Infinix Zero Flip review: Are cheap foldables really worth it?

November 14, 2024

Flip phones are by far my favourite genre of smartphones, even as a child I loved using them — the keypad ones, of course. And today I have this, the Infinix Zero Flip, which is the cheapest flip phone out in the market right now. It starts at just INR 49,999 or some USD 600, which is like 80% cheaper than my Z Flip6 (review). Before diving into the review of the Infinix Zero Flip, let’s briefly go through the specs:

Infinix Zero Flip Specifications

Design: Clamshell foldable (Flip) with patterned or crystal-encrusted back
Display:
- Inner: 6.90” OLED Panel, 120Hz refresh rate, 1,400 nits peak brightness, 2,160Hz PWM dimming
- Outer: 3.64” OLED Panel, 120Hz refresh rate, 1,100 nits peak brightness, 1,920Hz PWM dimming, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2
Resolution:
- Inner: FHD+ (1,080 x 2,640 pixels)
- Outer: FHD+ (1,056 x 1,066)
Chipset: Octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 8020 (6nm)
RAM: 8GB, LPDDR5X
ROM: 512GB UFS 3.1
OS & UI: Android 14 with XOS 14.5 on top
Rear Camera: Dual Camera (50MP Primary + 50MP Ultrawide)
Front Camera: 50MP (Centre-aligned hole-punch cutout)
Battery: 4,720 mAh battery with 70W wired and 10W reverse charging
Connectivity: Dual SIM, 5G, WiFi 6, Hotspot, Bluetooth v5.4, USB Type-C
Colour Options: Rock Black, Blossom Glow

Click here to check out the detailed specs on Infinix Zero Flip

Infinix Zero Flip Review

Design and Build

Right after unboxing and using it for a couple of hours, I am instantly impressed by how Infinix has done a very good job on the design. The rounded corners and the soft satin back feel nice to hold in my hands.

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And for the price, the build quality is pretty good too — you get a glass back and a cover screen which is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and the frames here are aluminium. It’s slightly heavier than the Samsung Z Flip6, because of the larger battery it has, but it’s not uncomfortable to hold at all, so that’s not a problem.

But what about the hinge?

Infinix says that this phone has been tested to withstand 400,000 folds which means on average, even if you fold and unfold this phone around 200 times every day, you are good for 4 to 5 years. And yes, this is more than what Samsung claims with the Z Flip6.

However, what Samsung nails is the sturdiness of the hinge. It just feels more rigid and robust and even after all this time, it hasn’t loosened at all. On the other hand, the Zero Flip’s hinge isn’t as sturdy. I have noticed a little creaking sound every time I open and close it and it makes me lose some sleep.

Display

Anyway, Infinix says it has the biggest cover screen in this price segment and technically it does, if you consider the size. But, usability-wise, the right-hand portion is actually reserved for notifications, so you only get a limited screen space for actual app usage.

The good thing is that you can use almost all the apps from the cover screen itself which is something you still cannot do on the Samsung. I mostly find myself using Google Maps, scrolling through Instagram, or playing light games — which is quite convenient here. For the sake of this review, I also checked if you could play PUBG on the outer screen of Infinix Zero Flip like on the Moto Razr — but unfortunately — you cannot do that.

This cover screen is quite bright too, not as bright as Samsung’s, but visibility has never been a problem for me on this phone, so I won’t complain.

The main screen

Unfolding the phone takes you to a large 6.9-inch display and let me tell you, Infinix has somehow managed to make the crease a little less visible and slightly less intrusive to touch than Samsung. And, this is their first flip phone, so Samsung really needs to step up their game!

The actual quality of this screen is nice too with punchy colour reproduction and sufficient brightness at least in indoor conditions. During sunny outdoor situations, let’s just say it’s not the brightest.

This is also an LTPO screen, so it can go from 10-120 Hz to save battery. There are not a lot of instances when the phone reaches 10Hz, mostly it hovers around 60, 90 and 120Hz! Other than that, this screen is good for watching content, scrolling through social media apps and all that.

User Experience

There’s one thing that I hope Infinix can improve in its screen/software department, which is app continuity. So, when you are using any app on the cover screen and you unfold the device, it takes a second for the phone to process that, whereas, on the Galaxy Z Flip6, that’s not a problem!

The stereo speakers here are quite nice though. It can get a little shouty at 90- 100% volume, but keeping it around 70-80%, they sound quite nice.

