Infinix Zero 40 5G review: Mid-range hero?

Infinix should stop using the Zero moniker for their phones because, honestly, their phones aren’t what they used to be. The new Infinix Zero 40 5G is not a zero. The phone, at a starting price of Rs. 27,999, offers a lot of features. Infinix also claims that the Zero 40 5G is the first phone in its segment to offer 4K 60fps video recording on both the front and rear cameras and a 50-megapixel ultrawide rear camera. This is the first Infinix phone to be launched with Infinix AI.

The company emphasizes the phone’s video recording features, stabilization, and its potential as an ideal tool for vlogging — I’ve never heard the word “vlog” mentioned so often in a product briefing. So, is the Infinix Zero 40 5G any good? Do all these segment-firsts make it a hero? To know this you will have to read the full review.

Infinix Zero 40 design: Stylish

• Dimensions – 164.31×74.47×7.9 mm
• Weight – 195 grams
• Color – Moving Titanium, Violet Garden, Rock Black

Infinix has done a very good job in terms of design. The phone has curved edges and flat top and bottom edges, making it comfortable to hold and easy to use with one hand. The phone is available in three color options, and we got the Violet Garden variant. The rear panel has a two-tone finish and the word ‘Zero’ engraved on the bottom right corner. It’s a nice looking phone, especially in the purple color option.

Curved edges make the phone look thinner than it really is

There is a large circular camera module at the back, with a focus ring-like design. The curved edges make the phone feel thinner than it actually is. The left side is clean, while the power and volume buttons are placed on the right. Below you’ll find a USB Type-C port, a loudspeaker, a microphone, and a SIM card tray. At the top there is an IR blaster, another microphone and a speaker grill. Infinix has also provided an IP54 rating for added protection, which is a nice touch.

Infinix Zero 40 display: Big with a slight curve

• Size and Type – 6.78-inch, Full-HD+, Curved AMOLED
• Refresh rate – up to 144Hz
• Protection – Corning Gorilla Glass 5

The Infinix Zero 40 5G features a curved display with thin, uniform bezels, resulting in an impressive 93.4 percent screen-to-body ratio. The panel is of the LTPS variety, which means that although it offers a 144Hz refresh rate, it can’t go below 1Hz. However, you can choose between Auto, 60, 120, and 144 Hz. The display also offers a 360Hz touch sampling rate and 2,304Hz PWM frequency.

Running the screen at 144Hz will drain the battery very fast

In terms of color, you get a 10-bit panel with 100 percent DCI-P3 color gamut coverage. Two color modes are also available in the phone – Original and Bright Color. I would recommend sticking to the first one. You also get TUV Rhineland Eye Care certification and an Eye Care mode. As far as brightness is concerned, the phone gets plenty of brightness indoors (1,300 nits peak), but it can be a bit faint in direct sunlight.

For watching movies, gaming and any kind of content consumption, the screen is great. It’s big, colorful, bright (indoors), and offers an extremely fast refresh rate. It also has Widevine L1 certification so you can use all your streaming services.

Infinix has included an in-display fingerprint scanner in the phone. Despite being placed low on the screen, it worked accurately and was fast.

Infinix Zero 40 software: AI this and AI that

• OS – Android 14
• UI – XOS 14.5
• Latest security patch – August 5, 2024

The phone runs Android 14-based XOS 14.5 out of the box. As expected, it includes a fair amount of pre-installed apps, but fortunately, most can be uninstalled. The user interface is quite clean with smooth animations.

Infinix also includes an Edge Control feature that lets you take advantage of the curved screen and quickly access your favorite apps. There’s an IR control option in quick settings and within the Wellife app to control other devices using its infrared blaster. The phone boasts a “Works with GoPro” certification, but all that means is that you can control GoPro action cameras using the GoPro Quick app – a feature that virtually any smartphone is capable of doing.

AI eraser works well

The Zero 40 5G has several AI features as part of the Infinix AI suite. You get an AI eraser in the Gallery app that works great for removing objects from photos, although its performance can be inconsistent. Sometimes, I could remove an object in a single attempt, but other times, it took multiple attempts to achieve the desired result.

Other AI-powered features include Smart Cut-Out, which allows you to easily cut out objects from photos, and AI Vlog, which can automatically create a vlog using up to 20 clips from your gallery. Additionally, Smart Search lets you find images in the Gallery app by simply typing a text description.

There is an AI wallpaper generator that creates images based on your photos or text input, although I couldn’t test this feature due to the recurring “server is being upgraded” error. The Infinix Folax voice assistant is also built-in and is able to answer questions, translate text, control basic phone functions, and more.

Some AI features don’t work

While it’s nice to have all the AI ​​features mentioned above, Infinix has a lot of work to do, as some of them, including the wallpaper generator, refused to work for me.

