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Business News/ Technology / Tech Reviews/  Infinix Zero Flip review: A promising debut or just hype?
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Infinix Zero Flip review: A promising debut or just hype?

Infinix Zero Flip Review: Infinix's first flip phone boasts a premium design, vibrant AMOLED displays, and a large battery. However, a few issues with the device prevent it from being a definite must-buy.

Infinix Zero Flip Review: Zero Flip comes with a 3.64 inch AMOLED cover display (Aman Gupta/ Mint)Premium
Infinix Zero Flip Review: Zero Flip comes with a 3.64 inch AMOLED cover display (Aman Gupta/ Mint)

If you've been watching the flip phone trend unfold from a distance, wondering why these smartphones are so expensive, you're not alone. That's exactly why I was excited when Infinix approached me to review their first-ever flip phone, priced under 50,000—making it the most affordable flip phone in India while still offering many ‘flagship’-level features.I used the Infinix Zero Flip as my primary device for about a month, and here’s my take on how it performed in real-world usage.

Unboxing and design:

One aspect that I absolutely love about Infinix is their commitment to providing a wholesome unboxing experience, and the Zero Flip is no exception. It comes in a large rectangular box that opens from the top to reveal its contents: the device itself, a 70W USB adapter with a Type-C cable, a SIM ejector tool, and a well-made flip case in two components.

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Upon first glance, the Infinix Zero Flip won me over with its aesthetics. The top half features a glass component (which does attrack a lot of fingerprints), while the bottom showcases a matte engraved design. The only branding on the back is the "Zero" logo, with the Infinix logo neatly tucked away at the centre of the hinge.

There is a noticeable click sound when opening and closing the Zero Flip, but nothing else to convince me of poor build quality. In fact, Infinix claims the Zero Flip has been tested for over 4,00,000 folds, which amounts to around 200+ fold per day. Additionally, the Zero Flip has designed the device to offer a range of angles, allowing it to hover anywhere between 30 and 150 degrees. I do hope that Infinix improves the hinge mechanism a little bit in the next generation allow for easier one-handed operation.

Display and software:

Infinix Zero Flip gets a 6.9-inch LTPO AMOLED with 120Hz refresh and 1400 nits of peak brightness. It delivers rich and vivid colours, which leads to an immersive viewing experience that is ideal for a binge-watching session. However, the internal display of Zero Flip does struggle during bright sunshine, making it challenging to use outdoors without adjusting the screen's angle.

I had no troubles with the 3.64 inch AMOLED cover display, which Infinix claims is the largest in the segment. Unlike the Motorola Razr 50 with its horizontal camera setup, there is vertical cutout for the camras on Zero Flip, meaning there is a lot more screen realestate available here without any hinderances. The external display support tons of apps including WhatsApp, Instagram, Gmail,Telegram, X/ Twitter Google Maps, ChatGPT, Chrome, Audible and even payment and shopping apps like Phonepe and Amazon.

Infinix has added a bit of personality to the cover display with '3D Cute Pets' animations and a custom layout for music playback (see attached image below). There is, however, a minor software glitch that I encountered where the external display occasionally fails to change orientation until the device is unlocked. Infinix could probably fix this with a future software update, but it's still worth mentioning.

 

Infinix Zero Flip in outdoor brightness
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Infinix Zero Flip in outdoor brightness
Infinix Zero Flip orientation issue
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Infinix Zero Flip orientation issue (Aman Gupta/ Mint)
Custom layout for Music on cover display
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Custom layout for Music on cover display
Infinix Zero Flip cover display
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Infinix Zero Flip cover display (Aman Gupta/ Mint)

The Infinix Zero Flip runs on XOS 14, based on Android 14, with 2 years of promised OS updates and 3 years of security patches. If you're hearing about XOS for the first time, it's Infinix's ad- and bloatware-free interface, packed with many useful features. A standout feature for me is the 'Social Assistant', which not only allows voice recording during WhatsApp calls, but also offers other fun options such as a voice changer and emojis for video calls.

That being said, the overall design and animations on the XOS 14 feel a little dated. Infinix could definitely do with modernising the interface to better meet the expectations of a 2024 device.

