Infinix attempts to deliver the basics in a segment that’s not crowded with many options.
The Infinix Smart 8 HD retails for Rs. 6,499 in India
Infinix makes decent smartphones in the sub-Rs. 10,000 price segment and has been offering decently good hardware with them, too. The brand launched the Infinix Smart 7 HD last April and has now refreshed the model with its latest Infinix Smart 8 HD. The new phone has some cosmetic changes and has 3GB of RAM instead of 2GB in last year's Smart 7 HD. We tested the device extensively, and in this article, we'll tell you if this entry-level smartphone is worth your money.
The Infinix Smart 8 HD is priced at Rs. 7,990 and comes with 3GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. It has four colour options: Crystal Green, Timber Black, Shiny Gold, and Galaxy White. We got the Crystal Green colour option for review. The box includes the smartphone, a clear case, a charging brick, a USB Type-A to USB Type-C charging cable, a user manual, and the SIM ejector tool.
The smartphone doesn't look very different from its predecessor. It sports a matte-finished rear panel with barely visible Infinix branding and a camera module that protrudes quite a bit with matte-finish polycarbonate side rails. The major difference between the Smart 8 HD and 7 HD is the texture on its rear panel, which now has this unique shimmery design instead of a textured polycarbonate back panel. The smartphone uses a side-mounted fingerprint reader instead of the rear-mounted fingerprint reader used on the 7 HD. Despite the extensive use of polycarbonate, the Infinix Smart 8 HD offers a good in-hand feel with its flattened sides and 8.5mm of thickness.
The Infinix Smart 8 HD does not look very different from its predecessor
Its weight distribution is decent; at 184 grams, it does not feel cumbersome either. I used the smartphone as a secondary smartphone for a short period, and carrying it along with my daily driver in the same pocket wasn't an issue for me. The Smart 8 HD's bezels are quite thick, but this is fine considering its price. The front camera uses a hole-punch cutout, which is refreshing to see on an entry-level smartphone. However, it has no official IP rating or splash protection, so taking it with you for a swim is not wise. The inclusion of a dedicated microSD card is suitable for those who need more storage but still need to use two 4G SIM cards.
The smartphone comes equipped with the Unisoc T606 SoC, which is an entry-level processor that can handle light tasks with ease. One can use this smartphone for daily VoIP calls, checking emails, responding to texts on WhatsApp, and browsing light websites with ease. When I had this device with me, I had my secondary 4G SIM card in it, and the reception I got with it was decent. The internet speeds aren't as great as you would get on a 5G-enabled device, but considering this is a 4G smartphone, it gets the job done.
For a smartphone in this price segment, it is good to see the brand moving to a USB Type-C port instead of the usual micro USB port. There is a side-mounted fingerprint reader, which is great to have in this price range. Users can also use face unlock, but I wouldn't recommend it as it is not secure. The Infinix Smart 8 HD sports a 5,000mAh battery and can be charged using the provided 10W charging brick. It runs on Infinix's XOS 13, based on Android 13 Go. It uses a Dynamic Island-like feature, dubbed Magic Ring by Infinix, with limited functionality. The brand has not promised anything in terms of future software updates, which can be a bit concerning for those who like to hang on to their smartphones for a long time.
Since it's an entry-level device, my expectations of its performance weren't too high. Regardless, I ran all the required benchmarks on the device, and the scores were good enough for a smartphone in this price range. It scored 2,32,007 in AnTuTu v10.2.1, and in Geekbench 6, it scored 379 in the single-core and 1,322 in the Multi-core tests. The Infinix Smart 8 HD sports a 6.6-inch HD+ LCD with a 90Hz refresh rate, which seems new to this price segment, but Xiaomi's Redmi A3 also offers the same. The display provides good colours when viewed from the front, but when you look at it from an angle, the colours start to fade. Indoors, the smartphone is good enough in terms of brightness levels, with a claimed 500 nits peak brightness. But take it outdoors, and the display disappoints quite a bit.
