough, with little to no flex. There's no ingress protection rating though, nor a more durable sheet of glass in front of the display.
Controls
The Zero 5G has a pretty standard control layout. That is to say, aside from the front-facing LED flash positioned in the top right corner, above the display. While definitely a rarity on mobile phones as a whole, selfie flashes are present on a number of Infinix phones.
Alongside it are the light sensor and a proximity sensor. Particularly for a budget device. The earpiece is also tucked away nicely in the top bezel, which makes for a clean look. There is no notification LED there, in case you were wondering. Speaking of sensors, the Zero 5G also has a g-sensor, e-compass and a gyroscope. Pretty well equipped overall, with no significant omissions.
On a less positive note, the Zero 5G lacks a stereo speaker setup, not even a hybrid one with an amplified earpiece. The sole speaker on the Zero 5G is bottom-firing and is next to the Type-C port, wired for USB 2.0 data speeds and 33W of charging. Also on the bottom side - the primary microphone and a trusty old 3.5mm audio jack. The included FM radio receiver also leverages the latter in the Zero 5G.
The right side of the Zero 5G houses the volume rocker, which feels rather horrible. The keys are mushy and soft, with practically no travel or tactile feedback. At least they are positioned well-enough vertically.
On the other hand, the power button/fingerprint reader combo feels great. It is nice and "clicky," and the fingerprint reader is fast and accurate. No complaints there.
The left bezel on the Zero 5G only houses the card tray. It is fully featured and takes two nano-SIM slots on one side and a microSD slot on the other. No picking and choosing necessary.
The top bezel on the Zero 5G is basically empty, sans for the secondary noise-canceling microphone.
Connectivity
We tend to skip this section on most of our reviews these days, but we go over things for the Zero 5G since Infinix is putting a big emphasis on its connectivity. Particularly its 5G modem, with support for 13 bands. The full list is: n38, n40, n41, n77, n78, n79 Sub6 TDD and n1, n3, n5, n7, n8, n20 and n28 Sub6 FDD. The official Infinix website mentions an X6715 device variant with all of the aforementioned bands and an X6715B one that lacks a few of the FDD bands.
As we mentioned, the Zero 5G has Dual-SIM support and True Dual 5G SIM (5G SA + 5G SA) standby and VoNR, all courtesy of the MediaTek Dimensity 900 5G. As for local connectivity, the Dimensity 900 offers 2x2 M-MIMO Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.2. You also get an FM radio receiver and OTG support. No NFC, though.
6.78" 120Hz LCD
The Infinix Zero 5G has a pretty solid display on paper. Stretching to 6.78 inches it has FullHD (1080 x 2460 pixels) native resolution, which at that size works out to a very competent 388 ppi of density. It can also refresh at 120Hz, which is great to see.
The real life performance left us wanting however. For starters the panel can only reach around 499 nits of brightness. You get that by pulling the slider to 100%, and the phone won't get higher in auto mode either, regardless of ambient conditions. That many nits mean you will have issues making out what's on the display in the bright outdoors.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, |
White, |
||
| 0 | 846 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 826 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 814 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 725 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 716 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 682 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 657 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 607 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 597 | ∞ | |
| 0.475 | 540 | 1137:1 | |
| 0.4 | 534 | 1335:1 | |
| 0 | 515 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 514 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 511 | ∞ | |
| 0.33 | 510 | 1545:1 | |
| 0.31 | 499 | 1610:1 | |
| 0.338 | 497 | 1470:1 | |
| 0.284 | 488 | 1718:1 | |
| 0.4 | 477 | 1193:1 | |
| 0 | 476 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 475 | ∞ | |
| 0.292 | 470 | 1610:1 | |
| 0.327 | 458 | 1401:1 | |
| 0 | 458 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 457 | ∞ | |
| 0.337 | 447 | 1326:1 | |
| 0.348 | 433 | 1244:1 | |
| 0 | 429 | ∞ | |
| 0.286 | 426 | 1490:1 | |
| 0 | 422 | ∞ | |
| 0.264 | 410 | 1553:1 | |
| 0 | 396 | 1494:1 | |
| 0 | 393 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 391 | ∞ | |
| 0.236 | 385 | 1631:1 | |
Color reproduction on the Zero 5G's screen is all over the place. Infinix has been struggling with this on at least a few of its devices, with the problem only made worse by the fact that there are no color profiles or adjustments available in software. You are stuck with the color profile you get, which is way off the mark. It targets the sRGB color space, but blues, in particular, are totally off and cyan is the biggest offender. It is so oversaturated that it gives a cold hue to all of the colors. Some of the greens are also so off that they are blue. The white point is also missed in the same dirrection.
The Zero 5G's display has no HDR support, while the phone itself is only certified for Google's Widevine L3 DRM, which means it is limited to streaming in SD quality on platforms like Netflix.
HDR decoding • HDR in YouTube • Widevine L3 • Netflix app
The final problem with the Infinix Zero 5G display panel is the horribly sluggish pixel response time. It is not that bad in 60Hz mode, but in 120Hz every scroll on finer text turns it into a blurry mess. Our best guess is that Infinix is just using a lower quality panel and consequently pushing it and its RTC (Response Time Compensation) hard, causing some ghosting or overshooting, mostly visible as white halos.
On a slightly more positive note, at least Infinix has a surprisingly competent setup for handling high refresh rate content. You get to choose between three different modes in settings. 60Hz works exactly as expected - it just locks refresh rate at 60Hz.
