Infinix Zero 5G 2023 Review: Premium, Sometimes!

The Infinix Zero 5G 2023 is the refreshed version of the 2022 variant of the same name and comes with a new design that feels very premium both to touch and to look at.

This time there are two variants of the device; the one we tested is called the Turbo version and comes with the Dimensity 1080 processor and up to 256 GB of storage. The regular version of the Infinix Zero 5G 2023 comes with the Dimensity 920 processor and 128 GB of storage.

We have been using the device for over a couple of weeks now and will share our detailed thoughts on it. Let us get started.

Infinix Zero 5G 2023: Design and Build Quality

The Infinix Zero 5G 2023 has a nice design on the back. Infinix has used vegan leather to give the phone a sturdy yet soft finish that feels good in the hand. We got the Coral Orange color with it, which looks stunning with the bright orange side frame. There are two other colors as well, namely Pearl White and Submariner Black. The back also has the phone’s branding engraved in gold.

There is a smooth transition between the back and the camera bump, which gives the device a seamless design. The frame is made of plastic, but it does not feel cheap. On the front, there is a 6.7-inch display with decently sized edges and a hole for the front camera.

The right side of the bezel houses the volume rocker (tactile enough) and the power button, which also doubles as the fingerprint sensor (pretty fast and responsive). The left side of the frame houses the SIM card slot, which can accommodate two 5G SIM cards as well as a microSD card. The bottom of the frame houses the USB Type-C port (USB 2.0, unfortunately), the primary speaker, the primary microphone, and the 3.5 mm headphone jack. The top of the phone houses the secondary noise-canceling microphone and some lettering.

Overall, we like the design and feel of the Infinix Zero 5G 2023. It’s a big phone, but it’s light enough (199 g) to use with one hand. The back feels so good that we used the phone without a case during our test. But yes, people with small hands will struggle with this phone, and you will get a case in the box if you need it.

Infinix Zero 5G 2023: Display and Audio

The Infinix Zero 5G features a huge 6.7-inch FullHD+ IPS LCD display with a refresh rate of 120 Hz. The display is crisp and color accurate. The 120 Hz refresh rate works well most of the time, but we left it at the AUTO setting for the best performance and battery life. You can always force 120Hz if you want to.

Even though the display is an LCD panel, the bezels around the display are pretty thin. There is a bit of light leakage around the edges and around the front camera in the upper center, but it does not affect the usability of the display. All content looks great on display, and most OTT platforms support Widevine L1. Overall, the Infinix Zero 5G 2023’s display offers a very good experience.

In the audio department, the Infinix Zero 5G 2023 has a single speaker on the bottom that does not sound very good. It lacks depth and sounds tinny even at the highest volumes. The 3.5 mm headphone jack provides decent audio output as it supports Hi-Res audio with the DTS Sound Enhancement feature available in the software. The audio output via Bluetooth also sounds quite good. Alternatively, you can also use the Type-C port with a dongle or a DAC to use your favorite headphones.

Infinix Zero 5G 2023: Performance and Battery Life

The Infinix Zero 5G 2023 comes in two variants, the regular variant comes with the Dimensity 920 processor, and the Turbo version comes with the Dimensity 1080 processor. We used the Turbo edition, so our opinions are based on that.

The Dimensity 1080 processor is certainly a powerful chipset in this price range. The Infinix Zero 5G 2023 handles everyday tasks well and also maintains the 120hz refresh rate without much issue. Sometimes there are little stutters in the UI, mostly due to poor optimization, but things like scrolling, opening, and closing apps are pretty fast and smooth.

The phone did not heat up even during demanding tasks like gaming. The Dimensity 1080 chipset, along with the 8GB from LPDDRX RAM, helps the phone maintain its performance during sustained workloads. Infinix used UFS 2.2 memory in the Zero 5G, although a newer storage option would have provided more speed. Our device has 256 GB of storage, which is enough for most people and quite unusual for mid-range smartphones in a similar price range.

