One of the key strengths of Infinix in the under Php 10k segment is how it makes sure that its offerings are very capable of handling some of the most popular titles–which is a big thing, especially for those who enjoy mobile games but have a tight budget. The HOT 20S is their latest offering to emphasize budget gaming. After using it for a few weeks with different games, we give our insights on how great the HOT 20S is for mobile gaming.
Quick Specs Recap
Since gaming is the main focus here, the key specs of the HOT 20S that are important include its use of a Helio G96 processor that’s paired with 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. Aside from the capable internals, you also have a 6.78-inch Full HD+ HyperVision Pro Gaming display that has a 120hz refresh rate and 180hz touch response rate that’s crucial for those quick movements that can be crucial in key gaming moments. To wrap things up, you have a 5000mAh battery that can last you several hours of gaming before you need to top it up.
Synthetic Numbers
Without any question, the Helio G96 is the best possible processor that you can use for a phone that’s marketed toward budget gaming. Despite being more than a year old and still using a rather dated 12nm process, the Helio G96 dominates rival processors like the Snapdragon 680 and UniSoc T616 with GPU performance.
The Snapdragon 680 and Unisoc T616 may go head-to-head with the Helio G96 when it comes to GPU performance, but the Helio G96’s dominance with GPU performance makes it crucial in being a budget-oriented processor that can offer a decent gaming experience.
Actual gaming numbers
While the synthetic benchmarks show a lot of promise with what the HOT 20S has to offer as a budget gaming phone, it’s important that we put it to the test with some of the most popular games in the market. With the information we obtained from GameBench, we used the HOT 20S to play titles like Asphalt 9, Genshin Impact, and Tower of Fantasy–all at their highest possible and most optimal graphics settings.
How was the experience? Overall, it’s very decent for an under Php 10k phone.
With Asphalt 9, we were able to easily hit the 30FPS cap even with the game set to high graphics–with 93% overall stability, which translates to a very smooth experience. Doing those intense races with our fully-kitted cars was a breeze with the HOT 20S, and its display’s good touch response rate was able to respond to our inputs quickly as we finish first place in almost all races.
Moving on to the popular open-world RPG Genshin Impact, setting the game to medium graphics gave us a smooth experience, which was crucial, especially when dealing with mobs, big bosses, and challenging content like Spiral Abyss. For the latter, pulling off perfect 36-star runs with our character builds is feasible with the HOT 20S’ overall performance.
Among the latest gaming titles out there, Tower of Fantasy beats Genshin Impact as the most demanding mobile game title out there, with its support for 90FPS gaming and up to a UHD resolution. While we were only able to run the HOT 20S comfortably at Balanced HD 30FPS, we got favorable results while doing the game’s Bygone Phantasm mode, being able to hit an average of 29FPS at a still-respectable 83% overall stability.
Considering that Tower of Fantasy is meant for flagship processors, the experience we got from the HOT 20S proves that you can still enjoy the game even with an under Php 10k device–which, again, is a rare feat.
With our experience from these three games, we can confidently say that the HOT 20S is an unbeatable offering for under Php 10k if you are looking for a budget device that can do serious gaming.
The HOT 20S is priced at Php 8,499 and is available at Lazada, Shopee, and Tiktok Shop.