In contrast, 120Hz mode is not strictly locked at 120Hz, but rather, it favors 120Hz, while still doing some strategic changing down to 90Hz or 60Hz in some apps to save power. Annoyingly, Google Chrome works at 90Hz in this mode. At least most other browsers aren't afflicted.
Infinix Zero 5G working in 120Hz mode
We made sure to try a few games, known to be able to render at over 60fps as well. All of them supported the 120Hz mode, and while the Infinix Zero 5G doesn't have a built-in fps meter they certainly ran above 60fps too.
Games in 120Hz mode
The Auto-switch refresh rate mode tries its best to offer more dynamic refresh rate management, and indeed we noticed that the Infinix Zero 5G dropped down to 60Hz a lot more frequently in auto mode. Notably, while playing video, which is important for battery conservation. The problem is that this often happens for apps that could benefit from 120Hz. Chrome only ran at 60Hz, which is a particularly annoying.
Infinix Zero 5G working in Auto-switch refresh rate mode
The same goes for games. Out of the titles we already confirmed were running in a high refresh rate mode, and with greater than 60fps, we only managed to get one to behave as expected while in auto mode. The rest were capped at 60fps.
Games in Auto-switch refresh rate mode
So overall, high refresh rate handling on the Infinix is good but still not perfect. Some extra work is either required to make the auto mode better or, alternatively, Infinix could just implement a per-app refresh rate settings menu, which would allow you to just pick and choose when to save on power and when to have the benefits of a smoother experience.
Battery life
The Infinix Zero 5G has a big 5,000 mAh battery at its disposal. It also uses that capacity incredibly well, scoring an impressive total endurance rating of 140 hours in our tests. On the one hand, the 6nm Dimensity 900 chipset, with its efficient internal 5G modem, is clearly sipping power both during standby and active calls. And despite its other shortcomings, the 6.78-inch LCD is at least excellently power-efficient.
Looking at these numbers compared to the Infinix Zero X Pro and other MediaTek Helio G95 phones, like the Realme 8, further proves that battery efficiency is one area in which the newer and higher-end Dimensity 900 chipset excels.
Our battery tests were automated thanks to SmartViser, using its viSerDevice app. The endurance rating denotes how long the battery charge will last you if you use the device for an hour of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. More details can be found here.
Video test carried out in 60Hz refresh rate mode. Web browsing test done at the display's highest refresh rate whenever possible. Refer to the respective reviews for specifics. To adjust the endurance rating formula to match your own usage patterns check out our all-time battery test results chart where you can also find all phones we've tested.
Charging speed
The Infinix Zero 5G can charge at up to 33W via its proprietary charging tech. While decent on paper, its charging rate is not that impressive in real life. But it has all of the budget Samsung models beat and does charge a bit faster than the Infinix Note 10 Pro and Note 11 Pro, which both technically charge at the same rate and have the same battery capacity.
On the flip side, the Tecno Camon 18 Premier - another phone related to the Zero 5G charges much faster and even more so the Infinix Zero X Pro.
30min charging test (from 0%)
Higher is better
- Infinix Zero X Pro
76% - Poco F3
67% - OnePlus Nord CE 5G
67% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
65% - Tecno Camon 18 Premier
60% - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
58% - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G
58% - Realme 8
56% - Poco M4 Pro 5G
54% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
50% - Poco X3 Pro
50% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G
33% - Infinix Zero 5G
30% - Realme 8i
30% - Infinix Note 10 Pro
26% - Infinix Note 11 Pro
25% - Samsung Galaxy A32
25% - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
23% - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
23% - Samsung Galaxy A22
23% - Samsung Galaxy A03s
15%
Time to full charge (from 0%)
Lower is better
- Poco F3
0:56h - Infinix Zero X Pro
0:58h - OnePlus Nord CE 5G
1:03h - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
1:04h - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G
1:04h - Tecno Camon 18 Premier
1:05h - Poco M4 Pro 5G
1:07h - Poco X3 Pro
1:08h - Realme 8
1:09h - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
1:13h - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
1:21h - Infinix Zero 5G
1:55h - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G
2:00h - Infinix Note 10 Pro
2:05h - Infinix Note 11 Pro
2:07h - Samsung Galaxy A32
2:19h - Samsung Galaxy A22
2:20h - Realme 8i
2:21h - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
2:24h - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
2:29h - Samsung Galaxy A03s
3:38h
Speaker
The Infinix Zero 5G just has a single bottom-firing speaker. Not even using the earpieice as a second one, which is doubly disappointing seeing how the Infinix Note 11 Pro has a decent hybrid setup. Then again, the flagship Infinix Zero X Pro is also stuck with a single speaker on the bottom, so there is that.
The Zero 5G managed to score a GOOD loudness rating, but only just. It's nowhere near the impressive output of the Infinix Note 11 Pro. The frequency response curve is not particularly clean but still a bit more accurate than that on the Infinix Zero X Pro, especially in the highs. Again, however, not as good as that on the Note 11 Pro.
You can, however, tune out a big chunk of these deficiencies if you invest enough time inside the included DTS Sound platform. Audio options are surprisingly in-depth and abundant. Unfortunately, a bit wasted on the basic speaker setup. Kind of the polar opposite of the display situation, where you get zero control over what might have been much better hardware.
Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.
