Infinix is a brand that’s familiar to people who live in some regions of the world, most notably developing countries. It follows the same blueprint as Tecno, which is unsurprising, considering that the two OEMs are under the same parent company. While the company started out with budget devices, it’s finding its feet in the midrange.
To exemplify that, Infinix has just released its Note 50 Pro, a smartphone that sits pretty snugly in the lower midrange. Compared to last year’s model, it brings a few upgrades that you’re sure to notice in the average day of use, and those are the best kinds of upgrades. Let’s talk about it.
The Infinix Note 50 Pro Gives Itself a Facelift and Brings Superior Specs
The appeal of smartphone companies releasing devices every year is for them to bring improvements compared to their predecessors. If a device comes out with barely any upside compared to the previous model, it’s hard to convince people to spend their money on it. Fortunately, in my opinion, that’s not the case with the Infinix Note 50 Pro.
The Design
The first thing to take note of (pun intended) with the Note 50 Pro is that the design changes significantly compared to the Note 40 Pro. In fact, it is best to classify it as an entirely new phone as far as its design goes. Midrange phones don’t get too comfortable with their looks, though that mindset sometimes yields duds.
In the case of the Note 50 Pro, you get a smartphone with a flat display, flat back, and a flat metallic frame. The ArmorAlloy frame is made of Damascus steel and aerospace-grade aluminum, and Infinix doesn’t want you to miss that. Its ShockAbsorb tech also makes it TUV-SUD-certified for drop resistance.
The Note 50 Pro is just 7.3mm thin, which is much slimmer than last year, but it gets a tad heavier at 198g. That might be partly due to the more robust IP64 certification. The phone is available in Titanium Grey, Enchanted Purple, Ruby Red, Mountain Shade, and a Racing Edition colorway.
The Screen
For its price point, the Note 50 Pro has a pretty solid 6.78-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a peak brightness of 1,300 nits and a 144Hz refresh rate. That sort of refresh rate on such an affordable phone is a nice treat, especially as its predecessor “only” had 120Hz.
The Hardware
The chip in the Note 50 Pro switches from last year’s model’s Dimensity 7020 to a Helio G100. It’s an odd switch, considering that the benchmarks say that the Dimensity has better CPU performance. The only real perk to the Helio G100 is its superior GPU, and not everyone is a gamer. However, the difference in performance is likely not to be massive (though in the lower tiers, extra power is arguably more appreciated).
One important thing to note is that the Note 50 Pro is not a 5G phone, and that’s despite last year’s model being one. That’s arguably the most disappointing aspect of the phone, and I can’t imagine why Infinix made that choice.
It’s nice to know that the device brings a feature that I haven’t seen in a while, and that’s a built-in heart rate and blood oxygen (SpO2) sensor. It’s not the first time we’re seeing this in a phone; Samsung did it with its Galaxy S6 and it was pretty handy. However, this is arguably our first time seeing it in a phone so affordable.
The Battery and Charging
The Note 50 Pro ups its battery capacity by a minimal 4%, but that results in a slightly bigger 5,200mAh cell, which is definitely something to add to the list of upgrades. However, the charging is where the real upgrade is at, as it doubles to support 90W wired charging, providing a full charge in just 38 minutes.
The phone also comes with 30W wireless charging, which is another upgrade compared to last year. Notably, the device advertises Wireless MagCharge, though it seems to be supported solely through magnetic cases. It also has reverse wired and wireless charging, which is another impressive feature for its price point.
The Cameras
A little bit changes on the camera front. The 108MP camera from last year is dropped and replaced with a 50MP unit, which seems to be the trendy number these days. I want to assume that the actual sensor improves despite the drop in resolution. We also get an 8MP ultrawide. It seems that the improved chip allows for slow-mo video recording at FHD/240 now, which wasn’t possible last year. The selfie camera remains a 32MP unit.
The Software
The Infinix Note 50 Pro runs on the Android 15-based XOS 15. The only software feature that the company really wants to mention is its One-Tap AI, which makes it possible to activate Folax, the brand’s AI assistant, by long-pressing the power button. Folax can respond with on-screen context and also identify text, images, and videos.
The Pricing
The regular Infinix Note 50 starts at $180, which is a good price. The Note 50 Pro is only a little more expensive, at $210, so it is hard to understand why everyone wouldn’t just choose this.
