Infinix HOT 12 Play Smartphone Review[Kenya]- A great Smartphone under Ksh 20,000

Infinix has risen swiftly from a little-known company to become a reputable business. Today, it not only offers a wide range of devices that pose genuine competition to the typical suspects in the budget segment—realme and Xiaomi—but is also officially featured in Kenyan retail.

What is new with this particular model, we have the NFC module, the LTE bands that were lacking were added, the weaknesses in the software shell are fixed, and it was rapidly possible to overcome all of the challenges that came along the way.

The costs are nevertheless quite intriguing at the same time. For instance, the Infinix HOT 12 Play has a starting price of Ksh 16,499 4GB and Ksh 18,499 128 GB.

Let us see what this fantastic smartphone has to offer. Full detail in this particular review

Design

The Infinix HOT 12 Play has accomplished almost a marvel in its design. Since the front camera is situated in the middle hole, the extra microns of the surface remain, giving the device a more modern appearance. Although the smartphone is still quite large, advancement is apparent. It is not required to discuss usability in great detail.

The front panel of the Infinix HOT 12 Play has a single LED flash to the right, and a single LED flash in the upper portion of the screen. Above the front camera is a conversational speaker slot. The sides of the casing and the back panel are both composed of glossy plastic. A rear fingerprint scanner is notable as an indicator of a cheap device. Close to the back camera unit, it is situated high up here. The device is made of modern materials, but it is evident that Infinix made some component savings because the same unit is used in another smartphone from the company with three cameras. We notice a plug in place of the third one here.

Infinix HOT 12 Play comes in three color options: green, golden, and black, which is what we have here. As you can see, this smartphone has a roughness that gives it a lead-gray appearance rather than black. I advise placing the device in an entire case as the casing is rather slippery and Marky.

Keys on the right, a tray for Sim cards on the left, and a mini-jack on the bottom are the traditional placements for the functional pieces. A distinction from the Infinix HOT 11 is that it now has a USB Type-C port rather than a MicroUSB port.

Software

The Infinix HOT 12 is powered by Android 11 with the XOS 10 shell. The overlay gives you four icons of regular sizes to choose from out of an infinite number available for "folding" into a folder instead of the previously reduced icons, demonstrating that the XOS is still committed to a particular design with the leading role of widgets and folders of enlarged sizes. However, the fast settings and the notification panel, divided into two conferences, already follow the operating system's general trend. As is customary with Infinix, the shell is pretty specialized yet valuable. It functions reasonably quickly but occasionally sags because you have to make a discount on anything except top-tier hardware.

Screen

The same display as the Infinix HOT 11 is on the Infinix HOT 12 Play. This 6.82-inch diagonal liquid crystal display has an IPS matrix with a 1640 x 720 pixels resolution. There are 262 pixels per inch. The ratio of the screen is 20.5:9.

Expecting a smooth image with HD resolution and a seven-inch diagonal is unrealistic; pixelation, particularly on large text, will be noticeable. A higher refresh rate is another beautiful aspect of this screen (90 Hz). As is frequently the case, the game display operates at the standard 60 hertz, but when the system is in everyday use, it is presented more smoothly, and scrolling screens on a smartphone are lovely.

Regarding audio, the Infinix HOT 12 Play has a small jack for analog audio with a traditional path, a medium-power mono speaker, and Bluetooth 5.0 with compatibility for LDAC, SBC, and AAC profiles but not aptX.

Camera

We might say that the camera on the Infinix HOT 12 Play expresses its budget. Here, we employ a straightforward setup that consists of a 13-megapixel camera that takes care of all shooting duties and a depth sensor for portrait mode.

The camera application is designed in line with the brand's norms, with a horizontal carousel of options that can be expanded by dragging the submenu from the bottom edge. You must decide between portraits with backdrop blur and a separate beautifier in place of a single method of beatification for portrait photography. The other tools are few and varied; for instance, there is a detailed photography mode that uses augmented reality masks, but there is no primary mode with manual settings. 

There are options for Full HD video recording with a set frame rate of up to 30 frames per second (there is no frequency selection option). Although it is not particularly effective, digital stabilization is available and functional at all resolutions. There are no additional video shooting modes; everything is rather austere in this regard. 

Similar to the HOT 11, the front camera has an 8-megapixel sensor, an f/2.0 aperture lens, and no autofocus, but it does have an LED flash (in this case, a single one, it is located on the right). Full HD video recording is possible, and images can be enhanced with background blurring (again separate). 

With a battery capacity of 22.8 Wh (6000 mAh, 3.8 V), the Infinix HOT 12 Play may expect a long battery life despite having a large screen. You will not need to charge your smartphone daily under almost any circumstances. The processor does not "eat" very much, and the 90-hertz mode does not significantly affect the running time. You'll probably start charging every one and a half to two days.

 Conclusion

Despite the clear focus on some elements (the pairing of a large screen with a large battery), the Infinix HOT 12 Play, with its unmistakably budget-conscious essence, does an excellent thing by not completely ignoring other qualities, as is frequently the case with cheap smartphones.

There is a less-than-impressive camera, no quick charging, and a dim screen, but a more-than-sufficient hardware platform is installed.

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