XOS 10 on top of Android 11
Infinix has its own XOS Android skin, which has already gone through quite a few iterations over the years. So many, in fact that it is a bit hard to keep track of. Our Infinix Note 10 Pro unit originally arrived running XOS 7.6, whereas the Note 11 Pro came with XOS 8 and got updated to XOS 10.
The Zero X Pro came with the same XOS 10 out of the box, and so did the Zero 5G. Yet all these XOS versions are based on Android 11. There's no word on a potential update to Android 12 yet either.
XOS 10 is chuck-full of features and options. Perhaps even overwhelmingly so.
The bloatware is abundant Infinix has included quite a few of its own apps, as well as third-party ones, oftentimes with overlapping feature sets.
A large number of pre-loaded apps
The important thing to note is that XOS 10 works smoothly, with no hiccups or stutters despite the influx of apps. So Infinix has done its job pretty well on that front.
Customization run deep. Starting from the lock screen, you get an optional Magazine service. Beyond that, the clock screen is also affected by the powerful Theme support, which includes things like video slide shows, custom fonts, as well as an online Theme repository in the shape of a separate XTheme app.
Lock screen • Magazine service • Extensive themes support
The home screen includes a custom feed as the leftmost desktop pane, as well as big folders to organize and categorize your shortcuts by default.
Home screen and folders
Of course, if this is not to your liking, you can revert back to just having a list of shortcuts on the home screens, sans folders. And that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to customization. You can tweak things like grid size, gestures, notification badges. You can even switch to a vertical rather than horizontal scrolling for the homescreen and change the text color.
Launcher options and customization
XOS 10 is more visually polished overall, with rebound effects and a refreshed look and feel. While not new with XOS 10, it is worth noting that the notification shade and control center are separated out into two separate entities. Notifications are called up with a swipe down from the top left of the phone, while a top-right swipe reveals quick toggles and other controls.
Notifications and quick toggles
We won't be going through every feature and app available in XOS 10, but there are some noteworthy highlights. There is actually a dedicated Special function menu that houses many of these.
Special functions menu
Lightning Multi-Window has a self-explanatory title. It is a floating window implementation. Far from the best we've seen, but still functional.
Lightning Multi-Window
The same goes for Smart Panel. It's among the more customizable implementations of this feature that we have seen.
Smart Panel
Social Turbo houses a whole slew of powerful features meant to work on top of WhatsApp and enhance its factory experience.
Social Turbo features to enhance WhatsApp
MOL is a rather powerful translation engine that works system-wide and can even function offline. Not only can you use it to translate text, but it also features a Face-to-face translator component, which can be used to have an in-person conversation with a foreign speaker. Nothing that's not available as a third-party app, but still quite convenient to just have baked-in.
MOL translator
Naturally, you get other things like extensive gestures, app cloning, known as XClone, as well as some gimmicks like Peek Proof, which "hides" parts of the screen for whatever reason.
Gestures • XClone • Peak Proof
You get in-depth control over battery endurance and power-saving too through the Power Marathon app, including some interesting "smart" AI features.
Power Marathon
Speaking of AI features, XOS 10 has a whole menu of these as one of the highlights of the new version 10 update. AI Assistant can monitor for a number of triggers, gather all sorts of usage data, and then send out notifications and suggest actions accordingly. Definitely worth checking out.
Smart Scenes and Smart Accelerator
Another highlighted XOS 10 feature, or rather set of features, called Monster Game Kit has to do with game optimization. Infinix has a baked-in Dar-Link 2.0 software, which promises AI-driven optimization of games, including frame rate stability, decreasing touch latency and managing hardware performance and temperature. There is a system-wide Game Mode toggle, as well as a Game Mode setting menu to tweak most of the behavior.
Game Mode
The XArena app is your standard game launcher, complete with various tweaks, like notification suppression. Once you add an app to XArena and start it from there, you also get an in-game toolbar with plenty of convenient shortcuts, including floating app support.
XArena and in-game toolbar
Again, this is far from the most cohesive or feature-complete gaming suite we have seen. An fps counter, finer performance controls and some capture/streaming options are notable omissions. Still XOS 10 goes far and beyond most of its Android UI rivals in this department.
In fact, there is no denying that Infinix clearly has an ambitious software effort, bordering on a whole dedicated ecosystem of its own. In case you need any proof of that, consider the Folax voice assistant, which appears to be a totally unique Infinix entry into the niche. A fairly-capable one at that, which doesn't even require a network connection to function.
Folax voice assistant
And then there are also apps like InSync and Welife, which are meant to manage IoT ecosystems. The first appears to be a first-party Infinix one, with support for a range of Infinix smart TVs and an Infinix laptop.
IoT apps and ecosystems
Circling back to our original point about XOS 10, there is truly a lot to cover here, and we barely scratched the surface. If we had to sum up the experience, we would say it is fluent and pleasant from a performance standpoint, but quite chaotic. XOS is still in desperate need of some debloating and organization. Thankfully, for the most part, you can do that yourself with a bit of time and tweaking, and the end result could be a solid Android 11 experience.
Performance and benchmarks
Performance is sort of the main focal point for the Infinix Zero 5G. That and connectivity, but both come courtesy of the upgrade to the MediaTek Dimensity 900 5G chipset. Like we said previously, Infinix phones, even the flagship Zero X Pro, stuck to lower-end MediaTek G series chips, so this is new best by the manufacturer.
