Infinix Note 40 5G Review: A Budget Phone with Wireless Charging
Infinix might not be the first brand that comes to mind when looking for a budget or mid-range smartphone, but the company has built a strong offline presence and consistently releases phones that cater to these price segments. The new Infinix Note 40 5G, launched in India late last month, breaks exciting new ground with its inclusion of wireless charging, a feature previously unheard of in this price range. While it may not boast the same brand recognition as some competitors, the Note 40 5G offers a lot for its price point. After spending a week with the device, I’m convinced it deserves a spot on your shopping list. This phone offers much, but it also falls short in a few areas. It’s currently available in India in a single 8GB RAM + 256GB storage variant, priced at Rs. 19,999. Let’s dive into the details.
Infinix Note 40 5G Design: A Rectangular Slab
The Infinix Note 40 5G is crafted entirely from plastic, featuring a matte finish rear panel with a subtle sheen and a somewhat glossy frame that is prone to fingerprints. You’ll notice a rectangular slab protruding from the top-right corner of the rear panel, housing the camera sensors and Active Halo Lighting. This slab covers a significant part of the top area, preventing the phone from wobbling when laid flat on its back.
At the front, the phone boasts a large display with thin bezels and tapered sides. The power and volume buttons reside on the right side, a SIM card tray on the left, a mic and IR blaster at the top, and another mic, speaker, and USB Type-C port at the bottom. A flash is strategically placed at the top right corner of the front for those night-time selfies.
The phone tips the scales at 185 grams with a thickness of 7.91mm and boasts an IP53 rating for protection against splashes. The Note 40 5G’s design is impressive for a budget phone, but the glossy plastic frame didn’t feel particularly comfortable in my hand.
Infinix Note 40 5G Display: Big and Bright Enough
If you love large displays with minimal bezels, the Infinix Note 40 5G’s 6.78-inch screen will make you smile. Infinix has managed to achieve thin and symmetrical bezels on the top and sides, resulting in an impressive screen-to-body ratio of 93.8 percent. While the panel lacks Gorilla Glass protection, a tempered glass screen protector is included in the box.
The standout feature here is the LTPS AMOLED panel, which supports a 120Hz refresh rate, full-HD+ resolution, 1,300 nits of brightness, and 240Hz touch response. It also encompasses a 100 percent DCI-P3 colour gamut and boasts TUV Rheinland Eye Care certification.
The display is incredibly bright indoors and performs admirably even under direct sunlight. The colors on the panel are vivid and offer decent viewing angles. You can choose between two color modes, Original and Bright, with the latter offering slightly more saturated colors. High brightness mode and an Ultra Touch feature, which improves touch sensitivity, are also included. The display is excellent for both media consumption and gaming.
The in-display fingerprint scanner, positioned at the bottom of the display, can be a bit awkward to reach. While it functioned well during my testing, there were occasional instances where unlocking the phone required multiple attempts.
Infinix Note 40 5G Software: Mostly Clean
The Infinix Note 40 5G comes equipped with Android 14-based XOS and thankfully, it’s not overly burdened with bloatware. A few pre-installed apps come pre-loaded, but there are no intrusive ads, and you have the option to uninstall these apps. XOS includes features like the Dynamic Bar that displays notifications around the hole-punch cutout on the display. You also get Floating Windows, MemFusion (for RAM expansion), Game Mode with the XArena app, XClone for dual apps, and a Kids mode.
The software also has Folax voice assistant – similar to Google Assistant – which lets you set reminders, answer queries, launch apps, and more. The AI Gallery app comes preinstalled, but I found no genuine AI functionalities within it.
Infinix pledges to deliver 2 years of Android OS updates and 3 years of security patches, a commendable feat for a phone in this segment.
Generally, the UI glides smoothly, but I encountered some lag and stuttering when browsing web pages on Chrome or scrolling through the Settings app.
Infinix Note 40 5G Performance: Decent
Infinix has opted for the MediaTek Dimensity 7020 SoC for the Note 40 5G, which isn’t known for its blazing-fast performance. The chipset is paired with 8GB of RAM, with virtual RAM expansion up to another 8GB thanks to MemFusion. Multitasking is possible but you’ll notice some lag when opening apps rapidly.
