Infinix Hot 10S NFC Review: A Decent Sub-$200 Gaming Phone?

While it excels at its main focus of gaming, the Hot 10S has its fair share of rough edges, like only running at 720P. Still, when you consider the Hot 10S as a true budget smartphone and its overall responsive performance, it's worth considering. 

Key Features
  • 90Hz Display
  • Social Turbo for WhatsApp
  • Octa-core processor for gaming
  • Large 5000mAh battery
  • Dual 4G SIM
  • NFC Capabilities
Specifications
  • Brand: Infinix
  • Storage: 128 GB
  • CPU: MediaTek Helio G85
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Operating System: Android 11 (XOS 7.6)
  • Battery: 5000mAh
  • Ports: Micro-USB
  • Camera (Rear, Front): 48MP main, 2MP depth camera, AI camera / Front: 8 MP
  • Display (Size, Resolution): 6.82” / 1640 × 720 IPS LCD display
Pros
  • DTS Sound
  • 90Hz Screen Refresh Rate
  • Dar-link Game Booster
  • Great battery life
  • Large screen size
  • Magic Touch Option
Cons
  • Micro-USB
  • Uninstallable bloat apps and advertisements
  • 720p Resolution
  • No macro lens
  • Availability and warranty accessibility

The Infinix Hot 10S NFC offers a responsive and large 90Hz display, with a focus on game optimization and ease of use—all for a budget smartphone price of under $200. To help you decide if this cheap smartphone fits your needs, let's take a closer look at what's on offer.

Infinix Hot 10S NFC Design

Like other budget smartphones, the Infinix Hot 10S has a plastic build that comes in a small array of colors. There's Morandi Green and Heart of Ocean along with the suitably named 95° Black and 7° Purple, to go with the temperature naming convention.

The back of the phone is an eye-catching shimmering texture made via laser microlithography, though it may be a bit gaudy for some. As an interesting bit of the trivia, Infinix notes this was inspired by the largest salt flat in the world, the Salar de Uyuni.

At the front of the phone, there’s the selfie camera and two dual LED lights placed for both flashlight use and an adjustable selfie flash. On the back, there are three slightly raised cameras, the main flashlight, and a fingerprint sensor. The bottom houses the speaker, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and the micro-USB port.

The right side houses your standard power button and volume keys. The left side houses the SIM tray. The Hot 10S NFC does have dual 4G SIM slots and a MicroSD slot to expand your storage capacity.

Infinix Hot 10S NFC Technical Specifications and OS

The Infinix Hot 10S NFC comes with 4 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage, and is powered by the Helio G85. To get an idea of this upgrade, the Helio G85 boasts improvements of 210% in GPU performance and 84% in CPU performance compared to its predecessor, the Helio G35. When you combine this with the 90Hz refresh rate and 180Hz touch sampling, it makes for a very smooth experience considering the low cost.

On the software side, the Infinix Hot 10S NFC utilizes the XOS 7.6 (Dolphin) launcher, based on Android 11. Thanks to the octa-core processor, it's all very responsive which makes navigating and swapping between apps a breeze. However, beyond the ease of use provided by the Hot 10S's hardware, there are some initial things to clean up with the pre-installed apps and base experience.

Of Infinix's pre-installed apps, the majority are non-removable, so if you have a low tolerance for bloatware keep this in mind. However, if you take the time to disable their notifications, they're largely forgettable. There are also some advertisements, but you can disable the commonly seen ones from the screen they appear on.

A Massive Bright Screen for Gaming and Entertainment

The Infinix Hot 10S NFC measures out at 171.5mm x 77.5mm x 9.2mm. To give a better idea of its size, this places the Hot 10S NFC slightly above the base Samsung Galaxy S21 and the iPhone 12. Now despite this large screen size, the phone itself isn’t too heavy but you will definitely feel it in your pocket.

For its display, the Infinix Hot 10S utilizes a 6.82 inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 720 x 1640. While I would have preferred a 1080p screen, the quality wasn't too much of a concern while gaming. When streaming video content, the 720p resolution limitation was more noticeable especially with some colors appearing more washed out.

As smartphones go with us everywhere, you do need to be able to see your screen in outdoor lighting. Thankfully, the Hot 10S NFC possesses an adequate 440 nits of peak brightness. So even on a sunny day, you can make out the screen just fine.

DTS Sound, Headphone Jack, and Speaker

When it comes to sound, the Infinix Hot 10S is merely acceptable. However, if you’re really looking for immersion especially when gaming, it's worth capitalizing on the 3.5mm earphone jack or its Bluetooth for wireless earbuds.

If you want to take advantage of the inclusion of DTS sound, this is even more advisable. With a proper sound setup, you can swap the stereo sound between wide, in-front, and traditional headphone presets. There's also the option to boost the bass, vocal, or treble.

Infinix Hot 10S Social Turbo

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For fans of WhatsApp, Infinix has empowered the app via its Social Turbo assistant. While the feature itself suggests it's for chatting apps in general, you'll be prompted to install WhatsApp if you haven't already. With Social Turbo, you can access a voice changer, voice recorder, beauty mode, and save your friend's statuses and any messages that you've missed.

While the limiting factor of this integration won't appeal to everyone, the plethora of bonus features does make it easier to focus on a single chat app.