The Dimensity 900 has two Cortex-A78 big cores, clocked at up to 2.4GHz, which is markedly better than the pair of Cortex-A76 ones running at 2.05GHz inside the MediaTek Dimensity G96 or G95. Alongside those are six Cortex-A55 units, working at up to 2.0GHz. The GPU inside the Dimensity is also a nice step up from G-series chips - a four-core Mali-G68. All of this inside a modern and efficient 6nm package, compared to the 12nm manufacturing process on G96 and G95 chips.
On top of all that, the Infinix Zero 5G pairs its Dimensity 900 chipset with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB of fast UFS 3.1 storage. These details matter at the end of the day, particularly for system responsiveness.
Infinix is marketing an advanced cooling system for the Zero 5G. In particular, something it calls "Heat Pipe Thermal Module 2.0 & 3-D Cooling Master". The latter likely being a thermal management solution rather than hardware. In practice the Zero 5G doesn't really heat up to the touch even with aggressive and prolonged loads.
Let's kick things off with some pure-CPU loads and GeekBench. First off, while the Dimensity 900 is still not a particularly popular chipset, we do have at least one point for comparison in the Oppo Reno6 5G. We are happy to see that the two devices score very closely across the board, which means that Infinix is making the most out of the chip and not leaving performance on the table.
GeekBench 5 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
2909 - Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
2832 - Poco X3 Pro
2574 - Infinix Zero 5G
2169 - Oppo Reno6 5G
2131 - Realme 8i
1886 - Infinix Note 11 Pro
1800 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
1797 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G
1796 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
1780 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
1719 - Realme 8
1690 - Infinix Zero X Pro
1674 - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
1673 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
1644 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
1599 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10S
1576 - Samsung Galaxy A22
1372 - Xiaomi Redmi 10
1294 - Samsung Galaxy A32
1277 - Samsung Galaxy A03s
889
GeekBench 5 (single-core)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
803 - Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
787 - Poco X3 Pro
735 - Oppo Reno6 5G
722 - Infinix Zero 5G
706 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
597 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
569 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
560 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G
560 - Realme 8i
539 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
534 - Realme 8
533 - Infinix Note 11 Pro
520 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
510 - Infinix Zero X Pro
506 - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
505 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10S
502 - Samsung Galaxy A22
376 - Xiaomi Redmi 10
361 - Samsung Galaxy A32
361 - Samsung Galaxy A03s
179
As expected, the Dimensity 900 is handily beating out its Helio G-series siblings, same goes for Dimensity 700 and 800 chips, as well as most older 700 series Snapdragon chips and definitely the Snapdragon 600 models. It comes shoer of the Snapdragon 778G and 780G chips, as well as the Snapdragon 860 in both single and multi-threaded workloads.
AnTuTu paints a similar picture for overall performance. Since it is a more well-rounded benchmark, it also includes graphics tests and considers memory and storage performance.
AnTuTu 8
Higher is better
- Poco F3
631850 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
465534 - Poco X3 Pro
453223 - Infinix Zero 5G
419083 - Oppo Reno6 5G
362450 - Infinix Zero X Pro
313652 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
310342 - Realme 8
298328 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
296721 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
295442 - Realme 8i
293507 - Infinix Note 11 Pro
290797 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G
290172 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
242155 - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
226561 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
218788 - Samsung Galaxy A22
185358 - Samsung Galaxy A32
174332 - Samsung Galaxy A03s
103465
AnTuTu 9
Higher is better
- Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
527663 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
522490 - Infinix Zero 5G
487639 - Oppo Reno6 5G
430765 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
365490 - Infinix Zero X Pro
363939 - Realme 8
357488 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
353663 - Infinix Note 11 Pro
343527 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10S
330909 - Realme 8i
308544 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G
294251 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
223188 - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
222125 - Samsung Galaxy A22
165959 - Samsung Galaxy A03s
101299
The latter are actually quite important to illustrate the importance of the faster memory Infinix is using. You just need to look at the AnTuTu score of the Reno6 5G, which is also rocking the Dimensity 900 5G chipset, but is stuck with UFS 2.1 storage.
Moving on to graphics tests and GFXBench we see a similar picture for overall performance. The Dimensity 900 and its Mali-G78 MC4 beat out Helio G chips, like the G95 or G96.
GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Poco X3 Pro
93 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
78 - Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
68 - Infinix Zero 5G
57 - Infinix Zero X Pro
49 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
48 - Realme 8
48 - Samsung Galaxy A22
42 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G
40 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
37 - Realme 8i
33 - Infinix Note 11 Pro
31 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
31 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
21 - Samsung Galaxy A32
21 - Samsung Galaxy A03s
19
GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (offscreen 1080p)
Higher is better
- Poco X3 Pro
102 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
89 - Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
78 - Infinix Zero 5G
64 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
54 - Infinix Zero X Pro
54 - Realme 8
45
40
37
37
32
24
24
24
11
GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Poco X3 Pro
67 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
57 - Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
49 - Infinix Zero 5G
35 - Samsung Galaxy A22
30 - Infinix Zero X Pro
29 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G
29 - Realme 8
29 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
28 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
23 - Realme 8i
22 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
21 - Infinix Note 11 Pro
20 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
15 - Samsung Galaxy A03s
14 - Samsung Galaxy A32
13
GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)
Higher is better
- Poco X3 Pro
75 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
65 - Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
56 - Infinix Zero 5G
43 - Infinix Zero X Pro
34 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
33 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G
33 - Realme 8
33 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
26 - Infinix Note 11 Pro
24 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
24 - Realme 8i
24 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
17 - Samsung Galaxy A32
15 - Samsung Galaxy A22
15 - Samsung Galaxy A03s
7.9
At the top of the chart we once again find the Snapdragon 778G, 780G and 860 with their respective Adreno GPUs. Mind you, you should be looking at off-screen performance to get comparable results not dependent on device resolution.
