A few years ago, budget phones were limited to simple day-to-day tasks. Gaming was possible, but you will be limited to the lowest settings in a lot of titles. Today, the segment has moved forward a lot, thanks to advancements in both hardware and software, and that gap has closed so much, that even devices below the PhP10,000 price range can play most popular games and deliver a decent experience.
The Infinix HOT 11S is set to be one of the newest members of this club. Priced starting at only PhP6,990, it offers gamers the benefits of a high refresh rate display, a very capable mid-range chip, and high capacity battery so they can stay in battle for more hours.
Specifications
| Display | 6.78″, FHD+, IPS, 90Hz |
| Processor | Helio G88 |
| RAM | 4GB, 6GB |
| Storage | 64GB, 128GB |
| Rear Camera | 50MP + 2MP (Depth) + AI Camera |
| Front Camera | 8MP |
| OS | Android 11 + XOS 7.6.0 |
| Battery | 5,000mAh + 18W Fast Charging |
What’s in the box:
Design
The rear panel of the Infinix HOT 11S resembles the circuitry of a machine topped with a glossy finish. This makes the surface prone to smudges, and the surface can also get slippery without a case, but it’s good to see brands trying something different every now and then to freshen things up.
Both the volume rocker and power button are on the right side, and are colored the same as the phone’s shell. You get a USB Type-C port at the bottom, along with a speaker grille, microphone, and thankfully, a headphone jack.
A feature that you used to be a luxury for a budget phone, you get a 6.78-inch FHD+ IPS display bolstered by a 90Hz refresh rate and 180Hz touch sampling rate. Colors aren’t as punchy as an AMOLED display though, like it seems to lean on a colder side.
Performance
Powering the Infinix HOT 11S is an Helio G88 SoC paired with a Mali-G52 MC2 GPU. While it is a newer chip, benchmarks show that it basically packs the same performance as the Helio G85 and Helio G80. There’s 6GB of RAM and up to 128GB of storage, plus support for a microSD card.
We also threw in a couple of games – Mobile Legends and Real Racing 3, and both ran smoothly without any issues, and the former set to Very High + HD + HFR Modes enabled. We’ll test more games with it, including more demanding ones, and see how it fares.
Camera
At the back of the Infinix HOT 11S is a 50MP main camera, a 2MP depth sensor, and an AI Camera. Indoor shots we took had good levels of detail and exposure, and the depth of field effect looks decently clean and accurate.
One photo in particular, showed a greenish tint on the left side, which was not on the actual object. We’ll do more tests to see if this persists.
Performance-wise, the Infinix HOT 11S seems to be a good contender for its price range. Camera-wise, it’s decent, though the absence of an ultra-wide camera may be a deal-breaker for some users. We just hope that the green tint issue can be fixed by a software update or something.
There’s still a lot for us to do to make a conclusion for this phone – a battery test, more games, the software, and more. Please do watch out for our full review.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
