Infinix Note 4 Pro Review: A Good Stylus Smartphone

Infinix recently released The Infinix Note 4 Pro, which notably differs from its sibling, the Infinix Note 4, with its X-Pen feature. Is it worth the extra price tag? Here’s our full review.

Infinix Note 4 Pro Specs:

• 5.7-inch Full HD IPS display
• 1.3GHz octa-core CPU
• Mali-T720 MP3 GPU
• 3GB RAM
• 32GB ROM
• Up to 128GB via microSD (dedicated slot)
• 8MP front camera
• 13MP rear camera
• Dual-SIM (Micro)
• 4G/3G/2G
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Hotspot
• Bluetooth 4.2
• A-GPS
• Fingerprint recognition
• USB-OTG
• Android 7.0 Nougat
• X-Pen stylus
• 4,500mAh battery w/ Quick Charge
• 159.6 x 78.8 x 8.3 mm
• 200 g
• Champagne Gold, Sandstone Black, Prussian Blue, Lilac Gray

Design and Build

The Infinix Note 4 Pro is pretty much identical to the Note 4. It has the same 5.7-inch screen with 1080p resolution. Above it, is the phone receiver, 8MP front camera, and sensor. Below is the physical home button that doubles as a fingerprint scanner. Flanking on its left and right side are capacitive keys for navigation. Both the Recent Apps button (Left) and Back button (Right) are not illuminated by the way, which can confuse some first-time users.

On the left side is a Dual SIM card tray and pogo pins for the Smart Cover.

The volume rockers, power button, and microSD card tray are placed on the right side.

On top, we have the 3.5mm headphone jack.

And down below, we have the microphone, mono speaker, and microUSB port.

On its back, we have the 13MP camera with an LED flash and the Infinix branding below it. The antenna bands are visible because of its different color than its golden backplate, which mimics the styling of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.

The Note 4 Pro has an all-metal body design, making it look and feel more luxurious than its sibling. While the device may be quite heavy and users might feel some strain during prolonged one–hand, the chassis is definitely solid easy to grip thanks to its curved sides.

Display and Multimedia

The device has a 5.7-inch 1080p IPS display which has good viewing angles, color reproduction, and color accuracy. It’s also bright enough to be operated under direct sunlight. As for protection, it doesn’t have Gorilla Glass but Infinix claims that the phone’s display is scratch resistant.

Its speakers can be pretty loud and has minimal distortion. The only issue, which is quite common to the audio quality of budget phones, is the bass. It’s almost non-existent. This also translates to the provided earphones, it produces great mids and highs but lows are still lacking. Thankfully, the earphones are comfortable.

Camera

The Infinix Note 4 Pro has a 13MP autofocus rear camera with dual LED flash while the front has an 8MP selfie shooter. It offers a variety of camera modes for its users such as Professional, HDR, Beauty, Night, Panorama, PIP (Picture in Picture) and Wide Selfie modes, as well as its own set of filters.

The phone’s wide-angle cameras take decent daylight photos albeit quite slow in some cases, which causes blurred image quality. Low-light shots are decent provided that the scene still has some lighting, otherwise you’ll have some noise prominent in your images. Selfies on the Note 4 Pro are great but tends to have high contrast and slightly overblown highlights.

As for video recording, it can record 1080p clips at 30fps in MP4 format. The video quality is good with wide-dynamic range but its autofocus has difficulty locking on subjects as it keeps on refocusing. Colors are a bit washed out and audio recorded in video lacks detail.

Apps and User Interface

The phone runs on XOS Chameleon v2.3 on top of Android 7.0. Infinix has quite a few bloatware that you can uninstall, which leaves the user 23.65GB of the 32GB. Thankfully, it has microSD support should you wish to expand your storage.

As for features, the Note 4 Pro has split screen functionality, infinite scroll, one-handed mode, freezer, gesture controls, and wave to unlock. The highlight of the phone is its stylus, dubbed the X-pen, that you can use to take notes and memos, write on your screen, or smart select areas. The phone also has an app called the Xnote where you can draw and write with the Xpen. Infinix included it for free along with a smart cover.

Performance and Benchmarks

The Note 4 Pro, like its sibling, is powered by the old MediaTek MT6753 clocked at 1.5GHz paired with 3GB of RAM and the Mali-T720 MP3 GPU. The phone’s performance is relatively snappy and there is no noticeable lag during navigation. Performing tasks like browsing the web, navigating through the phone or texting are a breeze. Multitasking isn’t an issue either, due to the phone’s 3GB RAM.

Light games can runs smoothly on the device but moderate to heavier games like Arena of Valor or Mobile Legends can be manageable but you’ll experience some frame drops from time to time. You’ll also notice a bit of heat around the upper part of the phone during prolonged use. However, you won’t feel the heat if you have the smart cover attached.

• AnTuTu – 38,920
• GeekBench – 605 (Single-Core), 2,402 (Multi-Core)
• PCMark – 4,173 (Work 2.0)

Connectivity and Call Quality

Call quality and signal on the smartphone is good. Basic connectivity is also present as it has LTE, WiFi, and Bluetooth. GPS is quite accurate and would not be a problem in the long run. Users also have the advantage of having a Dual SIM setup without sacrificing a slot for a microSD, not to mention it has USB OTG support for added storage.

Battery Life

The Note 4 Pro has a large 4,500mAh battery; and it will last you more than a day on a single charge on moderate usage. It also has fast charge support in the form of Infinix’ Xcharge feature. It only took a little over an hour to charge the phone from 0%-100%. That’s hugely beneficial, especially for people who are always on the go. PC Mark Battery test ranked the phone at 9 Hours and 2 Minutes with 18 percent left to spare.

Conclusion

The Infinix Note 4 Pro is a device that fulfills the need for the creative consumers. It has good performance, great battery life, and a slew of features that are productive for the user. It’s also a cheaper alternative to Samsung’s Note Series for people looking to experience a stylus featured device.

At a price of Php 11,999, it sits  to a price range where competitors offer better and more updated devices. Still, if you’re looking for a budget phablet, the Infinix Note 4 Pro is a catch, because of its whole package of freebies that includes a smart cover, a set of earphones, and a screen protector.

The Pros:

• Great battery life
• Useful Xpen features
• Free Smart Cover and X-Pen Stylus

The Cons:

• Old MediaTek processor
• Average camera performance