Things don't change much as the OpenGL ES test difficulty starts to ramp up either.
GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Poco X3 Pro
38 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
35 - Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
28 - Infinix Zero 5G
19 - Infinix Zero X Pro
18 - Realme 8
18 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
17 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G
17 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
16 - Samsung Galaxy A22
16 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
13 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
12 - Infinix Note 11 Pro
11 - Realme 8i
11 - Samsung Galaxy A32
8.1 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
7.9 - Samsung Galaxy A03s
5.5
GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)
Higher is better
- Poco X3 Pro
45 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
40 - Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
33 - Infinix Zero 5G
25 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
20 - Infinix Zero X Pro
20 - Realme 8
20 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
19 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G
19 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
16 - Infinix Note 11 Pro
14 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
14 - Realme 8i
14 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
9.3 - Samsung Galaxy A32
9.3 - Samsung Galaxy A22
9.3 - Samsung Galaxy A03s
3.5
GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Poco X3 Pro
26 - Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
19 - Infinix Zero 5G
14 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
12 - Infinix Zero X Pro
12 - Realme 8
12 - Samsung Galaxy A22
9.2 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
8.4 - Infinix Note 11 Pro
7.9 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
5.6 - Samsung Galaxy A32
5
GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Poco X3 Pro
17 - Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
13 - Infinix Zero 5G
10 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
7.7 - Realme 8
7.7 - Infinix Zero X Pro
7.6 - Infinix Note 11 Pro
5.6 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
5.5 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
3.7 - Samsung Galaxy A32
3.3 - Samsung Galaxy A22
3.3
The same is true when we switch over to Vulkan for our rendering, which is great to see.
GFX Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Poco X3 Pro
27 - Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
20 - Infinix Zero 5G
13 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
11 - Infinix Zero X Pro
11 - Realme 8
11 - Samsung Galaxy A22
9.4 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
7.8 - Infinix Note 11 Pro
7.3 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
5.3 - Samsung Galaxy A32
4.4
GFX Aztek Vulkan High (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Poco X3 Pro
18 - Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
14 - Infinix Zero 5G
9.5 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
7.5 - Infinix Zero X Pro
7.5 - Realme 8
7.5 - Infinix Note 11 Pro
5.1 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
5.1 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
3.5 - Samsung Galaxy A32
2.9 - Samsung Galaxy A22
2.9
3DMark is even more generous towards the Infinix Zero 5G and its Dimensity 900 chipset. Particularly in OpenGL testing.
3DMark SSE ES 3.1 (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
4979 - Infinix Zero 5G
3845 - Oppo Reno6 5G
3764 - Infinix Zero X Pro
2778 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
2748 - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
2638 - Realme 8
2610 - Infinix Note 11 Pro
2431 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
2391 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
1471 - Samsung Galaxy A22
1361 - Samsung Galaxy A32
1323
3DMark SSE Vulkan 1.0 (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
4608 - Oppo Reno6 5G
3818 - Infinix Zero 5G
3558 - Infinix Zero X Pro
2860 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
2854 - Realme 8
2639 - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
2509 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
2257 - Infinix Note 11 Pro
2256 - Samsung Galaxy A22
1383 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
1372 - Samsung Galaxy A32
1371
3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Poco X3 Pro
3401 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
3136 - Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
2477 - Infinix Zero 5G
2035 - Oppo Reno6 5G
2024 - Infinix Zero X Pro
1509 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
1506 - Realme 8
1486 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
1232 - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
1185 - Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G
1113 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
1104 - Realme 8i
1102 - Infinix Note 11 Pro
1100 - Samsung Galaxy A22
691 - Samsung Galaxy A32
686 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
482
All things considered, the Infinix Zero 5G is a great all-around performer. It makes the most out of its MediaTek Dimensity 900 5G chipset in every aspect. The fast UFS 3.1 storage is an appreciated addition in an observable way too. XOS is not holding the Zero 5G back either. You get an excellent budget performer with a powerful and efficient chip with potent and modern connectivity to boot.
Camera
The Infinix Zero 5G has a pretty unconventional triple camera setup on the back. A dedicated 2x telephoto snapper is not a common sight on a budget device thesee days. Infinix has decided to go for it instead of an ultrawide, which is the far more popular choice.
Infinix does have an aptitude for camera experimentation, and the camera setup on the Zero 5G is pretty similar to that on the Infinix Note 11 Pro. Actually, the primary Quad Bayer camera appears to be downgraded, and the Zero 5G now uses a 48MP f/1.8 main camera. It is based on the Samsung ISOCELL Plus S5KGM1 sensor, commonly known as the GM1. It is a 1/2.0" sensor with 0.8µm pixels and PDAF.
The dedicated telephoto camera is a 13MP 50mm unit with PDAF. It uses a Samsung ISOCELL S5K3L6 sensor - 1/3.1" sensor size and 1.12µm individual pixels and F/2.5 lens, just like the Infinix Note 11 Pro.
