Infinix Smart 8 review: Awe-inspiring design with ‘Magic Ring’ at a pocket-friendly price

Infinix Smart 8 review: Time and again, Infinix has rolled out competitive smartphones in the mid-range and budget segments with the promise of delivering on users’ basic requirements and then some. So, even as we talk about its smartphone’s capabilities, know that Infinix has gained its reputation for bringing high-performing gaming smartphones. Now, with latest handset, Infinix Smart 8, the company has brought new features and a special design and still managed to keep it in the budget segment. So, although it is a smartphone that falls under the Rs.10000 segment, it features a Dynamic Island-like feature called Magic Ring that provides as many as four functionalities. Additionally, the LED ring light and its textured plastic design will be a standout feature that should put it ahead in the budget phone market.

But the question that will arise in potential buyers’ minds is whether the smartphone’s looks and a few attractive features are enough. Well, that is exactly what we will explore in detail. I have been using the Infinix Smart 8 smartphone for a considerable amount of time and was quite flattered by its eye-catching looks. Now, does it excel in the performance and multi-tasking departments as the company has portrayed it? Read on.

Infinix Smart 8 design and display:

 

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The Infinix Smart 8 features a glow texture design that gives a premium look to the smartphone. As much as I was impressed by its colour, camera matrix and LED ring flash, I found the smartphone to be too boxy. If you are a selfie lover, clicking one-hand pictures could be tricky due to its structure. Yes, please note that the smartphone is quite big, so it does require bigger hands for smooth handling. The smartphone surprisingly does not attract any fingerprint or dust, making it look clean and shiny all the time.

In terms of display, the Infinix Smart 8 features a 6.6-inch HD+ IPS punch-hole display with 500nits peak brightness and up to 90Hz refresh rate. It features thick bezels around the screen at the bottom. If we talk brightness, then it provides great colors and details giving a satisfactory experience when indoors, but in outdoor conditions, you may face problems with viewing the content. Streaming was not a bother at all as I watched quite a few shows and movies on the smartphone such as Koffee with Karan, Berlin, and The Grey Man, making it a quite a good experience. When it comes to smooth navigation and touch sensitivity, the smartphone falls short of being as responsive as it should be, but it’s adequate for most tasks.

Now, the stand-out feature of Infinix Smart 8 is its Magic Ring which has a pill-shaped notch, quite like that of iPhone’s Dynamic Island. While the functionalities of the feature are quite limited, it provides information such as battery percentage, face unlock animation and call duration. The inclusion of this feature in a budget range was a game-changing move by Infnix – it provides the most critical information that a user needs at frequent intervals during the day.

Infinix Smart 8 performance:

 

The Infinix Smart 8 is powered by a MediaTek Helio G36 processor an Octa-Core Gaming Engine and a 12nm advanced production process. Well, being an entry-level smartphone, I was not expecting the smartphone to handle intensive multitasking and graphic heavy gaming. The smartphone stutters while switching between apps. It lags during heavy usage which affects the overall performance of the smartphone. Note that playing games such as Battleground Mobile India (BGMI) takes a huge amount of loading time while launching the app and you may also face difficulties playing due to slow functionalities.

Apart from these, the smartphone provides acceptable performance for day-to-day usage such as calling, streaming content, surfing social media, and more. In terms of its user interface, I was not impressed by Infnix’s customer XOS 13 which is based on Android 13 and you may also notice bloatware but, it was not as annoying as Xiaomi or Oppo smartphones. In terms of sound quality, it does lack bass and clarity. The sound is inexplicably muffled while listening to high-beat songs, however, slow or instrumental songs provide a polished sound experience.

In terms of storage, It provides 4GB of RAM and 4GB of virtual RAM with 64 GB of storage which is enough to store basic applications, photos and videos.

Infinix Smart 8 camera:

 

The Infinix Smart 8 boosts a huge 50MP dual AI camera which provides decent image quality with great detailing and punchy colors. Note that the smartphone captures great images in good lighting conditions, but struggles with night photography due to a lack of focus. In my opinion, the 8MP selfie camera could have received a bigger sensor as right now it struggles to capture natural images.

Nevertheless, the overall Infinix Smart 8 camera experience was decent and provided social media-worthy images. If you are looking for a decent camera smartphone in a budget range then you can surely go for Infinix Smart 8.

 

Infinix Smart 8 battery:

 

The Infinix Smart 8 is backed by a 5000 mAh battery which provides an exceptionally long life. While I mostly used the smartphone for basic needs, the smartphone remained charged-up through the day. Additionally, while streaming content or using social media, the battery does not drain very quickly. However, the 10W charging support is quite slow and it takes quite some time to power up the device which gives you more than 2 hours of wait time for it to charge to 100 percent. Therefore, in the fast charging department, Infinix could have provided a bigger and better solution.

Infinix Smart 8: Final verdict

 

The Infinix Smart 8 has various unique offerings in the budget range including the glow texture back, Magic Ring, LED ring flash, and more. Also, for basic usage, the smartphone provides a decent performance experience. Additionally, the Infinix Smart 8 also provides a great camera experience that captures sharp images in good lighting conditions.

Apart from its boxy design, the smartphone is a visual delight, which may be to the liking of budget smartphone buyers – eye candy! Therefore, if you are looking for a smartphone with a great design, solid camera and adequate basic performance, then you can go for Infinix Smart 8. However, if you are looking for a high-performance phone on a budget, then you can skip this one as it does struggle with heavy usage such as gaming, multi-tasking or opening apps simultaneously. As far as the last words on the smartphone are concerned, then let me say that at a price of Rs.7499, it gives me a satisfactory overall feeling.