Infinix Note 12 Turbo Review: Decent Specs With Some Misses

Infinix Note 12 Turbo Doctor Strange Edition Contents

The Infinix Note 12 Turbo Doctor Strange Edition comes with a special casing that bundles a slew of goodies. Here are the contents of the special edition model.

• Infinix Note 12 Turbo retail package
• Customized protective case
• Screen protector
• Personalized keychain
• Personalized neck chain
• A coaster
• A customized t-shirt

Infinix Note 12 Turbo Design

From the package, let's take a look at the Infinix Note 12 Turbo smartphone. The retail package of the smartphone comprises the usual contents, including the smartphone itself, a charging adapter, a USB Type-C cable, a transparent back case, and the user guide. There are some Doctor Strange stickers as well.

When it comes to the design, the Infinix Note 12 Turbo Doctor Strange Edition weighs 185 grams and measures 7.8mm in thickness. The overall smartphone feels lightweight and the rear design appears to have a nice texture and grip. It has a matte finish that feels good when held and it does not attract fingerprint smudges. The Infinix smartphone has a glossy and slim design and it has a square-sided frame that resembles the iPhones.

We have received the Force Black color variant of the smartphone. At the rear, the Infinix branding is seen at the bottom while the top left corner has the camera module. There are three camera sensors arranged within a transparent module. Two sensors are large while the third one appears to be a small lens. Also, there is an LED flash unit towards the right of the camera sensors. The camera bay has a different texture and it is transparent and can attract fingerprint smudges, unlike the rest of the rear casing.

On the whole, the Infinix Note 12 Turbo features a well-made design, unlike other budget smartphones. There is glass at the front and rear and the frame is made of plastic though it looks premium like metal.

In terms of ports and buttons, the Infinix smartphone we are reviewing features a USB Type-C port, the speaker grills and a 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom. The power button and volume rockers are seen at the right edge while the left edge has a card tray that supports two SIM cards alongside support for additional storage via a dedicated microSD card.

Notably, there is no official waterproof rating but it should be acceptable considering its price point. The fingerprint sensor is embedded within the power button but it does not deliver a snappy performance and is rather slow in some cases during the review.

Infinix Note 12 Turbo Display

One of the reasons to buy the Infinix Note 12 Turbo is its large display and it makes sensor as it comes with the Note branding. The device features a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a FHD+ resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels. While most affordable smartphones have an LCD display, this one comes with an AMOLED panel. Apparently, it delivers better contrast and punchy colors than rival models.

The brightness levels are great but it is not too easy to view the screen outdoors in sunlight. The major downsides of the Infinix Note 12 Turbo is the presence of some reasonable bezels and the slow refresh rate of 60Hz. We have seen many budget smartphones such as Redmi Note 11 feature a 90Hz refresh rate for a smoother gaming experience.

Otherwise, the screen delivers a reasonably good performance and it is impressive for a slew of tasks despite its budget price tag. Even the colors are reproduced to an acceptable level with what the company calls True Colour and is touted to replicate 100% of the P3 spectrum.

Infinix Note 12 Turbo Performance

The Infinix Note 12 Turbo gets the power from an octa-core MediaTek Helio G96 processor teamed up with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage space. With this processor, the Turbo model is much more powerful than the standard Note 12 variant that uses the Helio G88 processor. The processor is touted to deliver an impressive performance with enhanced display and gaming capabilities as well.

Along with this processor, the company has used 8GB of RAM that can be expanded by another 3GB using the Extended RAM feature. There is 128GB of storage space that can be expanded further using a microSD card slot. In terms of benchmark performance, the Infinix Note 12 Turbo scored a little over Redmi 11 with a score of 1727 points on the Geekbench 5 multi-core test and lesser than the Poco X4 Pro 5G.

In terms of real-world usage, the Infinix smartphone managed to be reasonably good with a lot of incidents wherein it takes time to open apps and complete animations. It is more noticeable than some rivals that have been reviewed in the past. But the Ultra Touch setting of display sensitivity makes this better. With this setting, the phone feels faster and better to use without lags in animations.

One major downside is the lack of 5G connectivity while we have seen many models come with 5G support at this price point. In fact, Infinix Zero 5G is a noticeable offering from the company itself.

Talking about the battery performance, the Infinix smartphone gets the power from a 5000mAh battery that is accompanied by 33W fast charging. This battery can easily last up to two days, thanks to the 60Hz display that isn't power hungry provided there is not much gaming. In terms of fast charging support, the Note 12 Turbo can be charged up to 50% in less than 30 minutes.

Infinix Note 12 Turbo Camera

On the photography front, the Infinix smartphone bestows a triple-camera setup at the rear with a 50MP primary camera sensor with f/1.6 aperture and quad-LED flash. Another big sensor seen at the rear is a 2MP secondary depth sensor. Lastly, we have a third AI lens. Instead of adding a fourth lens for macro shots for the sake of increasing the lens count, the company has focused on the performance of the 50MP sensor. The company could have opted for an ultra-wide lens but it is acceptable given the price point. What's more, the primary sensor delivers decent camera capabilities.

Detailing the performance, the Infinix Note 12 Turbo delivers pleasing results with ample details. It delivers correct exposure and accurate colors to a great extent. There is some noise present in the photos on close observation and zooming even in outdoor shots. However, the device does a good job for photos that are captured for social media.

One trick to get good photos from the Infinix Note 12 Turbo's camera is the presence of good lighting. Though there is a super night mode feature, it doesn't help in capturing the perfect shot. There are many camera modules such as slow-motion, pro, AI camera and more and the software customizations work well.

When it comes to the selfie camera, there is a 16MP selfie snapper at the front within the notch on the screen. This sensor delivers a decent performance and offers good colors and details. However, the portrait mode of selfies fails to impress by blurring inaccurate edges.

Infinix Note 12 Turbo Software

The Infinix Note 12 Turbo runs Android 12 topped with XOS 10.6 UI. This is the same OS that was used by the Zero 5G and it imitates a lot of features seen on iOS and other Android custom skins. All the icons appear to be squarish and take up a lot of space. The swipes that expand these icons are impressive. There is also a smart bar that can be called on by swiping sidewards from the right of the screen. It can be customized to include handy shortcuts and tools.

There is a mix of all the recent apps and widgets, including the RAM usage on the screen that is towards the left of the home screen. It could have been better to have the regular Good Feed instead of this option. There are quick settings and notification panel as on iOS. The vertical slider for brightness is something not many users might like. Also, the smartphone comes with a slew of bloatware with as many as over 15 apps.

Verdict

The Infinix Note 12 Turbo is not the most attractive offering in its price segment but it comes with decent core specs despite its budget price tag. The device comes with capable hardware and memory options. Also, the large camera sensor and primary camera sensor are the notable aspects of this smartphone. Besides these, the impressive battery performance is another notable aspect of this device.

If you want to an affordable smartphone even if there is no 5G connectivity support, then you can purchase the Infinix Note 12 Turbo. Especially, you will get attractive goodies if you are a fan of Doctor Strange and the Mavel series with this special edition model.