But I can’t say the same about the haptics as it feels a little buzzy and not as crisp when typing or while navigating through the phone. Infinix should have offered a better vibration motor here!

Software

Talking about cutting corners, Infinix has only promised 2 years of OS updates with the Zero Flip. Currently, it’s running on Android 14, so the maximum update you will get on this phone is only till Android 16.

Although, I am happy that Infinix has improved the XOS skin quite well in the last few years. First of all, there are little to no bloatware apps here and the overall system animation is quite swift.

Performance

We get the Dimensity 8020 chip with 8GB RAM, which is much better than the Dimensity 7300 on the Moto Razr 50. If I have to explain, the Dimensity 8020 performs somewhat similar to the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, which means normally, the phone can handle everyday tasks and a little bit of multitasking pretty well.

Its gaming capabilities are quite average though. The max you can play is games like PUBG at 55-60 fps with good enough stability, but the phone cannot handle games like Genshin Impact in high settings very well. Also, as with most flip phones, this one also heats up pretty badly while playing games for a longer duration.

Camera

Okay, let’s talk about the cameras now! Honestly, I wasn’t expecting the camera on this phone to be good, but Infinix has actually surprised me. I would go as far as to say that the cameras on the Infinix Zero Flip are better than the Moto Razr 50.

On the back, you get dual 50MP sensors, a primary and an ultrawide unit and on the front, there is a 50MP camera as well.

Primary

And even comparing it against the more expensive Galaxy Z Flip6, I am happy to report that Infinix puts up quite the competition in the photography aspect.

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The Infinix Zero Flip brings out sharp, detailed images with punchy colours. The flower or foliage images look especially good, they are very striking. After taking about 100 photos or so, the only thing I feel Infinix needs to improve on is:

Maintaining the white balance consistently and,
The dynamic range takes quite a hit in challenging conditions from the Infinix Zero Flip.

Besides that, for general usage, the primary camera is quite good I would say.

Ultrawide

Even the ultrawide images are not bad and surprisingly there is very little color shift between the primary and the ultrawide lens, which is impressive. Even Samsung cannot do that sometimes, so I am happy with the results on this phone.

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Night Mode

And I don’t know how but during night-time, the ultrawide images are actually cleaner and noise-free from Infinix in comparison to the Samsung.

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Normal night-time photos also have very similar detail levels from both phones, but in the night mode, Infinix tends to overdo things a little. And because of its weaker chipset, It also takes slightly more time to process night mode images than Samsung.

Portrait

The only thing Infinix cannot handle well is human subjects. It tries to pull out a lot of texture on the subject’s face. Likewise, the skin tone and the shadow processing are a little off. Samsung does a much better job when it comes to clicking human pictures.

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Selfies

Even the selfies, be it from the front or the rear cameras have better skin tone and exposure handling than what I am getting with Infinix.

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Videos and Extra

When it comes to videos, the Infinix Zero flip lets you shoot at up to 4k 30 fps from the rear camera and up to 4k 60 fps from the front. Infinix also provides some fun in-built filters for videos which my team had a lot of fun shooting with.

The actual quality of the videos is nothing to write home about though. The videos are sharp, but the smoothness and stabilisation in movement are kind of missing here.

Additionally, you also get a couple of AI features like object eraser, sketch to image, etc here too. It’s nothing new, so let’s skip this and talk about the battery life.

Battery

Here, we get a big 4720mAh battery and its battery life is decent enough, for a flip phone. On a full charge, the phone would last me until 7 to 8 PM before I had to plug it in again.

However, I wouldn’t say I got better battery life here in comparison to the Z Flip6. During the review process, of the Infinix Zero Flip, I found the battery optimisation to be not as aggressive. I faced around 3 to 4% battery drain while the phone was kept idle too.

Charging the phone is pretty fast though. You get a 70-watt charger included inside the box, which you can take the phone from 0–100 in less than an hour.

Infinix Zero Flip Review: Conclusion

So, overall if you ask me how my experience using a cheap flip phone was, I would say — not bad! To match the price point, Infinix has definitely made compromises. Like there’s no IP rating, you are getting a pretty average processor, an inferior videography department, and the software commitment is kinda weak. But the phone is available for a much more affordable price too.

So, if you are someone who is fascinated by flip phones and their form factor. But don’t want to spend a hefty price, it’s actually not a bad idea to get the Infinix Zero Flip. This phone actually nails all the basics. Like a nice sturdy design, good display, reliable cameras and battery life, and the software is also optimised for the flip form factor.