The Infinix Smart 8 HD's display is barely legible outdoors
The smartphone's bottom-firing speaker provides acceptable sound quality, albeit with minimal bass. At times, at full volume, it may exhibit sharpness, requiring volume adjustment for improved clarity during playback.
The Android 13 Go edition is a lot lighter than the full version, and that has worked quite well in this smartphone's favour. The smartphone did not feel slow or lag while I scrolled through its UI, but it is a bit slow to launch third-party apps. Despite its price, the Infinix Smart HD 8 performs quite well. This is not a gaming device, but it can handle basic casual games just fine. Subway Surfers works well, with no lag and this smartphone's touch-response rate was also decent.
Considering its entry-level processor, I was surprised that the phone heats up after 15-20 minutes of casual gaming. The heating issue persists when using the camera apps as well, but day-to-day tasks like web browsing and using messaging apps like WhatsApp work without any issues.
The smartphone managed a good 20 hours and 10 minutes in our battery loop test. After a full day of using it for calls, streaming videos, and even clicking some pictures from the default camera app, I had around 30 percent battery left at the end of the day, which is decent for a smartphone at this price point. In our battery charging test, the smartphone charged just 4 percent in 30 minutes, 27 percent in an hour, and completed the charge in 3 hours. This may seem a bit too slow, but most smartphones at this price point offer the same.
The Infinix Smart 8 HD sports a dual-rear camera setup with a 13-megapixel primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture and another 0.08-megapixel auxiliary camera. The smartphone uses an 8-megapixel camera for selfies. The camera UI is simple, and there aren't any fun elements. You get the basic controls for photos and videos that one usually sees on Infinix smartphones.
Infinix Smart 8 HD has a single user accessible camera
The 13-megapixel primary camera captures decent images in daylight. The final image in the gallery takes a second to show, but the result is very different from what you see in the viewfinder of the camera app when capturing it.
Daylight photo from the primary rear camera (Tap image to expand)
The camera does a lot of processing in the background, but the results are average. The images have good saturation levels but lack resolved detail. I shot multiple images in daylight, some with moving subjects and some with stationary subjects and the results came out just fine for a smartphone at this price point. This camera handles backlit situations well in portrait mode and decent edge detection, which is usually the case with smartphones in this price range.
The smartphone uses 2x digital zoom that produces softer images with a lot of processing, but you can get usable shots out of it, provided there's plenty of light. As expected, the smartphone struggles with low-light shooting.
Daylight photo shot at 2x digital zoom (Tap image to expand)
The Night mode produces sharper images with decent colours. One detail that caught my attention was its inability to set exposure when using the dedicated night mode, which might result in a bad shot, which you will have to take again. In short, the low-light performance is not what one expects from a smartphone at this price point and isn't exactly reliable.
Night mode photo from the primary rear camera (Tap to expand)
The Infinix Smart 8 HD's front camera does not perform well in low light
The 8-megapixel selfie camera is good enough for daylight shots. The shots have a good level of detail and are sharp enough. The front camera struggles quite a bit in low light, shooting soft images with plenty of noise. The Infinix Smart 8 HD can shoot videos up to 1080p 30fps from the primary camera. The results are just about fine, provided I was stationary. Start moving or panning, but the video shakes a lot and is not usable. Low-light video performance isn't great, as the recorded video comes out quite soft and makes a lot of noise. The front camera shoots decently well in daylight, in both moving and stationary situations, which is a plus.
The Infinix Smart 8 HD is a good device if you need a secondary phone with good battery life but are on a tight budget. However, it does have its shortcomings, like the very slow 10W charging support, bad low-light camera performance, and a display that is not legible outdoors and has very limited viewing angles. So, it's better suited for calls and very basic app usage, but nothing more. There's no doubt that there aren't a lot of options in this price segment, but Xiaomi offers something similar with its Redmi A3 from Rs. 7,299 onwards. It has a better processor, more RAM variants, and a 90Hz refresh rate display. One can also consider the Redmi 13C (from Rs. 7,699), which is priced a little higher but offers a better display and cameras.
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