In terms of software support, Infinix promises 2 years of Android OS updates and 3 years of security patches.

Infinix Zero 40 performance: Pretty good

• Chipset – MediaTek Dimensity 8200 Ultimate
• RAM – 12GB LPDDR5x
• Storage – Up to 512GB UFS 3.1

The MediaTek Dimensity 8200 Ultimate chipset is quite capable and handles day-to-day tasks with ease. Multitasking is also easy. It also performs well in gaming and does not generate much heat during heavy usage. The phone has 12GB RAM and 256GB or 512GB storage. It also has a virtual RAM expansion feature, and you get a microSD card slot to add more storage.

The phone is good for gaming

Regular performance is quite good, and I didn’t really encounter any lag while running multiple apps, using the camera, or performing various day-to-day tasks. We ran our usual benchmark sets on the phone and it performed similarly to other phones in the segment.

Gaming on the phone is fun, thanks mainly to the large screen with a 144Hz refresh rate. I played BGMI, Asphalt Legends Unite, and Genshin Impact on the phone and was able to run all of them without much lag. On the BGMI and Asphalt Legends unit, I was able to play with the highest graphics available. However, with Genshin Impact, I couldn’t play with the highest settings, and I also found that the phone would overheat after just 15-20 minutes. I also noticed this heating when using the rear camera for 4K video recording.

The phone gets hot when running heavy games

Infinix Zero 40 5G offers good call quality and audio performance. It has a dual stereo speaker setup with “Sound by JBL” with support for DTS Hi-RES Audio and Hi-Res Audio Wireless. Calls came through clearly through both the microphone and ear speaker. The dual speakers provide good stereo separation and are loud and clear but short on bass.

Infinix Zero 40 cameras: decent

• Rear main – 108-megapixel wide, OIS
• Secondary – 50-megapixel ultra-wide, 120-degree FoV
• Front – 50 megapixel wide

The Infinix Zero 40 5G is heavily marketing video recording capabilities and even calling it a vlogging phone. According to the brand, it is the first phone in the segment to offer 4k 60fps recording on the primary, ultra-wide and front cameras.

The phone supports 4K 60fps recording across three cameras

In my testing, while you get 4K 60fps across all three cameras, there’s no stabilization supported in this mode. However, video performance is about average. While there’s a good level of detail in 4K resolution on all three supported cameras, dynamic range, color, focus shifting and stabilization are average. There are two levels of stabilization available in the phone – Ultra Steady and Ultra Steady Pro. If you’re shooting using 4K resolution on either camera, you can only use Ultra Steady at 30fps. And the stabilization here is not excellent. Ultra Steady Pro offers slightly better stabilization, but it only works in 1080p. However, there is no Ultra Steady Pro stabilization available on the front camera in any resolution. You also get some vlog filters on the front camera, but they’re inactive and don’t shoot in 4K.

Now let’s talk about still photography. Photos taken in daylight offer good details on both the main and ultrawide cameras. Even the HDR performance is quite good for a phone at this price. However, you will find inaccuracies in color between the two cameras, and there is also some over-saturation going on.

From top to bottom: 3 x main cameras; 3 x ultrawide [Tap to Expand]

Photos taken using the primary rear camera in low-light conditions introduce some noise, but it is definitely usable. The ultrawide camera’s performance in the dark is average, it has more noise than the main, and once again it suffers from color inaccuracy.

Top to bottom: 2 x Main cameras; 2 x ultrawide

There’s also a 3x mode, but it’s a zoom-in crop only, and is mostly missing. Portrait photos are average, with the Bokeh looking fake most of the time.

Infinix Zero 40 Battery: Average

• Capacity- 5,000mAh
• Fast Charging – 45W wired, 20W wireless
• Charger – included, MagCase

Infinix has equipped the Zero 40 5G with a large 5,000mAh battery, but it is average in terms of battery life. While it lasted more than a day with regular use, it performed poorly in our HD video loop test. With the brightness set to 50 percent and the refresh rate set to 144 Hz, the battery drained in about 14 hours. However, you can extend battery life by enabling adaptive brightness and switching the refresh rate to 120Hz.

You get a MagCase in the box

The phone charges fast thanks to the included 45W charger. It takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes to fully charge from 0 to 100 percent, which is good. The phone also supports wireless charging at 20W.

Verdict on Infinix Zero 40

If you are looking for a mid-range phone then the Infinix Zero 40 5G is a good option that offers good design, a good set of cameras that you will use most of the day, good gaming performance, good battery life. And a nice big curved display with a fast refresh rate. If you are looking for a phone for vlogging, this is not the phone.

In terms of options in the same price range, you can try the Motorola Edge 50 Pro (Review), iQOO Z9s Pro (Review), or the Nothing Phone 2a Plus (Review). They all have their own pros and cons, so we’d recommend reading reviews before deciding.