Gaming Experience With the Infinix Hot 10S NFC

For its intending focus on gaming, the Infinix Hot 10S NFC provides instant accessibility to bigger mobile titles. To get the most of the Hot 10S's refresh rate and for smoother animations during gaming sessions, there’s the option to swap between 60Hz, 90Hz, or auto-switch based on use. Keep in mind that not all apps and games will support a 90Hz display, so it's not the best decision to just always leave it on at the cost of your battery life.

The 180 Hz touch sampling rate did a good job detecting my finger movements even against more fast-paced movements in games like Call of Duty Mobile or Asphalt 9. Still, the bigger question is always how a budget gaming smartphone holds up over longer testing.

For the first gaming benchmark, Call of Duty Mobile on medium settings ran without issues for two to three-hour gaming sessions. Similarly, Genshin Impact ran on its low and lower preset very smoothly when played for that same timeframe. To push the Infinix Hot 10S NFC further, I also ran Genshin Impact at overclocked settings with only a little more lag and the phone running a bit hotter.

For those looking to do lengthy silent or voiced screen recordings in tandem, the Hot 10S NFC tends to run hot. For this, Infinix does provide its own cooling option under the Phone Master app, but you can also mitigate this by taking a short break. For more graphically simplistic mobile games, you can have extensive gaming sessions without ever noticing the phone getting warm.

Amongst the user-focused areas of the Hot 10S NFC, it felt like the game mode and game assistant panel were the most developed by Infinix. With the assistant panel, you can take screenshots and start screen recordings quickly by simply swiping from the left to pull up a quick-access menu. Similarly, you can access game mode settings to track your gaming time, impose anti-addiction settings, or make sure you can't accidentally swipe off a game in progress.

Despite all that, the inclusion of the assistant panel's Magic Touch option was a pleasant surprise. This quick panel option allows you to map parts of your screen to the volume buttons at the top of the phone. While this temporarily disables their functionality for volume, it's easy enough to adjust via the slider while capitalizing on the additional inputs.

Infinix Hot 10S NFC Battery Life, Power Saving, and Charging

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When it comes to the battery life of the Hot 10S, it definitely benefits from the large 5000mAh battery. If you want to spend a whole day gaming, the Hot 10S can handle that. For less intense use cases, you can spread a full charge out across days.

If you're still afraid of running low, you can optimize your battery life by taking advantage of the power boost presets to reduce power consumption. After running down to around 5% of the battery's capacity, there's also the option to enable ultra power saving which can add 3.5 hours of life by only allowing calls, SMS, and use of the calendar.

As a downside, the micro-USB port charges at 10W, so it takes three hours on average to get it to a full charge each time.

Keeping the Infinix Hot 10S NFC Secure

With any smartphone, it's important to have different ways to keep your information protected. In terms of smart locks, the Infinix Hot 10S offers the standard PIN, password, and pattern options for a screen unlock. However, you can also take advantage of your biometrics.

If you prefer to use the fingerprint sensor located at the rear of the phone, you can use either a single fingerprint or multiple fingerprints. To quickly unlock your phone, there's also the option to register your face.

The Focus Areas of the Infinix Hot 10S Camera

One of the more disappointing areas of the Infinix Hot 10S is its cameras.

On the rear, there's the 48MP main camera, a 2MP depth camera, and an AI camera. For those ready to grab a selfie at any time, the 8MP selfie camera comes with adjustable flash brightness via its two front LED lights. In good lighting conditions, you can get some good shots for personal use or social media with either the selfie or rear cameras, but it's in the quality range of what you’d expect from a sub-$200 phone.

With the AI camera, the exact way it functions isn't entirely clear. The in-camera description suggests it automatically detects the scene and optimizes for the best photo quality. However, it can take a moment to get the camera to recognize anything; the quality still seems entirely based on the amount of available light.

Of the other offerings, the bigger items of note are the super night mode for low-light shots, the 240fps slow-mo, and the 2K video recording.

With super night mode, it's all about holding your phone steady and letting in more light until a photo is taken. So you may wish to consider a tripod or gimbal while taking advantage of it.

Personally, the lack of a macro camera or ultra-wide shot was disappointing, but understandable given the price point and gaming focus.

Infinix Hot 10S NFC vs Infinix Hot 10S

When making your purchase decision, it really boils down to whether you're after more overall power to your phone or NFC as a feature.

For those unfamiliar with NFC, NFC enables you to make wireless payments through your device (Google Pay, in this case). You can also connect two NFC-enabled devices just by touching them with each other to begin sharing contacts, photos, and video.

If you'd rather capitalize on the budget performance power of the non-NFC variant of the Infinix Hot 10S then you can take advantage of its 6 GB of RAM and 6000mAH battery. This does cost a little more; if you're interested in this device for straight performance and continuous use, the upgrade cost isn't significant.

Can You Repair the Infinix Hot 10S NFC?

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When setting up the phone, you're able to activate an e-warranty for the Hot 10S. This is done via integration with the preinstalled CarlCare app. However, it requires you to go to a customer service center that is only located in select countries.

So repairs for this phone might prove difficult unless you're in the target demographic areas of Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

Should You Buy the Infinix Hot 10S NFC?

When considering whether to purchase the Infinix Hot 10S NFC, keep in mind that you’ll need to know the current status of its availability in your area plus keep in mind how its warranty functions. With that said, it is a very impressively specced phone that offers a lot for under $200, even if it's not all perfect.

If you want to get into mobile gaming without spending a lot, while having a really responsive phone to support that, consider the Infinix Hot 10S NFC.


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