The 5G Tax: Does the Infinix Hot 20 5G Deliver a True 5G Experience or Just a Budget-Focused Compromise?
With 5G networks rapidly expanding, the Indian smartphone market is flooded with budget-friendly options touting 5G capabilities. However, this often comes at the cost of other hardware and features, a phenomenon we’re calling the "5G tax." The Infinix Hot 20 5G, priced at an impressively low Rs. 11,999, boasts a twelve 5G band support, a capable processor, a high-refresh rate display, and a large battery. But does it truly deliver a seamless 5G experience, or does it fall prey to the very "5G tax" it claims to defy? Let’s dive in and see if the Infinix Hot 20 5G is worth your hard-earned rupees.
Infinix Hot 20 5G Price in India
The Infinix Hot 20 5G comes in a single configuration offering 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, priced at Rs. 11,999. Available in Space Blue, Blaster Green, and Racing Black, the phone competes fiercely in the budget 5G segment. Though seemingly competitive considering its hardware, the iQoo Z6 Lite 5G (from Rs. 13,999) boasts slightly better specs, although it sacrifices a charger in the box. However, compared to a 4G-only model like the Moto G52 (available from Rs. 11,999 onwards), both the Infinix and iQoo options seem to fall short in terms of specifications and features.
Infinix Hot 20 5G Design
While the Infinix Hot 20 5G prioritizes hardware, design doesn’t seem to be a high priority. Sporting a basic design, the phone feels more entry-level than budget-friendly. The use of a polycarbonate unibody for both the sides and rear panel contributes to this entry-level feel. The waterdrop display notch further amplifies the dated aesthetic.
However, the design also boasts some practicality. The textured back with fine grooves provides a solid grip and keeps smudges at bay. The phone features a single speaker, a Type-C USB port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom. The volume rocker sits on the right, below which is the power button doubling as a fingerprint scanner. The top is bare, while the left houses the SIM tray, which accommodates two nano-SIMs and a microSD card.
Despite the polycarbonate construction, the Hot 20 5G feels surprisingly heavy at 204g and lacks any IP rating. The display, aside from the notch, has thick bezels all around, with the bottom bezel being particularly prominent. Fingerprints and smudges easily accumulate on the display, but they can be wiped clean with ease.
Infinix Hot 20 5G Specifications and Software
The Infinix Hot 20 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 810 SoC, a common chipset found in budget 5G smartphones. Communication standards include Wi-Fi 802.11 ac and Bluetooth 5.0. Infinix boasts the Hot 20 5G as one of the few smartphones supporting twelve 5G bands (n1/ n3/ n5/ n7/ n8/ n20/ n28/ n38/ n40/ n41/ n77/ n78), promising a seamless 5G experience wherever networks are available. The phone supports microSD card expansion up to 1TB, a welcome feature in a budget device. The Hot 20 5G has a 5,000mAh battery and can be charged using the included 18W charger.
The Infinix Hot 20 5G runs on the company’s XOS software, version 10.6.0, based on Android 12. The latest iteration features larger home screen folders for easier app identification. Users can also swipe left or right within a folder to browse other folders on the same home screen page, a convenient feature.
The software boasts additional niceties like a notification played upon full battery charge, a customizable Power Boost mode allowing users to choose what to disable, and more.
Those familiar with near-stock Android or popular custom skins like MIUI or Realme UI will likely face a steep learning curve when navigating the XOS interface. Many functionalities are not found in their customary locations. For example, the notifications tray is split into two sections, requiring different swiping directions for notifications and quick settings toggles. The toggles section also presents a strange layout with large buttons for Wi-Fi, mobile data, and Bluetooth at the top, accompanied by smaller, left-aligned buttons to accommodate a brightness bar on the right. Finding battery usage information in the Settings app is a hidden quest, requiring users to navigate to Power Marathon > Battery Setting > Battery usage.
One detail that will immediately strike first-time Infinix buyers is the sheer abundance of bloatware and third-party apps, most of which cannot be uninstalled. This includes AHA Games, Beez, Boomplay, Carlcare, Facebook, Hi Browser, Palm Store, WeLife, WeZone, Visha Player, YoParty, and many more. Several of these built-in apps prompt users to grant permissions for information collection. I also encountered odd ads for the Hi Browser app within the Phone Master app.
Surprisingly, I wasn’t bombarded with notifications from these apps during my review period, with the exception of the Palm Store app prompting me to download apps daily. The Phone Master app occasionally annoyed me with notifications asking to clean up phone memory or while installing apps. As of this review, Infinix could not confirm whether an Android 13 software update is planned for this specific smartphone.
