Infinix Smart 3 Plus: Good looking budget phone marred by weak performance

The Infinix Smart 3 Plus is perhaps the only phone in the sub-Rs 7,000 segment to have a triple camera module

Hong Kong-based electronics maker Transsion Holdings’ smartphone brand Infinix recently launched the Smart 3 Plus – a budget smartphone with triple rear cameras. Priced at Rs 6,999, the Flipkart-exclusive smartphone seems to be a competitor to the Samsung Galaxy M10, Xiaomi Redmi 7, and Realme C2.

On paper, the Infinix Smart 3 Plus seems to be a decent entry-level smartphone. Let’s take a look at what it offers:

Design and display

The Infinix Smart 3 Plus has a 6.21-inch waterdrop notch-based IPS screen of HD+ (1520 x 720) resolution. The screen delivers sharp tones and good viewing angles, compared to smartphones in the same segment. The phone weighs 148 g, and has a slim profile of 7.8 mm, making it easy to hold and operate. The phone’s back has a glass-like appeal, which is actually a polycarbonate panel with glossy lustre.

Performance

The Smart 3 Plus is powered by MediaTek Helio A22 system-on-chip (SoC), a quadcore processor that operates at a maximum frequency of 2GHz. The processor is paired with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The phone boots XOS 5.0 Cheetah user interface, which is a heavily customised version of Google Android Pie.

Specifications aside, the phone handles day to day operations without any hiccups. However, the weak processor fails to handle multitasking jobs or multiple apps in the background. The OS-level customisations and bloatware are also to blame for phone’s sluggish performance. The phone has a dedicated game boost mode, which directs phone’s hardware resources towards a game in motion. However, the device is not suitable for graphic-intensive gaming titles such as PUBG.

 

Camera

The Infinix Smart 3 Plus is perhaps the only phone in its segment to have a triple camera module. The back camera set-up includes a 13-megapixel primary sensor, a 2MP depth sensor, and a low light sensor of unspecified resolution. On the front, the phone has an 8MP camera.

The rear camera module supports artificial intelligence-based auto scene selection, which recognises up to eight different scenes and adjusts the frame settings accordingly. The camera interface also features a customised Bokeh mode, allowing manual control to set the background blur effect.

The back cameras don't eliminate noise in low light despite an exclusive sensor for that purpose. The images are, however, pretty vibrant across the spectrum given its price. The selfie camera is a highlight as pictures are quite good as compared to similar devices in the price range.

Battery

Powering the phone is a 3,500 mAh battery that packs a lot of punch for average users who do not click a lot of pictures or indulge in gaming. It takes more than an hour to charge up to 100 per cent and could last for more than one day on light use. 

Verdict

Despite a weak processor, the phone is one of the better contenders in the entry-level budget segment. The phone has a decent camera system, good on-battery time and a vibrant display. It would have been an all-round package if it had a better processor that could keep up with multitasking and managing multiple apps at the same time.