Camera:

The Zero Flip features a dual-camera setup on the back, with a 50MP primary and a 50MP ultra-wide-angle lens. On the front, there’s also a 50MP selfie camera with a built-in flash. The rear cameras, equipped with OIS, can shoot up to 4K at 30fps, while the front camera is capable of high-resolution shots as well.

I've noticed a trend with Infinix phones this year: they capture a lot of good-looking photos in bright outdoor conditions, but there’s a tendency to overexpose the subject at times. The Infinix Zero Flip follows this trend—the primary camera often takes decent shots and gets close to natural skin tones, even in artificial lighting. However, when aimed at artificially lit objects like billboards, the colour accuracy can occasionally become skewed.

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The selfie camera is decent for the most part, though it sometimes struggles with capturing natural colour tones. Despite the 50MP sensor, I actually preferred taking selfies with the rear cameras due to the ability to switch easily between the main and ultra-wide lenses, which results in more detailed and crisper images.

I also liked the new VLOG features in the camera app, which allows users to create VLOGs using preset templates provided by Infinix. There’s even an option to create VLOGs automatically when selecting three or more pictures in the Gallery app—a nice touch that shows Infinix is aiming to attract content creators with the Zero Flip. However, one notable miss was the much-hyped AI Eraser feature, which wasn’t very effective for my use case and lacked advanced capabilities like an AI-powered people remover.

As always, you don’t have to take my word on the camera’s performance—head over to the Google Drive link here to see the results for yourself.

Performance and battery:

Powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8020 processor, the Infinix Zero Flip isn’t designed for high-performance gaming or intensive tasks, but it handles day-to-day activities with relative ease.

And as Infinix India CEO Anish Kapoor rightly sums up in an exclusive interaction with me, “This (flip) form factor is not driven by power users. It has all the capabilities which is required to use that phone. It is more camera centric… and gamers use a very different kind of a phone".

Moving on to benchmarks, the Zero Flip scores 7,06,684 on AnTuTu and garners single core score of 739 and 2,466 for multi-core on GeekBench 6. On 3DMark's Wild Life Extreme Stress Test, it achieved a best loop score of 1,258 with 84.3% stability.

While these scores are fairly standard for a flip phone under 50,000, the concerning issue is that the Zero Flip gets uncomfortably hot during benchmarking. It also tends to warm up noticeably in certain daily tasks, especially when using the external display. Hopefully, Infinix can address some of these heating issues with a future software update.

As for battery life, the Zero Flip has a 4,700mAh battery, which is significantly larger than the 4,200mAh battery in the Motorola Razr 50 and the 4,000mAh battery in the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6. I experienced around 5 to 5.5 hours of screen-on time on a typical day, with 2-3 hours of social media use, calls, music streaming, and some YouTube video watching. The phone takes about 55 minutes to an hour to fully top up with the bundled charger.

Verdict:

The Infinix Zero Flip is one of the first attempts to offer a flip form factor at a relatively affordable price. For a first-generation product, it gets a lot of things right, including premium build quality, an interactive and large cover display with support for numerous apps, a sizable 4,700mAh battery (for a flip phone), 70W fast charging, and a feature-rich, ad-free interface.

However, persistent heating issues, even during regular use, and the lack of an IP rating are two significant drawbacks for me. It’s also concerning that the front display struggles in direct sunlight, and the rear cameras tend to overexpose images in certain conditions.

So, who is this phone for? I believe the Infinix Zero Flip could be an excellent option for someone interested in exploring the flip form factor but not yet ready to invest in the pricier models from Samsung and Motorola.

ProsCons
Cost effectiveHeating issue especially while using cover screen
Feature rich cover displayBrightness issue with main display
Big battery for a flip phone with 70W fast chargingNo IP rating
JBL tuned stereo speaker setup 
Ad free and feature rich UI 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aman Gupta
Aman is a tech nerd at heart and a journalist by profession. He is passionate about unpacking the latest trends and making technology understandable for everyone. Outside of the newsroom, Aman is usually tinkering with a new gadget, lost in a great book, or concocting the perfect cup of coffee.
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Published: 05 Nov 2024, 02:10 PM IST
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