Infinix Hot 20 5G Performance
Infinix took a gamble by opting for a 6.6-inch IPS LCD panel instead of a better AMOLED unit. However, they compensate with a 120Hz refresh rate, attempting to deliver a smoother software experience. While the display appears sharp with a full-HD+ resolution, the colors are overly saturated and exhibit a slightly bluish tint. Brightness falls below par, and I frequently found myself adjusting it above 50 percent, even indoors. Outdoors, the display lacks sufficient brightness to tackle direct sunlight when watching videos, browsing the interface, or using the camera app. Widevine support is limited to L3, adequate for SD quality playback but resulting in less-than-sharp streaming video. The single bottom-firing speaker delivers tinny audio at best, lacking enough volume for either movie watching or gaming. The fingerprint reader integrated into the power button performed flawlessly every time.
Though the software experience with XOS fell short of expectations, performance suffered as well. Random lag occurred when launching, switching between, or minimizing apps. I also noticed occasional stutters when scrolling through long lists within apps.
Packing a Dimensity 810 SoC and 4GB of RAM, the phone performed predictably in standard benchmark tests. The Infinix Hot 20 5G scored 3,12,324 points in AnTuTu and achieved scores of 587 and 1,681 in Geekbench’s single and multi-core tests, respectively. In GFXBench, the phone managed 57fps in T-Rex, 23fps in Manhattan 3.1, and 12fps in Car Chase. Given the processor, the phone primarily handles low to mid-level gaming, performing better with casual titles. Games like Subway Surfers 2 ran smoothly without any hiccups, while Asphalt 9: Legends encountered significant stutters and lag during gameplay. I also tested Call of Duty: Mobile, which was playable at medium graphics and framerate settings, but I found the 180Hz touch sampling inadequate.
The 5,000mAh battery provided approximately 6-7 hours of screen-on time, a solid figure for a budget phone. Our standard video loop battery test clocked in at 15 hours and 27 minutes, a decent but not exceptional result. The included 18W charger felt relatively slow, taking about two and a half hours to fully charge the Hot 20 5G.
Infinix Hot 20 5G Cameras
The Infinix Hot 20 5G packs two rear-facing cameras, but only one is accessible to the user. The primary camera is a 50-megapixel unit, accompanied by an "AI camera" used for depth data. Selfies are handled by an 8-megapixel front-facing camera.
Unlike the rest of the XOS software interface, the camera app felt familiar and simple to use. However, I disliked its laggy performance when switching between camera modes and shooting in low light. The phone allows video recording at 720p, 1080p, and 2K resolutions for both the front and rear cameras.
In daylight, the primary camera captured mostly natural-looking colors in landscape photos. However, close-up shots of objects fared less well. Photos lacked sharpness and detail, and dynamic range was average, with the HDR system working overtime and giving shots a slightly dreamy appearance. The phone lacks a macro camera, and I couldn’t get the primary camera to capture sharp images at close range. Selfies taken in daylight also appeared soft and dreamy. Engaging Portrait mode disables the HDR system, leading to completely blown-out backgrounds when shooting in bright light. Edge detection was also strictly average.
While I didn’t expect phenomenal low-light performance from a budget smartphone, the results from the camera surprised me negatively. Image quality dropped drastically when taking photos after sunset. Resolved details were non-existent, and shots resembled paintings with defined outlines around objects. Enabling night mode only worsened the situation with exaggerated contrast and crushed blacks. Selfies in low light produced passable detail, and the front-facing flash significantly improved quality, making it useful.
Overall, video quality was average for a budget smartphone. Recorded videos lacked stabilization, appearing shaky while panning or walking. Details weren’t as sharp as expected. Low-light video recordings were unusable.
Verdict
The Infinix Hot 20 5G feels like Infinix solely focused on promoting 5G as a selling point while neglecting other aspects. The phone features a MediaTek Dimensity 810 SoC, but XOS lacks optimization to ensure smooth functionality. While I didn’t anticipate phenomenal gaming performance at this price point, I hoped for decent daylight camera performance, which the Infinix Hot 20 5G failed to deliver.
Apart from battery life and support for multiple 5G bands, there is little reason to consider this smartphone.
Despite not including a charger in the box, the iQoo Z6 Lite 5G seems to be better optimized in terms of software and also offers superior still image performance with its primary camera. If you’re content with a 4G device, the Moto G52 offers significantly better hardware, featuring a superior 90Hz AMOLED display, stereo speakers, an IP52 rating for water and dust resistance, 30W charging, and bloatware-free near-stock Android software.
