Infinix Hot S3 Review: Best selfie smartphone in budget price-point

Sturdy unibody plastic design

While most of the companies are offering metal clad handsets, Infinix has opted for a plastic unibody design. The smartphone is made out of a high quality plastic and has been given a matte finish at rear panel and at the edges. You also get a multi-functional fingerprint scanner at the rear panel. The fingerprint scanner is fast and accurate but it is placed a little higher than the usual arrangement which requires a bit of effort to unlock the handset.

Despite a plastic build, Infinix Hot S3 feels rock solid in hands. It is as sturdy as a metallic handset from the house of Xiaomi or Lenovo. The smartphone even survived a 5-feet drop on concrete with just minor scratches at the rear panel. The smartphone follows a clean and minimal design. The vertical camera module at the top left corner of the real panel reminds us of the iPhone X.

The volume rockers and power button is placed at the right side and the hybrid SIM card tray is positioned on the left side. You will find the 3.5mm headphone jack at top and micro USB 2.0 port, a microphone and a speaker grille at the bottom. Overall, Infinix Hot S3 does not give us much to complain in design department.

 

5.65-inch HD+ Display

Infinix Hot S3 follows the current market trends and offers an 18:9 aspect ratio screen. The smartphones has a screen-to-body ratio of 81% and has minimal bezels on either side of the screen; however the chin under the display is quite broad even though the handset has on-screen touch controls. The 5.65-inches HD+ display delivers a resolution of 1440×720 pixels. It offers good contrast ratio but is not the brightest panel around. The color reproduction is also not as good as it is on the 1080p screen of the latest Redmi Note 5. Overall, the screen on Hot S3 is good for video playback and for other everyday tasks but still leaves you wanting for more.

Best-in-class Selfie camera

I am quite surprised by the selfie camera output of this budget smartphone. The USP of Infinix Hot S3, the 20MP camera will be a sheer delight for selfie lovers. The camera works on a Sony IMX 376 sensor and has 5P lens. The images come out to be crisp and detailed and look far better than any other selfie smartphone we have tested in last few months.

The camera works on an f/2.0 aperture and very well manages the light. The camera sensor even creates a bokeh effect. The software driven portrait effect is not always consistent but is still very much usable. Besides, the camera's software algorithm also has a tendency to over sharpen the final output, but it is still manageable. The front-facing camera is also accompanied by a dual-LED flash light and can capture a wider frame to offer group selfies. Overall, Hot S3 is by far the best selfie smartphone you can buy today in budget price-point.

13MP rear camera with PDAF

Infinix Ht S3 has a 13MP rear camera that also works on 5P lens and comes equipped with Phase Detection Autofocus. It's a good everyday shooter but falls short of expectations when you compare the image output to front camera. The results are satisfactory in daylight but the sensor overexposes the images when light conditions are challenging. The HDR mode is effective and captures good shadow details. The image output only suffers in low-light. The pictures captured even in slight low light environment show noise and lack detailing when zoomed in to maximum. But I liked the fact that camera is quick to focus and there's no shutter delay while taking a shot.

Lag-free everyday performance

Infinix Hot S3 is powered by Qualcomm's entry level Snapdragon 430 chipset. The CPU has 8 cores and is paired up with 3GB and 4GB RAM to take care of computing and multitasking. My review unit shipped with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. I did not come across any performance issues with the handset. The smartphone handles light games, video playback and even photo editing very well. You can open multiple tabs in Chrome, make notes, shoot an email and post stories on Instagram without any major performance slowdown. Moreover, the mono speaker unit on Hot S3 is also very capable and delivers loud and clear audio.

Android 8.0 Oreo with XoS Custom skin

Infinix Hot S3 is among the 1.1% of the Android devices out there that run the latest Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. The budget smartphone comes with Infinix's custom skin XOS, which is very customizable and comes packed with a number of useful features. There are some notable apps that can come handy in everyday usage. For instance, the Freeze app allows you to put the apps of your choice in a container that will stop their internet activity to preserve battery and data. You also get a Theme store, a video editing app, etc. Besides, the XOS UI also allows you to run two accounts on Facebook, WhatsApp and some other apps.

The only letdown is the sheer number of pre-loaded apps that make the UI quite cluttered. If you can live up with that, Infinix Hot S3 is a steal at this price-point.

Infinix Hot S3 First Impressions

4,000 mAh battery unit and standard connectivity features

Infinix Hot S3 is backed by a big 4,000 mAh battery unit that easily survives for a day on a single charge on a heavy usage. As far as connectivity is concerned, you don't have to compromise on connectivity and storage as the handset comes with a dedicated microSD card slot. Besides, you also get Wi-Fi, 4.2, OTG support, 4G VoLTE and 3.5 mm headphone jack.

Conclusion

Infinix Hot S3 is the best selfie smartphone you can buy today in budget price-point. But the handset is not just about selfies. It also offers a couple of other noteworthy features. You get the latest Android 8.0 Oreo out-of-the box, a massive 4,000 mAh battery unit, 18:9 aspect ratio display and a dedicated microSD card slot. I can ignore some issues with the display's performance and cluttered UI as the handset has a lot to offer to price-conscious consumers. Overall, Infinix Hot S3 has raised the bar in budget price segment and is indeed a good buy.