Head to Head: Cherry Aqua GR VS Infinix Note 30 5G

Cherry is back! The local brand has officially kicked off 2024 with two new smartphone announcements for the budget segment: the Cherry Aqua GR and the Aqua S11 Pro. These two phones have the same vintage Cherry promise: great specs for not much money. But the smartphone market is very intensely competitive nowadays, and there are plenty of challengers for the budget crown. Today we’re going to take the Cherry Aqua GR and compare it with one of its competitors, the Infinix Note 30 5G.

Cherry Aqua GR VS Infinix Note 30 5G: Design

Off the bat, both phones have very distinct design identities: the Infinix Note 30 5G is not a subtle phone – it uses a very eye-catching exterior and colorway in its design and utilizes that twin reflex lens arrangement that’s been so popular with brands lately.

The Cherry Aqua GR meanwhile, goes for a less bombastic approach. The phone uses a mostly black, textured colorway, with the back dominated by a giant camera module that houses the cameras.

Overall both phones look great, and you’ll probably be drawn to either device based on your taste.

Cherry Aqua GR VS Infinix Note 30 5G: Display

If there’s one that sets apart both phones, it’s their displays. The Infinix Note 30 5G uses a flat, IPS panel with a maximum 120Hz refresh rate.

The Cherry Aqua GR meanwhile, uses a more premium-looking curved display. It also has a 120Hz refresh rate, making it perfect for playing games and watching movies.

Cherry Aqua GR VS Infinix Note 30 5G: Cameras

Cherry’s Aqua GR and the Infinix Note 30 5G both have 108-megapixel mains sensors as advertised, so they’re at the same level. That’s where the similarities end though. The Aqua GR uses a 50-megapixel OV50A sensor, which means that Cherry achieves that higher 108-megapixel count via interpolation. Now interpolation isn’t necessarily bad, though take note that you’re depending on software to add pixels to your images.

Cherry’s Aqua GR has a leg up over the Infinix Note 30 5G as far as options for photography go, as it has an additional 8-megapixel wide-angle camera, along with a 2-megapixel filler camera.

The Infinix Note 30 5G only has a 2-megapixel filler camera and a VGA camera at the rear. On paper, the Cherry Aqua GR wins the camera battle, but we’ll still have to take both phones out for a side-by-side test to see which one takes better photos.

Cherry Aqua GR VS Infinix Note 30 5G: Performance and software

Cherry’s Aqua GR has the privilege of being newer than the Infinix Note 30 5G, which means it has a newer processor – the MediaTek Dimensity 7050. Infinix’s offering sports an older Dimensity 6080 processor, though both phones offer 5G off the bat.

In any case, the 6080 has an older Mali-G57 MP2 GPU and a slightly slower clock, though they’re both based on a 6nm production process. The Arm Mali-G68 MC4 GPU is in the Dimensity 7050. Theoretically, the Dimensity 7050-equipped Cherry Aqua GR should win in a straight-up head-to-head as far as performance goes especially when you consider the better GPU. This makes the Aqua GR better for gaming versus the Infinix Note 30 5G, at least on paper.

Both phones have 8GB of RAM. Infinix’s offering the Note 30 5G in two storage variants; one 128GB and one 256GB, while Cherry only offers the Aqua GR in 256GB.

As far as software goes, both phones run on Android 13 out of the box, The main difference here is software overlay- the Note 30 5G runs on Infinix’s XOS, while the Chery Aqua GR runs on stock Android. I prefer stock Android because it offers the cleanest version of the OS, plus you don’t get pre-installed bloatware.

Battery-wise Cherry’s Aqua GR has 300mAh less juice than the Infinix Note 30 5G, though that’s made up with the faster 66W charging capabilities of the phone versus the 45W charge of the Infinix phone.

Cherry Aqua GR VS Infinix Note 30 5G: wrap up and price

The biggest factor in anyone’s purchase decision is price, and this is where Infinix has an edge. The Infinix Note 30 5G retails for Php 9,399 for the 256GB version, which is significantly less than the Php 11,999 that Cherry’s asking for in the Aqua GR.

But then again Cherry’s Aqua GR has a better processor, nicer-looking panel, wide-angle shooter, and faster-charging capabilities versus the Infinix Note 30 5G.