A number of smartphones, including the Note 12 Pro 4G, Note 12 Pro 5G, Note 12 5G, Note 12, and Note 12 Turbo, have already been a part of the Note 12 family. The Infinix Note 12i is the newest member of this family. The Note 12i is a base model that is priced lower than the Note 12, which retails for Rs 11,999 (about $146) in India.
It should be noted that the Note 12i is the same product that has been marketed in African countries since September 2022 as the Infinix Note 12i 2022. The Note 12i with an LCD panel, which made its debut in May 2022 in Africa, is not the same as this gadget.
The Note 12i has an AMOLED display like the other members of the series and costs Rs 9,999 (about $120) in India. As a result, it is among the most reasonably priced AMOLED-screen smartphones available in the Indian market. A 50-megapixel triple camera setup, a big battery with 33W quick charging, and a Helio G85 CPU are a few of its other standout features. Here are my thoughts after using the device for a few weeks.
Design and Display
| Dimensions | Display | |
| Size – 164.47 x 76.7 x 7.8mm | 6.7-inch AMOLED display | 10000:1 contrast ratio |
| Weight – 188 grams | 1080 x 2400 pixels (HD+) | Widevine L1 support |
| IPX4 rating | 60Hz refresh rate | Gorilla Glass 3 |
| 180Hz touch sampling rate | ||
| Color variants | Up to 1000 nits of brightness | |
| Force Black | 92% screen-to-body ratio | |
| Metaverse Blue | 100% DCI-P3 wide color gamut |
For phones costing around Rs 10,000, certain Indian smartphone makers are doing a fantastic job of offering a better quality and design. The Note 12i has the same behaviour. Although it costs Rs 9,999, it undoubtedly has the appearance of a phone that costs around Rs 15,000. The polycarbonate rear shell of the Force Black model, which Infinix provided for review, features smooth edges and a sparkly yet matte appearance. There is a shiny chunk at the top that contains a left-facing protrusion camera module. The device only includes three cameras and an LED flash, although giving the appearance of having four cameras.
A volume rocker and a power button with a fingerprint reader are located on the right side of the Note 12i. It has a speaker grille, a USB-C port, a microphone, and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom. On the left, there is a SIM card slot. The absence of a secondary microphone leaves the top edge of the phone empty. The device has a 7.8mm thin profile.
The big display of the Note 12i has a u-shaped notch and a chin that is quite thick. Without a doubt, the AMOLED display is one of the product’s key selling qualities. The AMOLED screen, which creates deeper blacks and richer colours than an LCD display, is unique to this new phone under Rs 10,000. LCD displays are standard on all other smartphones in this price range.
The Note 12i’s 6.72-inch AMOLED display, according to the manufacturer, has a maximum brightness of 1,000 nits. The AMOLED panel appears to be of high quality. The screen is pretty bright, so using it in direct sunlight was not a problem.
The battery does not drain quickly when the phone is used at its highest brightness setting. The manufacturer states that the screen fully supports the DCI-P3 colour gamut. On the Note 12i, I was unable to locate any options to change the display profile. Nonetheless, it provides alternatives for a better gaming experience in the “enhancement mode” in Settings, including retro, vibrant, soft, and realistic settings.
Gorilla Glass 3 serves as a screen protector for the Note 12i. One of the display-related features on the device is light/dark mode. Other display-related features include adaptive brightness and eye care mode. The phone’s earpiece doubles as a speaker and is located on the top bezel. The impressive display, Widevine L1 support, and dual stereo speakers make the Note 12i a good device for content consumption.
Performance and Software
| MediaTek Helio G85 | 5,000Ah battery |
| 4GB of RAM | 33W charging |
| 64GB of storage | Android 12 OS with XOS 12 |
| 4GB of virtual RAM |
The MediaTek Helio G85 runs wonderfully on the Note 12i and is designed for casual gaming. Although it is capable of running high-end games like Garena Free Fire Max, the gameplay may not be as fluid at higher graphic settings. It includes Game Mode just like other Infinix phones. The device’s overall performance is smooth due to the support provided by the onboard 4 GB of LPDDR4x RAM and up to 4 GB of virtual RAM for the Helio G85 CPU. It includes 64 GB of eMMC 5.1 storage for storage.
The Note 12i’s XOS 12.0-based Android 12 skin contains a number of features not seen in other well-known Android skins. The firm has significantly fewer unnecessary preloaded apps on the Note 12i as compared to the Infinix Hot 20 5G, which I previously evaluated. The following Android OS upgrade for the smartphone is currently unknown.
The 5,000 mAh battery on the Note 12i can operate for up to two days on a single charge. The gadget may be fully charged with the included 33W fast charger in 1 hour and 30 minutes. Here is how the Note 12i fared in tests using benchmarking software.
Photography and Other Features
| Rear Camera | Other features |
| 50MP Samsung SK5JN1 camera | Side-facing fingerprint scanner |
| 2MP depth camera | Face unlock |
| QVGA AI lens | Dedicated microSD card slot |
| Quad-LED flash | Wi-Fi 802.11ac |
| Bluetooth 5.0 | |
| Front Camera | Dual stereo speakers with DTS |
| 8MP front camera | 3.5mm audio jack |
| Dual-LED flash | |
A 50-megapixel camera with an f/1.6 aperture is located on the phone’s back panel, and it works well in natural light. When there is enough light, it can also photograph fairly well inside and at night. In bright light, the photographs capture excellent detail, but in dim light, they look mushy. The primary camera is joined by a 2-megapixel depth sensor, a QVGA lens, and a quad-LED unit.
The AI Cam feature, which can reliably identify the subject, is used by the default camera app. Filters, short video mode, time-lapse, and other important functions are also available. Although the Super Night option is available to improve low-light photographs, I thought that when there was enough light, the quality of ordinary and Super Night shots was nearly the same.
The Note 12i can record Full HD videos at 30 frames per second. When videos are recorded with enough light, the video quality is good. Only 720p quality can be used while recording videos with a bokeh effect or in beauty mode. The bokeh effect is acceptable for a cheap phone. The Note 12i is capable of recording videos at 240 frames per second.
To help the front-facing 8-megapixel camera, there is a dual-LED flash unit. Selfies with backdrops that are blurred can be taken with the front camera. When the lighting is good, the overall quality of the selfie samples is barely acceptable.
The Note 12i’s haptic feedback works perfectly, but there is no way to change how strong it is. Although the gadget has 4G VoLTE capability, it doesn’t appear to have 4G+. The Note 12i sports a side-mounted fingerprint sensor for biometrics as well as face unlock, both of which work well.