The 2MP depth sensor is a GalaxyCore gc02m1b model. The selfie cam has a 16MP resolution and f/2.0 aperture. It uses a Hynix hi1631q sensor. No autofocus on it. This is basically identical to the selfie setup on the Note 11 Pro and Note 10 Pro.
Infinix didn't forget to include a selfie LED flash on the Zero 5G. It has sort of become a signature piece of kit for the company. The Zero 5G gets a simpler setup than the Zero X Pro with just one set of two LED lights on the right-hand side instead of two symmetrical units. Even so, a dedicated hardware selfie flash is still a rare sight in general. Vivo did, however, recently include even more advanced selfie flash hardware with color controls on the V23 and V23 Pro.
Camera app
The default camera app is well-organized and has a surprising number of options and additional features. There is a powerful AI scene detection system that automatically switches between modes and sometimes suggests switching camera modes outright, like directing you to the dedicated Super Night mode when there is not enough light. There is a mode carousel on the bottom and a slide-out menu, and plenty of settings to fiddle with.
Main camera UI, modes and settings
Our sole complaint about the AI is that we found no way of disabling it, short of switching to Pro mode. Since we are on the topic, you get exposure correction (-2 - +2), shutter speed (1/1500 - 30s), ISO (100 - 6400), white balance (2000 - 9000K), manual focus and three metering modes.
Pro photo mode and focus points
Speaking of focus and metering, the viewfinder includes squares to visualize focus points, which we find really convenient and is a surprisingly uncommon feature.
The video capture UI is pretty straightforward. Noteworthy features include beauty filters in video, as well as portrait video with a faux defocused background.
Video capture UI
And speaking of nifty added-value features, there is the Short video mode, which has beauty filters, as well as Snapchat-style live effects and overlays-neat little addition.
Short video filters and lenses
Infinix has spared no effort with its beauty mode when it comes to filters. You get a whole slew of individualized controls and sliders as well as many options to create and save custom filters and looks.
Beauty filters
Photo quality - daylight
Let's kick things off with the main 48MP camera. Since it is a Quad-Bayer camera, it captures 12MP stills by default. The Samsung GM1 is a fairly-popular sensor that has already proven its salt. We know it is capable of capturing solid shots if tuned correctly.
The 12MP full auto stills from the Infinix Zero 5G are decent but not impressive in any way. There is a good amount of detail in the shots, but some textures can still appear relatively soft. Also, fine patterns often have a moire effect. Dynamic range is also a bit limited, and colors can appear on the duller side.
Infinix Zero 5G: 12MP main camera samples
However, these are all relatively minor complaints compared to the one major bug our review unit experienced consistently - nearly half the shots captured with the main camera have a very obvious pink tint. It is probably a software processing bug since we noticed that the first half would have the defect out of say 10 shots of a given scene, while the rest were fine. Grabbing a spot exposure by tapping on the viewfinder also seems to usually fix the problem.
Infinix Zero 5G: 12MP main camera samples with color hue
Unfortunately, the issue persists when shooting in 48MP mode. Not that we would otherwise recommend using this mode, since it doesn't seem to retain any extra detail and only produces larger file sizes and poor per-pixel detail.
Infinix Zero 5G: 48MP main camera samples
Infinix Zero 5G: 48MP main camera samples with color hue
Luckily, whatever is causing the nasty bug doesn't seem to affect the 2x zoom telephoto camera. Its 13MP stills tend to have a lot more and better finer detail than the main camera. The shots generally look more natural and cleaner too. We also tend to like the telephoto's color rendition better.
Infinix Zero 5G: 13MP 2x telephoto camera samples
The telephoto tends to overexpose shots, which is only made worse by its somewhat limited dynamic range. Autofocus on the telephoto is also quite temperamental. It is slow, often misses the target entirely and is stubborn, making it hard to force a refocus. You can control its focus manually in Pro mode, which is excellent, but that just makes it evident that the camera has a very limited focus range, to begin with. This makes the telephoto pretty useless for close-up shots, which we did try in the absence of a dedicated macro camera. The autofocus can also get quite wobbly and "floaty" at times, particularly right after you switch over to the telephoto.
The Zero 5G can actually digitally zoom all the way up to 30x. This is all done digitally and results, as you can expect, are far from ideal.
Infinix Zero 5G 13MP telephoto: 5x • 10x • 5x • 10x • 5x • 10x • 5x • 10x
If its maker is to be believed, the Infinix Zero 5G should excel at portrait photography. Not only is there are dedicated 2MP depth camera on the back, but Infinix also refers to the 2x telephoto as a "portrait camera" in some of its marketing. Indeed, you can choose to use the telephoto via a rather confusing "50mm" toggle while in portrait mode.
To be honest, neither camera excels at capturing portraits. Subject detection and separation are pretty mediocre on both. The artificial bokeh looks decent, which is a plus. And if we had to choose, we would definitely go for the main camera, since it tends to at least get the subject in focus most of the time.
Infinix Zero 5G: 12MP main camera portrait samples
The telephoto camera just produces blurry portraits almost every time. If you try hard and capture a whole lot, you can still get the occasional usable still. But that's not really good enough in our book.
Infinix Zero 5G: 13MP telephoto camera portrait samples
As a bit of a consolation, at least portrait mode works just as well with non-human subjects. You still have to battle all of the aforementioned issues, tough.