I ran the Note 40 5G through our standard suite of benchmarks and compared the results to its competitors:
| Benchmark | Infinix Note 40 5G | Realme P1 5G | OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 Single Core | 909 | 956 | 904 |
| Geekbench 6 Multi Core | 2025 | 2369 | 2015 |
| AnTuTu v10 | 488,954 | 570,926 | 448,127 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 | 13,309 | 13,319 | 9,850 |
| GFXBench Car Chase | 16 | 21 | 17 |
| GFXBench Manhattan 3.1 | 29 | 39 | 30 |
| GFXBench T-Rex | 66 | 60 | 60 |
Considering its price point, the phone performs reasonably well. The device did not heat up significantly during benchmark testing. Unfortunately, I couldn’t run our usual 3DMark tests because the phone doesn’t support them.
Moving on to gaming, I tested the phone’s performance with Call of Duty Mobile, BGMI, and Asphalt 9. Asphalt 9 ran smoothly with high-quality graphics settings, but the same couldn’t be said for BGMI and COD Mobile. These games didn’t support full graphics settings, and the phone did heat up noticeably.
The Note 40 5G sports dual speakers claimed to be tuned by JBL. They can get surprisingly loud, but they lack bass. The microphone quality was satisfactory for both voice and video calls.
Infinix Note 40 5G Cameras: Usable
Although the Infinix Note 40 5G appears to sport a triple rear camera setup, only one sensor is actually usable. The other two sensors aren’t accessible in the camera app and are mainly used for depth information when capturing portrait photos. The Camera app itself is easy to navigate and offers quick access to all its modes.
The primary rear camera produces solid photos in daylight conditions, with saturated colors and decent detail. HDR and white balance are also respectable. Infinix claims that the primary camera can capture 3x lossless zoom photos. While the 3x shots did look nice, they weren’t color-accurate and lacked details.
Daylight shots from the primary 108-megapixel rear camera [Tap to expand]
The primary camera struggled to capture good photos in low light conditions, relying on auto night mode, which resulted in images with excessive noise and blur due to the sensor’s reliance on electronic image stabilization (EIS). However, the Super Night mode delivers better results, and I recommend using it in low-light situations. The 3x zoom mode continues to produce subpar results in nighttime scenarios.
Top to bottom: Two 3x zoom shots, two lowlight photos (1st with auto night mode, 2nd with Super Night mode) [Tap to expand]
The Infinix Note 40 5G selfie camera captures decent shots in daylight conditions with good detail and less saturated colours compared to the rear camera. An LED slit flash is included on the front, enabling decent selfies in low light.
Video recording capabilities include up to 2K resolution at 30fps; however, the Ultrasteady stability mode is only available at 1080p 30fps. The rear camera produces respectable video quality with sufficient detail in daylight conditions. However, stabilization isn’t particularly strong, and you’ll notice noticeable jarring and stuttering with significant movement. Lowlight videos are not impressive, exhibiting excessive noise even at 2K resolution. Dynamic range is decent, but HDR and color require improvement.
Infinix Note 40 5G Battery: Say Hello to Wireless Charging
The Note 40 5G delivers respectable battery performance. In our HD video playback test, the phone endured for approximately 18 hours. Thanks to the included 33W fast charger, you can fully charge the phone from empty to 100 percent in about 1 hour and 15 minutes. The Cheetah X1 power management chip boasts features such as bypass charging, wireless reverse charging, and dynamic charge modes. The chip seems to be effective, as the phone never overheated during wired charging.
The 15W wireless charging takes approximately 3 hours to fully charge the device, leaving the phone slightly warm. The phone supports Infinix’s MagCharge accessory and includes a compatible case in the box. With casual browsing, YouTube streaming, camera use, and around 45 minutes of gaming, the phone consistently lasted me about a day and a half.
Infinix Note 40 5G Verdict
The Infinix Note 40 5G goes head-to-head with phones like the Realme P1 5G (Review) , the Poco X6 Neo 5G (Review), and the recently released OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite (Review). While none of these competitors boast wireless charging, the Realme and OnePlus offer a better design and slightly superior camera performance. The Poco X6 Neo 5G is also a solid choice at a lower price point.
If you’re looking for a phone with wireless charging under Rs. 20,000 that offers a good display, a decent primary rear camera, and good battery life, the Infinix Note 40 5G is an excellent option. You also get the unique Active Halo lighting on the back. However, if wireless charging isn’t a priority, the Realme P1 would be a better choice overall.
