In the realm of mid-range smartphones, the Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G emerges as a compelling contender, offering a blend of unique features at an accessible price point of ₹21,999. With its sleek design, boasting a vegan leather back and an AMOLED display, the Note 40 Pro 5G sets itself apart visually. But does its performance match its aesthetics?
Equipped with a MediaTek Dimensity 7020 chipset, this device promises seamless multitasking and fluid user experience. However, it’s not all about the internals—the Note 40 Pro 5G introduces intriguing innovations like Active Halo Lighting and MagCharge wireless charging.
But how does it fare in important areas like camera performance and battery life? Join us as we delve into a comprehensive review of the Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G, revealing its strengths and weaknesses to determine if it’s the right choice for your needs.
The Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G looks and feels premium. The phone’s back is made out of what Infinix calls “vegan leather,” which feels sophisticated and doesn’t attract fingerprints as easily as glass would.
This smartphone comes in two colours: Titan Gold and Vintage Green.
I got the Vintage Green variant for review. It’s not a loud, in-your-face green, but more of a muted, sophisticated tone that looks almost earthy.
The frame is painted gold to complement the golden rectangular camera module on the back. The rectangular camera module houses three rear cameras and a circular LED flash surrounding Active Halo Lighting. This Active Halo Lighting, powered by AI, is claimed to be a segment-first feature. It is a customisable multi-colour light which serves as a notifier for various notifications including incoming calls, messages, and more. The camera module itself is raised slightly from the back of the phone, but it doesn’t jut out too much.
The Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G has a curved display, which curves gently at the edges for a more comfortable hold. The Note 40 Pro 5G has an IP53 rating for dust and water resistance. Gorilla Glass is there to protect the display, offering some peace of mind from scratches and bumps.
Overall, the Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G is a stylish and well-designed phone that looks and feels premium.
The Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G boasts a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution, and let me tell you, it’s a real treat for the eyes, especially when watching content. The viewing angles were also excellent, no matter how I held the phone.
Now, let’s talk about that smooth scrolling. This phone boasts a 120Hz refresh rate, which makes browsing social media incredibly fluid.
Infinix advertises the display reaching a peak brightness of 1300 nits. However, I only managed to get 965 nits in my tests under harsh sunlight with Adaptive Brightness on. It’s still decent for most situations.
The Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G smartphone is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7020 chipset which has two Cortex-A78 cores clocked at 2.2 GHz and six Cortex-A55 efficiency cores clocked at 2.0 GHz. You also get 8 GB LPDDR4X RAM and 256 GB of UFS 2.2 storage onboard. While the 256GB storage is ample and should meet the needs of most users, it’s worth noting that there’s no option to expand it further due to the absence of a microSD card slot.
In my day-to-day usage, the Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G maintained consistent performance. Throughout my time with the smartphone, I never encountered any instances of it feeling slow or lagging behind. Whether it was multitasking with multiple apps or swiftly switching between them, the Note 40 Pro 5G proved to be a dependable companion during the two weeks or so that I used it. However, it’s worth mentioning that while playing one of my favourite games, BGMI (Battlegrounds Mobile India), I frequently experienced accidental touches. Additionally, due to the phone’s curved display, I often had to tap multiple times to select an option located on the curved edges within the game.
Moreover, the phone is equipped with an AI assistant named Folax. This assistant is capable of assisting with various tasks, including making calls, capturing photos, playing music, setting alarms, and much more.
While my personal experience offers insights into the smartphone’s performance, it’s essential to consider objective measures as well. I conducted several benchmarks on the Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G, which I’ll discuss next.
The Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G displayed relatively underwhelming performance metrics when compared to other smartphones in its price range. In AnTuTu tests, the Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G recorded a score below 50,000, trailing behind competing devices like the Realme Narzo 70 Pro 5G and the Nothing Phone (2a).
On Geekbench, the Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G achieved 917 points in the single-core test and 2269 points in the multi-core test. Although these scores are lower than those of its competitors, they aren’t significantly lagging behind.
Let’s dive into the camera system on the Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G. First, let’s talk about the rear-camera setup. On the back, we have a triple-camera setup, but unlike most phones these days, there’s no ultra-wide lens. You get a 108MP main sensor with optical image stabilisation (OIS), a 2MP depth sensor and another 2MP macro sensor.
In good lighting conditions, it captures decent photos. There’s a good amount of detail, and colours are nice and vibrant without being oversaturated. However, the camera struggled with balancing exposure in some situations, particularly when shooting people in direct sunlight.
Things get a bit trickier in low-light situations. Don’t get me wrong, the phone has a Super Night mode, and it actually works pretty well. It brightens up night shots considerably and manages to salvage some detail that would otherwise be lost in the shadows.
Overall, the rear-camera system on the Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G is decent. The 108MP main sensor takes good photos in good lighting and the Super Night mode does a surprisingly good job in low-light. Just keep in mind the lack of an ultra-wide lens.
Stepping over to the front, the Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G sports a 32MP selfie camera. In good lighting, you can expect clear selfies. However, the low-light performance isn’t the strongest. While there is a screen flash to help brighten things up in low-light situations, image quality suffers.
That’s where the phone gets interesting – Charging. The Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G packs a 5,000mAh battery, which is pretty standard for a phone. In my daily use, which involved a mix of social media browsing, web browsing, YouTube, and some light gaming, I was able to easily get through a full day on a single charge.
The phone supports 45W fast charging, and during my testing, it took about 69 minutes to fully charge the phone from 0 to 100%. I played Call of Duty: Mobile for 15 minutes and only saw around 4% drain. One hour of using Google Maps only drains the battery by 6 per cent.
Here’s the coolest part: Infinix is jumping on the magnetic charging bandwagon with their own MagCharge system. A special back cover comes with the phone. A magnetic coil is placed within the case to place the device in the correct position on the Infinix MagPower for wireless charging. For context, Infinix MagPower is a 3,020mAh magnetic power bank that snaps onto the back cover of the phone for a quick on-the-go charge up. It’s not the most powerful option, but it’s definitely handy if you’re caught out and about with a dying phone.
I must say that the inclusion of the Magnetic charging solution is a neat addition, especially for the price point.
The Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G is a good option if you’re on a budget and want a phone with some unique features. It’s got a classy design with a vegan leather back and a curved display that’s great for watching videos. The battery life is pretty solid, and it comes with a magnetic charging system that’s handy in a pinch.
However, there are some things to keep in mind. The camera system is decent and there’s no ultra-wide lens which some people like to have. Also, while the phone can handle most everyday tasks, don’t expect it to be a gaming powerhouse.
Overall, if you’re looking for a stylish phone with a big screen, long battery life, and some cool features like magnetic charging and AI Halo Lighting, the Infinix Note 40 Pro 5G is a good choice for the price. But if you’re a big gamer or need the best camera on the market, you might want to look elsewhere.
