Infinix Hot 11S Unboxing, Hands-on Philippines: Big Upgrade

Infinix Hot 11S Unboxing, Hands-on Philippines: Big Upgrade

Initial Impressions: Infinix is on a roll with incredible value-for-money smartphones, and the Hot 11S is their bet for the under Php 8k price segment in the Philippines. As a follow-up to the Hot 10S, the Hot 11S gets key upgrades in the display, processor, and camera department to give it an edge against similarly-priced rivals

Pros

  •  Display is now Full HD+
  • Bigger sensor used for the main rear camera

Cons

  • Smaller battery vs Hot 10S
  • Filler modules accompanying the main rear camera

Infinix Hot 11S specs

  • MediaTek Helio G88 processor
  • 4GB LPDDR4X RAM
  • 64GB internal storage, expandable via microSD
  • 6.78-inch Full HD+ LCD LTPS display, 90hz refresh rate, 180hz touch response rate
  • 50-megapixel f/1.6 main camera, 2-megapixel depth sensor, AI Lens, LED flash
  • 8-megapixel selfie camera
  • LTE, 4G
  • WiFi, Bluetooth, rear-mounted fingerprint scanner
  • Stereo speakers, DTS Audio
  • 5000mAh battery
  • 18w charging
  • Android 11, XOS 7.6

Infinix wants to keep its momentum going in the Philippines with the Hot 11s. As a successor to the Hot 10s, the Hot 11s aims to offer better value for money as a solid budget gaming phone with a Full HD+ 90hz display and a capable Helio G88 processor.

Packaging and contents

While the packaging for the Hot 11s is simpler, Infinix retained the loud electric green color of the box. This time around, you have a bold Hot 11s branding, along with the usual Infinix branding on top and an Helio G88 badge at the bottom.

Inside the box, you have the phone itself, a SIM ejector tool, jelly case, 18w charger, USB-C cable, and documentation.

Design

While you still get the same polycarbonate build with a glossy build, the Hot 11s has a wavy finish that gives an illusion that the back panel is made of glass and not plastic. The camera module is vastly bigger than the one found on its predecessor, with the top part housing a 50-megapixel f/1.6 main camera. The fingerprint scanner is still a rear-mounted variety.

The button and port layout are the same as its predecessor: SIM card tray on the left side, power and volume controls on the right side, and USB-C port, headphone jack, and loudspeaker at the bottom.

Display

The Hot 11s gets a modern-looking panel with a centrally-placed punch-hole for the 8-megapixel selfie snapper. While the display is a smidge smaller than the one used on the Hot 10s, Infinix finally gave the Hot 11s a much-needed Full HD+ resolution to go nicely with its 90hz refresh rate and 180hz touch response rate. The high pixel density is well-appreciated when watching videos and playing games.

Aside from the display upgrade, the Hot 11s also comes with stereo speakers, with the earpiece acting as the second speaker.

Cameras

Aside from the display, the Hot 11s gets a big camera upgrade with its use of a 50-megapixel f/1.6 main snapper. The sensor for the main camera is large, occupying a big chunk of the camera module. While the main camera is a definite step-up from the 48-megapixel snapper used on its predecessor, the Hot 11s still has a pair of filler cameras accompanying it.

Our initial impressions on the main rear camera show that it does capture a good amount of detail for a budget device and that low-light performance appears to be better than the Hot 10s.

Making the Hot 11s’ camera capabilities unusual is that it can shoot 1440p video–which is something that is unheard of in any budget phone. We will do our usual set of tests before we give our final verdict on the Hot 11s’ camera performance.

Performance, battery

Powering the Hot 11s is an Helio G88 processor that is paired with up to 6GB RAM and up to 128GB internal storage. Our review unit is the lower-end 4GB/64GB variant, which should suit most mobile gamers out there.

We first encountered the Helio G88 on the Redmi 10. While Redmi’s implementation was slightly underwhelming, Infinix seemed to properly optimize the budget gaming processor on the Hot 11s based on benchmark comparisons with the Helio G70 used on the Hot 10. We will be doing a gaming review for the Hot 11s, so stay tuned for that.

Unlike the Hot 10s, the Hot 11s settles for a smaller 5000mAh battery. However, the tradeoff for that is a faster 18w charging solution, which is necessary to make the Hot 11s a compelling offering in the budget phone segment. Despite the smaller battery, a 5000mAh cell should be good enough for long gaming sessions, which we will evaluate thoroughly as we put the phone to the wringer.

Wrap up and early verdict

Infinix is listening to its customers and has implemented a number of improvements on the Hot 11s to make a very compelling budget phone in the Philippines that is geared towards gaming. In the battle for the budget phone champ, Infinix definitely has its best foot forward with the Hot 11s to dominate against similarly-priced offerings from more-known brands.

Infinix Hot 11s Philippines Price

The Hot 11s is priced at Php 6,990 for the 4GB/64GB model and Php 7,990 for the 6GB/128GB model in the Philippines and is available at Infinix’s official Lazada store.

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