Infinix Zero 5 First Impressions: Dual-camera, big battery and ample storage

Transsion Holdings backed Infinix brand has expanded its product portfolio in the Indian market with the launch of Zero 5 and Zero 5 Pro. Priced at Rs. 17,999 and Rs. 19,999 respectively, the smartphones offer large 5.98-inch Full HD screens, dual-camera setup, big battery, 6GB RAM and dedicated microSD card.

The Hong Kong based smartphone maker has priced the feature packed multimedia centered Android handsets quite aggressively and will sell them exclusively on Flipkart.com by November 22, 2017. We were present at the global launch event and here's what we think of the latest Infinix Zero 5 smartphone, which seems like a good value for money deal for price-conscious consumers. It is worth mentioning that both the handsets have same set of specifications except the inbuilt storage space. Infinix Zero 5 comes with 64GB internal memory while the Pro variant offers 128GB internal memory out-of-the box. That said, we will focus on Infinix Zero 5 in the following first impressions as our primary device.

Large 5.98-inch Full HD screens with Gorilla Glass protection
Infinix Zero 5 (and Zero 5 Pro) sports a large 5.98-inch 1080p screen. The Full HD LTPS JDI display comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection and offers a pixel density of 370 pixels (approx). The screen is quite bright and touch responsive and will please consumers who love to watch videos, read books and play graphical intensive games on a big screen. However, it also makes the handset quite bulky for one hand operation and the Zero 5 is best suited for two-hand usage.

Premium design and Sturdy built
Infinix Zero 5 does not bring anything entirely new in terms of design but feels quite sturdy and well built. The smartphone's rear panel borrows some design elements from Nexus 6P, especially the horizontal dual-camera setup at the top bar. The handset is quite sleek but is not the lightest phablet around. However, the tradeoff for a big battery unit that the handset packs inside will not disappoint smartphone enthusiasts.

12MP+13MP dual-lens camera setup with 2X optical zoom
Camera is undoubtedly the highlight feature of Infinix Zero 5. The smartphone uses a 12MP wide-angle lens and 13MP telephoto lens, a combination which is quite rare in sub Rs. 20,000 price-point. The 12MP wide angle lens uses Sony IMX386 sensor and uses a 6P lens that works on an f/2.0 aperture. The 13MP telephoto lens is provided by Samsung and works on a darker f/2.6 aperture. The camera setup also offers a 2X optical zoom, 10x digital zoom and let you capture images with Bokeh effect. I took a couple of shots and the captured images look quite impressive on the big 1080p screen. The bokeh effect created by the dual-camera setup is appreciable and 2x optical zoom is also very useful to capture subjects placed farther. As far as front camera is concerned, Infinix Zero5 is equipped with 16MP selfie camera that works on an f/2.0 aperture and also comes equipped with front flash. The front camera can also capture bokeh images and creates a good depth of field effect in selfies.

6GB RAM and Octa-core MediaTek CPU
Multitasking will not be a concern on this phablet as you get 6GB of RAM that can easily take care of multiple tasks without slowing down the performance. The processing department is handled by an octa-core MediaTek P25 chipset cocked at 2.6GHz. I haven't experienced any lags during my 24-hour duration with the handset; however you will have to wait for gaming and the overall processing review. The Zero 5 runs on Android Nougat with company's customized OS XOS Hummingbird V3.0. The UI is heavily customized and might not please consumers who prefer stock Android experience. We will find out how good or bad is software performance in the coming week.

Dedicated microSD card, two SIM card slots and Type C Port
Infinix has once again taken care of basics and the new Zero 5 handset doesn't force you to choose connectivity over storage and vice-versa. The smartphone has two SIM card slots and a dedicated microSD card slot that will help you expand the internal memory to further by up to 128GB. For connectivity there's 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, USB-Type C, and 3.5mm audio jack. The smartphone also comes with a fingerprint scanner positioned at the back panel.

Big batter unit to last a day
Infinix Zero 5 is backed by a large 4,350mAh non-removable battery unit with fast charging support. The smartphone ships with an 18W x charger, a transparent silicone case, Type C cable and a pair of standard earphones.

Conclusion
Infinix Zero 5 is a feature loaded mid-segment Android smartphone that seems like fair and value for money deal. The smartphone brings a capable dual-camera setup with one wide and one telephoto lens. There's a large 1080p screen and ample amount of RAM to handle intense multitasking sessions. You also get a big 4,350 mAh battery unit and a dedicated microSD card to further expand the storage. We will pit the handset against other sub Rs. 20k handset to evaluate its everyday performance in the coming week. Stay tuned on GIZBOT.com for our comprehensive review of Infinix Zero 5.