It’s difficult to satisfy people in the budget category and competition is tough because profit margins are low. Redmi has a few options, Samsung too and there is a new phone from Infinix called Hot 30 5G. Is it worth buying it?

Let’s get a few specs out of the way. It’s powered by Dimensity 6020, comes with a 6.78-inch FHD+ display and has 8GB RAM. Let’s get a few things straight. On the review device box it’s written in big lettering 16GB followed by 8+8GB RAM. Actually, it has 8GB RAM and the rest is virtual RAM, which is not the same as having 16GB RAM.

On a positive note, you get a massive screen, which should be comfortable enough for YouTube viewing. The quality of the material is good but not premium. Overall, the phone may appear slightly bulky, perhaps that has to do with the 6,000mAh battery. There is a lot of plastic on the phone but given the price segment, that’s expected.
Let’s talk about the screen — it’s large. Colour reproduction is good and so are viewing angles. There is 120Hz screen refresh rate, which makes the overall scrolling experience smooth and it’s not something I was expecting on a budget phone. Also, consider the IP53 rating, which makes this phone splash proof. Don’t go dunking the phone in a bucket of water but if it’s drizzling, you shouldn’t have a problem.

Picture taken using Infinix Hot 30 5G

The phone comes with XOS UI, which ran smoothly during the few days we used. Out of the box you get Android 13. Dimensity 6020 is a popular choice for processors on a 5G phone. Most apps work fine but don’t expect to keep too many apps open in the background. Keep your expectations “budget”, that is, don’t expect the phone to run like a mid-range phone. You can run some of the popular games on medium graphics. There is bloatware, so you have to go through the process of disabling some of them and uninstalling the rest.

The 6,000mAh battery will obviously give you enough juices to last a couple of days, especially when you consider the budget-category processor.

The main snapper is 50MP. On the front, it’s 8MP. The main camera does an acceptable job (yes, the word ‘acceptable’ is sprinkled liberally in this copy). Many people are just happy capturing a few moments and don’t have any use for something like an ultra-wide. The selfie camera too is fine for everyday usage. If you want better camera performance, take a look at OnePlus Nord phones. Videos on the main camera are capped at 2K@30fps.

There are some good options in the budget category, like Samsung Galaxy A14. But Infinix has done a good job. We don’t have any word on regular security patches but for a crowd that’s looking for a secondary phone, this is a good option. By the way, this has NFC support. Priced upwards of Rs 11,499 (4GB+4GB virtual RAM, 128GB storage), it’s an acceptable option for anyone on a limited budget.