2022 has been a busy year for Infinix and we’ve seen a number of launches from the company. Now to close things off, Infinix is extending its popular Zero lineup with a couple of fresh launches. While one is the Infinix Zero Ultra, which is a “flagship” offering with a few really great specs and headlined by a 200MP primary camera, the other is a humbler alternative that keeps the price down. I’ve been using the latter, called the Infinix Zero 20 for a week now, and here’s my review.
Design
The Infinix Zero 20 definitely feels a lot more premium than the price might lead you to believe. This one has a nice matte back panel, though exact details about the materials used remain unclear. The company claims that the frame has a “metal design.” However, the frame can easily be mistaken for plastic. The rear panel makes up for that, though, with its ever-so-slight textured finish – just enough to provide an optimal grip and reduce smudges.
The Infinix Zero 20 comes bundled with a silicone case and a 45W charging brick (Image credits: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)
I’m not a big fan of the squared-off edges because they make the phone chunky, which is a shame considering that the thickness is supposed to be just 7.98mm. Rounded edges give phones the illusion of being slimmer than they actually are and the Zero 20 could have benefitted from that characteristic.
Display
The Infinix Zero 20 once again surprises with an FHD+ AMOLED display that looks like it belongs in a slightly pricier phone. It’s crisp and the colours pop even on the default “Original colour” setting. But if you somehow still feel that the output is dull, then you can turn the saturation up with the “Bright-coloured” preset – although that feels unnecessary. Sunlight legibility could’ve been a tad better, but it isn’t anything that’d make you squint, so no major problems there.
The crisp display is one of the best features of the Infinix Zero 20 (Image credits: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)
My main gripe with the display isn’t with the panel itself, rather it’s with one of the features involving it. Always-on wasn’t enabled by default, and when I did enable it, I felt cheated. When you lock the device, this does kick in, but the display doesn’t remain always on as it should. It turns off in just 10 seconds. To wake the display up, you’d have to tap it once or lift the device, which really beats the purpose of having AMOLED. Perhaps a less misleading name for the feature would’ve been “ambient display.”
Performance
The TSMC 6nm MediaTek Helio G99 that powers the device lacks the raw power that the Dimensity series offers but that shouldn’t matter to the average user. The phone is capable of handling daily tasks and app opening/closing animations are pretty smooth. Scrolling performance wasn’t too great, though, with apps like Play Store lagging considerably. Coming to the gaming aspect, the device seems capable enough in my testing, though I would not call myself a dedicated mobile gamer.
PUBG New State allows Ultra settings on 60 FPS (Express photo)
There was little to complain about when running PUBG New State, even at the highest settings. However, reducing the graphics to “High” squeezes the best performance out of the chip on the game, with micro stutters disappearing completely on the setting. Sustained performance is great as well and the phone barely heated up.
The phone holds up well in a 15-minute throttle test (Express photo)
The only cause of concern with the chip will be the lack of 5G. The connectivity standard has started deployment in major Indian cities, so a 4G phone in 2023 doesn’t exactly scream future-proof, especially if you are the kind that holds on to the same phone for at least two years.
Camera
The Delhi smog doesn’t exactly present the best photography conditions (Image credits: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)
The Infinix Zero 20 features a 108MP primary camera at the rear, assisted by 13MP ultrawide and 2MP auxiliary lenses. While the 108MP sensor does snap decent photos, for the most part, they don’t exactly look that resolution. Zooming into a daylight shot from the 108MP unit reveals reasonable details, but try the same sensor at night and the performance will be lacklustre. Plus the fact that you’ve to keep your hand super-steady doesn’t help at all.
The Infinix Zero 20 can take its sweet time for processing (Image credits: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)
Night time images with decent lighting look crisp as long as you don’t zoom in (Image credits: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)
The Mickey Mouse cactus makes no fuss when I snap him (Image credits: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)
The advertised 10x zoom isn’t that great but you can get better results by switching to 108MP and cropping into the image (Image credits: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)
I enjoyed the front camera more than the rear. The colours are quite natural and the details are great during the day. However, I expected a lot more from the OIS feature that Infinix has promoted heavily. It doesn’t seem to work at all with stills and only kicks in with the video. But even with video, EIS seems to play a greater role. The bottom line: if OIS is indeed present, it’s barely noticeable.
Battery
The 4,500mAh battery is capable of providing juice for a full day, although you can obviously extend that with cautious usage. Charging speeds are okay and you can expect the phone to reach 100% in just under an hour.
Software
Disappointingly, the Infinix Zero 20 boots into Android 12 out of the box with XOS V12.0.0 on top. Adding to the disappointment is the fact that the phone’s apparently only eligible for a single Android update, meaning it’ll only be playing catch-up when Android 13 rolls out.
The quick settings panel design sits somewhere between the Control Center on MIUI and iOS (Image credits: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)
XOS is a relatively well-designed skin. It tries to keep things light and isn’t bloated with unnecessary features. Surprisingly, the OS does not ship with Google’s telephony apps, relying on their XOS versions instead, which is both a good and a bad thing. Yes, you get a more consistent system experience, but you also miss out on some cool features like built-in caller ID.
Verdict
The sides have a luminous finish and feel both sturdy and plasticky at the same time (Image credits: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)
The Infinix Zero 20 is a well-rounded phone overall, and for the Rs 15,999 introductory pricing, you can’t really ask for much more. The design is great and the performance is decent, but the cameras could use some improvement. However, when the introductory offer time period passes and the price climbs to Rs 17,999, you have other great options on the market that are worth checking out. Offerings like the Poco X4 Pro, OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G, and Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G sell in a similar price bracket, but also offer 5G while maintaining similar performance.