Infinix Zero 5G: portrait samples of non-human subjects
Here is how the Infinix Zero 5G stacks up against other devices in our extensive photo comparison database. For the sake of thoroughness, we include shots from the main camera in both 12MP and 48MP modes, as well as 13MP stills from the 2x telephoto.
Infinix Zero 5G against the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 and the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G in our Photo compare tool
48MP: Infinix Zero 5G against the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 and the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G in our Photo compare tool
Photo quality - selfies
16MP selfies from the Zero 5G look solid overall. Details are on point and so are colors. The dynamic range isn't all that bad either.
Infinix Zero 5G: 16MP selfie camera samples
The selfie lacks autofocus, and its focal plane is not particularly wide, so you do have to be careful about that. Thankfully, the focus point indicators show up for the selfie camera as well, making it less of a guessing game. We don't know why more manufacturers don't include this feature.
Selfie portraits are rather underwhelming, but not terrible. In fact, subject detection and separation arguably work a bit better on selfies than the main and telephoto cameras. We did notice that portrait selfies tend to be rather overexposed compared to their regular counterparts, but that's not a major issue.
Infinix Zero 5G: 16MP selfie camera portrait samples
Photo quality- low-light
Regular low-light 12MP shots from the main camera look surprisingly decent. Detail is well retained and there's not too much extra noise.
Even the dynamic range is fine. The Zero 5G has auto night mode, which kicks in consistently and appears to be doing some HDR stacking, restoring shadows a bit and containing light sources.
Infinix Zero 5G: 12MP main camera low-light samples
Best of all, the annoying color hue issue we experienced on the main cam in daylight seems to be all but absent at night.
48MP low-light shots have a bit less sharpening applied to them and do look slightly more natural. We wouldn't say you get more detail with them, though, so the bigger file size is likely not worth it.
Infinix Zero 5G: 48MP main camera low-light samples
The Zero 5G has a dedicated Super Night mode as well. It improves shots from the main camera quite a bit, recovering both shadows and highlights much better than the default AI mode. Other than that, detail remains about the same, which was already good, to begin with, so we can't complain.
Infinix Zero 5G: 12MP main camera Super Night mode samples
The Zero 5G and its Dimensity 900 5G chipset also manage to process night mode shots decently quickly. It usually takes four seconds or so, which is quite reasonable.
The 13MP telephoto camera struggles quite a bit more in low-light. Shots come out looking quite soft and often even blurry since the inconsistent autofocus has an even harder time at night.
Infinix Zero 5G: 13MP 2x telephoto low-light samples
If you plan to use the telephoto at night, you have to stick to Super Night mode, which thankfully is available for it as well. While these shots look aggressively sharpened and processed, they are at least usable.
Infinix Zero 5G: 13MP 2x telephoto Super Night mode samples
The 16MP selfie camera holds up well in low-light. Full auto mode is decent enough, but you do get other options as well-notably, the selfie dual-LED flash. While you can control its light intensity a bit by sliding up and down on the camera viewfinder, we found its light to be a bit harsh with a tendency to wash our and destroy skin features. Super Night mode selfies look a lot better, in our opinion. However, those are only viable if there is at least some ambient light around you. If there is not enough of that or you want to capture selfies in complete darkness, then selfie LEDs are definitely your best bet.
Infinix Zero 5G low-light selfies: Auto • selfie LEDs • Night mode
Video capture quality
The Infinix Zero 5G can capture video at up to 4K on its main camera. You don't get the option for HEVC encoding, just h.264, but even so, the files you get have a solid 50 Mbps AVC video stream at a mostly stable 30 fps and a stereo 48 kHz AAC audio stream inside an MP4 container. Pretty standard stuff.
4K videos from the main camera are solid, especially in terms of detail and dynamic range. There is not much noise either. Colors, however, are notably off. Looking at the clips, at first, we thought that the strange color hue or tint might be back, but the snow does appear to be pretty close to white, so that's probably not the case. The rest of the colors look quite "reddish" and too warm, though. In particular, oranges, reds and yellows are way too prominent, while blues look subdued.
The 2x telephoto camera caps out at 1080p video capture, with an equally solid 20 Mbps AVC steam and stereo 48 kHz AAC audio inside an MP4 container. Its color rendition is notably different and much better than the main camera. Dynamic range is also good. One of the few unfortunate bits is the lower 1080p resolution, which leaves a lot of detail to be desired. There seems to be aggressive sharpening applied to the frame, which we don't personally hate it, but it's also not a substitute for actual resolution. The only other gripe we have with telephoto videos is the wobbly autofocus, particularly prone to shakes and rattles.
The 16MP selfie camera captures some impressive 4K videos. There have the same general characteristics (50 Mbps AVC @~30fps + 48 kHz stereo AAC AMP4) as the main camera and look incredibly clean and sharp. Detail is stellar and dynamic range is solid. Colors are a bit oversaturated for our taste, but that's hardly a major complaint.
You can get stabilization across all of these cameras. You are limited to 1080p, though. It works decently well across the board. You can see the results for yourself in the following playlist.
The main camera does quite well in low-light. Videos look sharp. There is little noise, and light sources are well contained. Please excuse the shaky footage. It was cold outside. The 2x telephoto holds up well in low-light, too, though it struggles with light sources quite a bit more and is generally softer.
