A Different Note; Infinix Note 4 Review

The first time I saw teaser images of the Infinix Note 4 I was very impressed. And I couldn’t wait to check it out. Then the phone launched and everyone felt bad. So did I. The specs didn’t feel exciting. We expected much more and felt like we got less. But that isn’t how I feel after many days using the Infinix Note 4.

The Infinix Note 4 is a different Note and it should be judged differently. It is a different approach and it should be seen as such. Especially since it launches at a pretty nice price point of just Ksh. 14,000.

So straight to it now:

Good things about the Infinix Note 4

• Very good battery life
• Very good design and build quality
• A very good display, really.
• Very good loud speakers
• Very good audio on earphones
• very fast and accurate fingerprint scanner
• and pretty impressive cameras.

But it isn’t perfect.

Bad things about the Infinix Note 4

• It isn’t smooth, the processor needs work
• Some software issues here and there that disappoint
• 16GB storage is now officially outdated as is 2GB RAM

Read on to understand both the good and bad about this device. Let’s start with the specification for those that might not be aware:

Infinix Note 4 X572 Specifications:

What you get in the box?

Well:

• The Phone
• Charger
• Micro-USB cable
• Earphones
• Plastic Screen protector
• Plastic Back cover

Battery Life:

So yeah the Infinix Note 3 and Note 3 Pro had 4500mAh batteries. And the only fair thing would be to have either that or more on the Infinix Note 4, right? Well, that’s true to some point. But the Note 4 has proved us wrong.

I am not even trying to compare the two devices, but the Galaxy S8 Plus is the only phone that has ever given me over 8hrs screen-on time. I said that in my review. Then came this new Note 4. I was shocked. I thought the stats were wrong. But yes, this phone usually gives me 7 to 8hrs screen-on time! Exactly 6-7hrs on 4G or 3G and Over 8hrs on WiFi.

I have been travelling and have had no issue with battery life. I can have the phone for two days straight with no worry about it going dead at some point.

Charging:

This thing charges fast. And it doesn’t heat. I can have it from 8% to 67% in about 25 to 35 mins. Factor that in with the fact that battery life is really good, you will never have a problem with battery being low on this phone.

Design and Build Quality

Yes it is made of plastic. That was kind of a bummer immediately I realised so. I wanted metal. Remember the metal build on the Infinix Note 3? I wanted that!

But the finish is so good. It looks so good. Anyone who sees the phone says they like and want to get one just because of the shiny plastic material used for the removable back cover. It shines in different angles and I had issues getting a good picture of it to show. But watch the video above.

I don’t know why they opted for a removable back cover in 2017. But I have no problem since when you look and hold the phone, you’ll feel that there was probably a reason and process decided upon to make it as it is.

Display:

The 2.5D curved display is incredible for Ksh. 14,000! It looks so good and I don’t know how to show this in a fitting manner.

Colours are so very well saturated. Brightness is on point both indoors and outdoors. Reading, watching, playing a game, anything and the display didn’t disappoint.

It is not a scratch resistant display so you have to keep it safe from keys and coins to avoid scratches. Also, being a 2.5D curved screen, imagining a glass screen protector on it would be an insult. So just keep it safe.

Speakers

Those loud speakers:

I love music and I love listening to it in many different ways; phone speakers, earphones, headphones, woofer etc.

The Phantom 6 Plus impressed me with its speakers as did the Samsung S8 Plus. The Phantom focused on bass ignoring volume, the highs and mids. The S8 Plus, although an outright all-round good speaker wasn’t loud enough.

The speaker on the Infinix Note 4 is really loud. Loud with no distortion. Loud and very clear. It doesn’t have too much bass, no. But the highs and mids are distinguishable. And listening to music or a podcast on this phone is a good experience. I really love these speakers.

Music on Earphones:

Such is the same when you start using the 3.5mm jack pin to listen to music. Even with no need for an equaliser, the phone impresses with very good audio quality. The only problem is you’ll need to get yourself a good pair of earphones or headphones as the one included in the box are not so good.

Fingerprint Scanner:

Trust me not, go out there and test one Note 4 for yourself. This fingerprint scanner is instantaneous! And you can’t cheat it.

Cameras:

At first I felt like the cameras would be really bad. They aren’t. They are good. Nothing out of this world, but also you’ll have little to complain about when you see the images.

Though I still feel Infinix would have done a better job with stabilisation and auto-focus for the back camera.

Back camera samples:

Front camera sample:

What do you think of the cameras? Check out Infinix Note 3 camera samples.

Software:

The Note 4 runs Android 7 Nougat with XOS skin. And I am sure when Android O becomes available Infinix who have a good track record of sending out updates unlike other companies, the device will receive and update to Android O.

Good Software Features on the Infinix Note 4:

• Multi-window mode; using two apps at the same time and being able to resize them
• Customisable Quick Settings plus System UI tuner
• Scrollshot; for long screenshots
• Screen recorder; record your screen to show what is going on
• Gestures; double tap to lock, unlock etc
• Magazine Lock screen; which is now becoming an avenue for Infinix to advertise their phones
• X-apps; Xmanager, share, Xwin etc

But I feel like with this phone, Infinix missed some things on software.

Software problems on Infinix Note 4:

• Give people the option to choose between soft or on-screen keys
• Where are the themes?
• Why can’t I format a Micro-SD card as internal storage?
• The Nougat feature that allows double tapping recent apps button to switch apps doesn’t work here

Performance:

This is the major problem with the Infinix Note 4. The phone has these small lags that are frustrating. You switch between apps and you have to wait for a while. Huge apps take a while to open. There’s lags when gaming. And this makes one feel so frustrated.

Is it the RAM or is it the Processor that slows things down? I want to believe some software updates can tweak things here and there to increase performance.

Finally…

• Is it a phone I would recommend? Yes!
• Is it better than the Note 3? They are two different devices. Theyre so far apart one wouldn’t think they are on the same line.
• Note 3 vs Note 4? Note 3 because of metal finish and what I think are better cameras. Note 4 because of newness, really good battery life and really good speakers.

Infinix Note 4 Pro will be available in Kenya starting August. Read about its specifications —>>>> here.

You can buy the Infinix Note 4 from Jumia for Ksh. 14,000