Although performance is good, there is still a lack of optimization in the software, which sometimes causes the phone to skip a few frames, and animations are not as smooth as they should be. As powerful as the Dimensity 1080 is, if the software is not well-optimized, there will always be performance issues.

Call quality was solid, and there were no issues with the device’s proximity sensor either. The mobile network and wifi performance are also decent. Unfortunately, 5G did not work on our JIO SIM even though the option was enabled in the settings. Finally, the haptic feedback is just not good; we turned it off on the very first day.

As for battery life, the Infinix Zero 5G 2023 is equipped with a 5000mAh battery. During our test, the device was able to last a full 17-hour workday without any issues. On each charge cycle, we were able to easily get over 7 hours of screen time while still having 30-40% battery left at the end of the day. The battery life is one of the big plus points of the Infinix Zero 5G.

In terms of charging speed, the Infinix Zero 5G 2023 supports up to 33W fast charging and comes with a 33W charger in the box. The phone takes about 1 hour and 40 minutes to charge from 10% to 100%. That’s not the fastest charging speed we have seen on smartphones in a similar price range, but it’s by no means slow.

Overall, the Infinix Zero 5G 2023 performs well and lasts all day.

Infinix Zero 5G 2023: Software and Features

The Infinix Zero 5G runs on XOS V12, which is based on Android 12. The software is smooth, responsive, and packed with features. There is some bloatware after the first trunk, but you can remove most of it. After the initial setup, we did not see any ads on UI. Infinix seems to take a lot of inspiration from MIUI for the UI elements and how they work. The quick settings bar and notification center seem very similar to MIUI’s elements.

You have to swipe from the top right of the screen to access the quick settings and swipe from the top left to access the notification center. These gestures might be a bit difficult to achieve with one hand since the phone is very large. However, there is an option in the home screen settings that allows swiping anywhere on the home screen to show the notification panel and swiping left from there to access the quick settings.

Other than that, XOS behaves similarly to stock Android, with a swipe up from the bottom bringing up the app drawer and a swipe to the right bringing up the Zero screen, which replaces the Google Now page. There are little things, like holding the back gesture for a second brings up a side menu for quick access to some features. There are also swipe gestures to take screenshots and perform other similar tasks.

The Inifnix Zero 5G has its own dialer and a call recording option that does not announce itself to the recipient before recording starts. There are things like X-Mode and Geekbar that provide some additional features for gamers. They also have a virtual RAM option that uses the memory as additional RAM, but it’s not as useful.

As for updates, a brand new phone in 2023 running Android 12 is not a good sign. Plus, right now, it’s running the December 2022 security patch, and Infinix has promised 2 years of software updates. Their track record with updates has not been great in the past, so I am skeptical. Overall, the software is not bad.

Infinix Zero 5G 2023: Camera

The Infinix Zero 5G is equipped with a triple camera, but only one camera is really useful. It has a 50MP main sensor along with a 2MP macro and a 2MP depth camera. The main camera captures images with a good amount of detail, but Infinix still needs to work on HDR processing and white balance control. The 4K 30FPS video also looks good, but it’s not great. The other two cameras are pretty useless, to say the least. There is a dual LED flash for taking photos and videos at night.

The cameras work well when there is plenty of light, but they become useless in low-light conditions. Artificial lighting conditions also affect the camera performance quite a bit. On the front, there’s a 16MP camera that takes detailed selfies but smooths out faces and brightens them up every time, even if you have all the beauty settings turned off. Surprisingly, the front camera also has a dual LED flash that lets you take better selfies at night.

Take a look at the samples below.

Infinix Zero 5G 2023: Verdict

The Inifnix Zero 5G 2023 is a good device for most people as it offers a very premium design coupled with good performance and decent cameras. Infinix needs to work on the software and provide timely updates to consumers. We have no idea when 5G will work on this device, but we hope it will be soon.

In conclusion, we would recommend buying this phone if you are looking for an overall balanced device and you do not care much about the software. If you are looking for exceptional performance or features at such a competitive price, then you will probably be disappointed. But the Infinix Zero 5G 2023 is an overall upgrade over the 2022 variant.

Buy Infinix Zero 5G 2023