Last but not least, here is how the Infinix Zero 5G stacks up against other devices in our video compare database. We again include screengrabs from both the main and the telephoto cameras. Pixel-peep away.
Infinix Zero 5G against the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 and the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G in our Video compare tool
The competition
At the time of writing, the Infinix Zero 5G is still a bit difficult to track down in actual retail stores. Best we can gather it costs around $250 or INR 18,990. Then again, we found the one Nigerian listing that sells the device for NGN 169,500, which is significantly more - around $400. That just seems excessive, so we'll look for alternatives below EUR 250 or $290. Still a decently-wide net to cast on today's sprawling budget market.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 instantly springs to mind. It might not be readily available on every market, but if you have access to it it's hard to beat its value proposition. Some of its specs highlights include a 6.43-inch 90Hz AMOLED display, stereo speakers, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 front, IP53 ingress protection, 50MP primary camera and 8MP ultrawide and a 5,000 mAh battery with 33W charging.
One potentially important thing to note is that the Snapdragon 860 has DSP limitations and can only record 1080p video despite its otherwise excellent features and specs. If that is a major problem, you could potentially consider the slightly older Redmi Note 10 or better yet Redmi Note 10S instead for a very similar experience.
Despite being nearly a year old by now, the Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro manages to maintain its status as the go-to budget device for the best possible performance on the cheap. With its Snapdragon 860 chipset pushing pixels to a fast 120Hz IPS, LCD with HDR support, albeit at a max of just around 450 nits of brightness. It also has Corning Gorilla Glass 6, stereo speakers, a big 5,160 mAh battery, 33W charging and a similar camera setup to the Infinix Zero 5G. The Poco M4 Pro 5G is a good 5G alternative if the next-generation network connectivity is high on your list of priorities.
For a more "western-friendly" big-brand alternative, look no further than Samsung's excellent Galaxy A family. At current pricing, the Galaxy A32 comes in just a bit over the asking price of the Infinix Zero 5G. If not, the Galaxy A22 is an excellent step-down option.
The A32 is a great all-around device with one of Samsung's splendid 90Hz AMOLED 6.4-inch panels, a big 5,000 mAh battery, though with only 15W charging and a solid camera setup. Granted, the MediaTek Helio G80 is a bit of a downgrade compared to the Dimensity 900 5G in the Infinix. Still, once again, if 5G is a priority, you can sacrifice a few things, including the gorgeous AMOLED panel and get the Galaxy A32 5G and still stay within budget.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 • Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro • Samsung Galaxy A32
The verdict
There's no point beating about the bush - the Infinix Zero 5G's real life performance fell a bit short of what its specs sheet made us expect. After some well rounded Infinix devices, like the Zero X Pro and the Note 11 Pro, the Zero 5G feels lopsided.
We will be the first to admit that the Zero 5G punches above its price class in terms of design, rocking an exquisite aesthetic. It has stellar battery life too. But most of all, the excellent Dimensity 900 5G chipset is typically found in higher-end offers like the Oppo Reno7 5G or the Reno6 5G before it. In fact, even getting a decent 5G device for under $300 is a bit of a challenge in itself.
But Infinix had to make some significant compromises in other areas - the lack of ingress protection and any official mention of display protection is quite unnerving, the overall quality of the display itself is disappointing, the single speaker is not impressive either, and the camera performance has as many downs as ups. While the hardware is there and there are some aspects Infinix managed to nail, the sub-par processing in certain conditions is really dragging down the camera experience.
Considering all of this, we can't wholeheartedly recommend the Infinix Zero 5G. Some troubling hardware corners were cut in its creation, and some unfortunate camera issues managed to further soil the experience. If the latter is addressed with software updates, we'll be far more willing to give it the thumbs up. If history is any indication, though, we'll likely see Infinix release a replacement model instead.
Pros
- Solid and strong plastic body. Recognizable design.
- Dual-SIM support and True Dual 5G SIM (5G SA + 5G SA) standby and VoNR. Supports 13 5G bands (X6715 model).
- Great battery life and decently-quick 33W charging.
- XOS10 is chuck-full of features and customization options.
- The Mediatek Dimensity 900 5G is an excellent all-around performer with modern features and connectivity. It is a step up from the MediaTek G-series chips Infinix usually uses.
- The 2x telephoto does pretty well in daylight. Selfies are great and you get an LED selfie flash for low-light conditions. Solid low-light performance from the main and selfie cameras, particularly with Super Night mode.
- Solid 4K clips from the main cam and good 2x 1080p clips from the telephoto. Decent video stabilization all around. Great quality 4K selfie videos.
- FM radio, 3.5mm jack, dedicated microSD slot.
Cons
- No ingress protection. No word on protective glass front. Cosmic Black and Horizon Blue are slippery and collect a lot of fingerprints.
- Volume rockers feel horrible - mushy and soft.
- Display has disappointing max brightness, terrible color accuracy and pixel response time is very sluggish, which leads to smearing.
- Google Widevine L3 DRM means no HD and higher quality streaming on services like Netflix.
- No stereo speaker setup, not even a hybrid one, just a single bottom-firing speaker with average performance.
- XOS 10 is still based on Android 11. It has a lot of pre-installed bloat and it lacks proper organization for some of its menus.
- The main camera has an annoying color hue present in half of the daylight shots. The telephoto has temperamental autofocus, can't double as a macro cam and struggles in low-light. Poor portraits from both cameras, despite contrary marketing.
- No NFC.
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