Infinix Hot S3X review: Good selfie camera and crisp display

We all would agree to the fact that smartphones have gradually become an essential commodity for us in this fast-paced world. These pocket-sized devices help us to carry on with day-to-day tasks and allow us to stay connected with the outside world. There are a number of smartphones available in the market today with each of them focusing on a specific set of features such as cameras, display, hardware for gaming and multitasking and others.

The features which we are talking about includes the taller edge-to-edge displays with an aspect ratio of 18:9, dual-lens camera setup, 3D Face unlock and others. The smartphone industry is majorly driven by the brands such as Xiaomi and Honor when it comes to the budget segment, however, some new brands are also catching up and have started offering devices with trending features at a comparatively lower price tag.


Design: Premium looking design
Infinix Hot S3X looks quite appealing and will definitely grab some eyeballs. The company had managed to bring a good looking device with some decent features for the masses. Hot S3X features a similar design as the company's last release- the Infinix Note 5 but it looks slightly more polished. The rear of the smartphone  features a glossy panel with more curves at the edges as compared to the Infinix Note 5. The design can be easily mistaken for a glass uni-body construction; however, the rear panel is made up of plastic and has been given a highly reflective glass finish.
The fingerprint scanner, which is now rectangular in shape with round edges is positioned at the center in the upper half of the rear panel. A vertically stacked dual-rear camera set up is placed along with the LED flashlight at the top left corner. The fingerprint scanner is placed ideally where our finger will rest naturally while picking up the device.
As for the placement of the keys, the volume rockers along with power key is placed at the right panel of the device, whereas the left panel houses the SIM Card Tray. The speaker grills along with the microUSB charging slot are placed at the bottom panel of the smartphone. The smartphone is light in weight and even though it has a taller display; Hot S3X is fairly easy to operate with a single hand.


Our review unit came in Aqua Blue color variant, but the device is also available in Black and Grey color variants. While the glossy rear panel adds to the visual appeal of the smartphone, it is also a fingerprint magnet; thus, you might spend most of the time cleaning off the rear panel of the device. We would advise you to use a case with the device to keep it protected from dust as well as scratches. Thankfully, the company has provided one silicon case in the box. Overall, Infinix has done a pretty good job in designing this budget smartphone.

 
Display: Taller 6.2-inch HD+ display is crisp
The Infinix Hot S3X sports a 6.2-inch HD+ display with a notch on top. This is the first Infinix smartphone which features a display with a notch. The display comes with an aspect ratio of 19:9 with good 86 percent screen-to-body ratio. The display offers a screen resolution of 720 x 1500 pixels (228 PPI) and has peak brightness of 500 NITS which makes it fairly bright. The bezels around the side of the display are fairly narrow as compared to the bottom of the device. The minimal bezels at the sides add to the positive factor of the design.
The display offered by the S3X is fairly bright and responsive, and the bigger display makes the device apt for media consumptions. The one thing which might be a turn off in terms of display is that it maxes out at 720 pixels; therefore, you will not be able to stream 1080p videos on YouTube and other online streaming platforms. We would have really appreciated if the company had used a higher resolution display on the Hot S3X.
As mentioned earlier, the Infinix S3X is the first smartphone by the company to sport a notch on the display. However, the notch is slightly big and takes up a lot of space on the display. While we already have smartphones with teardrop notches in the market, we would have loved to see a smaller display notch on the S3X. And if you are not a big fan of the notch there is hardly anything you could do as Infinix has not provided the option to hide the notch.