What makes the Infinix Hot 11s one of the best budget phones of 2021?

I did a little digging…

Infinix has recently come up with a new budget device which I would say does pretty well if one compares it to similarly priced phones by Realme and Xiaomi. To me, the Hot 11S seems like a rather enticing option seeing the specs it has on offer and its starting price of about 10K.

As far as design is concerned, Infinix as a brand prefers to make use of its gradient design style over a standard plastic unibody chassis. The huge primary camera lens is quite prominently visible on the back, below which sit two other sensors. Infinix is one of the last major OEMs to not make a switch to the more user-friendly power button and fingerprint integration on the side and instead opts for the old-fashioned capacitive sensor on the back.

The device’s weight distribution seems apt and a narrow frame provides an easy grip. There is a USB C port at the bottom, which is a welcome change, while a single speaker unit and a 3.5mm headphone jack sit beside it.

The Infinix Hot 11S is by no means a one-hand device, thanks to its humongous 6.8-inch LCD panel (which I love) on the front that has FHD+ resolution. There is also a 90Hz refresh rate option.

As for the optics, one gets the 50MP primary lens also seen on the Redmi 10 Prime, while the secondary and tertiary sensors are okayish. Daylight shots are sharp in detail and showcase punchy colours that should work for social media usage. Portrait mode photos have a nice background blur. On the front is an 8MP selfie shooter that takes nice enough shots.

The chipset underneath doing all the heavy lifting is MediaTek’s recent Helio G88 SoC which also found its way onto the Redmi 10 Prime earlier last month. As per YouTube, real-world usage scenarios show that the Hot 11S accomplishes usual smartphone tasks such as app switching, multi-tasking, and more with relative ease.

The 4GB of RAM keeps background tasks open and the 64GB of internal storage is expandable to 256GB. The software could have been a little less bloated though. There is a 5,000mAh battery present which supports 18W fast charging. One can expect the device to last a full day on normal usage.