Infinix Hot 50 5G review: An entry-level smartphone that ticks all the boxes

Infinix has launched its entry-level device – Infinix Hot 50 5G in India. At a starting price of Rs 9,999, this smartphone sports high-end features. The Infinix Hot 50 5G has a 7.8mm slim design, and a Sony 48-megapixel IMX582 camera. In fact, the company claims “5 years of smooth performance” with the Hot 50 5G. It features 8GB RAM, 128GB storage, and a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 5G chipset. But, of course, it is not without flaws. Let’s see how the Infinix Hot 50 5G performs in real-life scenarios.
A smartphone in the sub-Rs 10,000 category is often presumed to sport a bulky design in order to give users a long battery life. But while offering a 5,000mAh battery, the Infinix Hot 50 5G is still different –– it features a slim design with 7.8mm thickness, and looks premium. Even though a lot of OEMs are now aiming for a slim design even in the entry-level category, a 7.8mm thickness is usually seen in more expensive phones. Compared to the Moto G45 5G, which was launched last month, the Infinix Hot 50 5G is still slimmer, with the former sporting a thickness of 8.03mm.

The back panel has a 3D- camera island

The back panel features a vertically-aligned dual-camera setup, and a third auxiliary lens, which is usually used for macro shots. I have been using the Sage Green variant, and it has a beautiful matte finish with a very subtle glitter. It looks quite premium for a Rs 10,000 phone. That said, the phone’s camera module protrudes so much that if you keep the phone on its back, it wobbles from one end.

The rear panel is clear with a branding on the bottom.

Overall, the Infinix Hot 50 5G looks gorgeous, offers a big screen real estate, it is easy to grip and feels quite sturdy.
The Infinix Hot 50 features a 6.7-inch HD+ display with 120Hz refresh rate. It sports an iPhone-like dynamic island –– Infinix called it the dynamic bar. This provides information of incoming calls, media player, charging animation and face lock animations.

The display is big and beautiful.

The display is smooth. It is also bright enough to show vivid colours even under direct sun. It has tiny bezels but I wish they were more uniform. The bezel is thicker on the bottom edge of the display. The Infinix Hot 50 also supports wet-finger touch recognition, so that if your hands are wet, the phone still registers touch. The smartphone is certified with IP54 rating for water resistance.
Overall, watching YouTube videos, scrolling through Instagram and reading articles have been a delight on the smartphone.
When it comes to an entry-level smartphone, what do you expect from it in terms of performance? A smooth scroll through social media, a good experience watching videos, a stable phone connection, and a good battery. The Infinix Hot 50 5G delivers on all these accounts. It is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 5G chipset, coupled with two RAM options: 4GB and 8GB. Running on XOS 14, which is based on Android 14, the device delivers a good experience.
Having said that, the phone’s UI is not clean, and comes with excessive bloatware. It comes pre-installed with heavy apps like Instagram, Snapchat, Messenger, and more. On this front, in the same budget, the Moto G45 5G comes with a pretty clean UI and zero bloatware.
To further test the performance of the Infinix Hot 50 5G, I also ran some benchmark tests on the device. The device clocked 736 on single-core and 1950 on multi-core on Geekbench. While these scores give you an idea of the performance, it is not the only parameter. The Hot 50 has scored much lower than the Moto G45 5G, which scored 904 for single-core score and 2118 for multi-core score. I have been using the Infinix Hot 50 5G for a week and my experience has been just as good as the Moto G45 5G’s. In fact, for a better viewing experience, I would recommend the Infinix Hot 50 5G as it has a bigger display.
During the 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme stress test, the device achieved a stability score of 99.5 per cent, with a best loop score at 367, which is much higher than the Redmi 13 5G, launched last month at a starting price of Rs 13,999.
However, while the phone’s performance is good, it is not flawless. It occasionally slows down and lags. This mostly happens if you continuously use the phone for a prolonged period of time or when the battery is below 20 per cent.
Largely, though, the performance is good. The lags we faced are mostly because we also pushed the phone to its limits. For an average user, the phone should be able to offer a smooth performance.
The Infinix Hot 50 5G can easily work for over a day. It packs a 5,000mAh battery with 18W fast charging support. Using it as my daily driver, I have been testing its battery for some time now and I am happy with its battery performance. Even on heavy usage, the phone’s battery lasts an entire day. But it has slow charging speeds. It took me nearly 2.5 hours to fully charge the device, from 0 per cent to 100 per cent. While slow charging speed is good for the battery health, it does test your patience.

The smartphone supports Type C port, placed at the bottom.

The company, however, says an AI charge feature on the phone may be what’s causing the slow charging. Infinix has been boasting about an AI battery on the phone. I, however, think it’s just a gimmick. The AI charge feature is supposed to help the phone track the charging pattern to maintain the battery’s health. For this, it also automatically customises the charging speeds. This is also meant to overcome heating problems and enhance the battery health. On paper, this technique looks amazing but it could also be a good way to market its slow battery charging.
The Infinix Hot 50 5G sports a 48-megapixel dual-rear camera, which features over 12 camera modes. The camera is equipped with AI that helps in clicking Instagram-ready photos. The pictures are a bit over-saturated but they still produce close-to-accurate colours. The rear camera clicks beautiful pictures, especially in a well-lit environment. The Pro mode stands true to its name. The photos clicked in this mode are crisp and detailed.
The phone’s camera, however, struggles with the portrait mode. In fact, there is barely any difference in the pictures clicked from the normal mode and the Portrait mode.

Portrait mode fails to deliver its cause

On the front, the device has an 8-megapixel camera for selfie and video calls. I prefer switching the beauty mode off, but even with the mode on, the phone only clears out blemishes, and doesn’t make your face look all made-up.
Another drawback, which we have been noticing in almost all entry-level smartphones, is slow shutter speed. The image takes time to process, delaying the actual shot I wanted in the first place –– unless the camera and the object are very still. This also leads to blurry images.
Overall, the Infinix Hot 50 camera is decent and works well.
The Infinix Hot 50 5G launched in India at a starting price of Rs 9,999 and with bank offers you can get it for a lower price. In this price segment, the smartphone has a lot to offer. It looks premium, it has a gorgeous display, it has largely lag-free performance and offers an over-a-day battery life. We would definitely recommend the phone in this budget. However, if you still want to look for its alternatives, then Moto G45 5G is a good competitor, and if you can push your budget just a little, then Redmi 13 is also a good option.