Infinix Note 10 Pro Review; Bigger and Faster

The fancy Infinix Note 10 Pro lands in our hands with many bells and whistles that otherwise come with premium smartphones, not to mention 8GB RAM, 256GB internal storage, a fast processor, and a mega display serve as its major highlights.

Not long ago, Infinix Note 7 received record popularity for being a stylish and feature-rich device. It is still among the top-ranking Infinix videos on our YouTube channel; on the downside, its users also reported a few significant bugs that started popping up as they spent time on it. 

Fast forward, we believe, Infinix must have had a great learning curve, and this latest Note 10 series in 2021 might prove decisive and take rivals head-on.

Let’s cut the story short and check out what it hides under the hood that makes it an appealing gadget.

Infinix Note 10 Pro specifications

• Display: 6.95-inch LCD, FHD+
• CPU: Mediatek Helio G95, Mali G76 GPU
• RAM/ROM: 8GB/256GB (128GB available on stores)
• OS: Android 11, XOS 7.6
• Camera (rear): Quad Camera (64MP primary lens)
• Camera (front): 16MP
• Battery: 5000 mAh, 33W fast charger
• Launch price: PKR 29,999 (PKR 30,999)

Design is impressive; how about the display?

One of the things Infinix has understood for winning the hearts of its fans is to pay attention to the appearance of the device. Infinix Zero 8 was the testament of the newly adopted strategy.

And with Note 10 Pro in hand, I see the continuation of the thought process that drove Infinix to build another impressive design.

The outstanding back panel on Infinix Note 10 Pro cuts into two halves; one is a plain-looking glossy area on the top holding a protruded quad-camera set up. The other is a textured bottom filled with symmetrical lines. This part only carries Infinix branding.

These straight lines in the lower half add to the beauty of the phone that looks nothing less than a device from a big brand.

Even the phone is enormous, it is comfortable to hold for an extended period, and it’s even easier to reach the multifunctional fingerprint sensor on the right side that also doubles as a power key. The volume rocker juts out nicely and smoothly manageable.

The rest of the controls are where they should be, but another highlighting feature is the presence of a dual speaker setup which, along with a 6.95-inch LCD screen, helps create an immersive experience. We will talk about the quality of sound later in our review.

Coming to its display, Infinix communicates it as a 91% screen-to-body ratio on the front. Although I found the bezels noticeable, especially the bottom one, the enormous size overshadows everything and makes those edges less prominent. 

It’s sporadic to find a silky smooth and highly responsive LCD in the entry-level segment. The maker calls it a “superfluid” display, and they are right about it.

It shines, and it’s a treat to look at the poppy colors and sharp icons on this 1080×2460 px display that offers a 90Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of peak brightness level. 

From the display setting area, you can choose between 90Hz, 60Hz refresh rates or select the auto switch to let the phone decide which is the best for the screen. But I would recommend keeping it at default 90Hz for a smoother multimedia experience, even at the cost of slightly lesser battery life.

It’s a TÜV Rheinland certified screen, so the blue light effect should have less impact on the health of our eyes.

For this entry-level phone, it would be nearly unfair to expect a color management tool in the display setting area, but considering the screen size and other fancy specs, Infinix could have provided it to customize the display further.

The screen legibility looks reasonable at 60% indoors; the outdoor is comparatively good at 100%

Performance and Battery; a mix of good and ordinary

Infinix Note 10 Pro provides the latest Mediatek Helio G95 gaming chipset comprising two A76 cores clocked up to 2.05 and six A55 cores. Coupled with Mali G76 GPU, the 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage (UFS2.2) practically make it a performance hound.

Theoretically, as per Infinix, the CPU is 25.8% better in performance than G80, whereas the GPU gets a performance boost of 120.8% from the predecessor.

On our benchmark table, the Note 10 Pro outperforms Infinix Note 8 (G80) in Antutu testing by scoring 354680 against the 199882 of the latter.

The device comfortably leaves behind some of the famous rivals, such as Realme 7 Pro (285910), POCO X3 NFC (280164), even Infinix Zero 8 (292053).

During my real-life test, I never found it choking anywhere. The ample RAM and speedy chipset always spiced up my experience.

It was good to see G95 supporting HD graphics on PUBG. The XOS 7.6 has this built-in Dar-link ultimate gaming booster that plays a vital role in smoothening everything pro gamers need. My hours-long indoor gaming sessions never gave me a reason to question its processing ability; however, you should expect heating issues and lags while playing outdoors, especially in summers.

Although it appears too lucrative an offer, it still falls short of the premium sound experience that its dual speaker should have provided. I have fewer concerns about the volume level, albeit I have experienced better loudness; it’s the quality of sound that lacks bass and an actual DTS experience, though it’s there. 

I found it better with earphones. 

The customization the phone provides in the sound settings is also less noticeable.

Another area Note 10 Pro cries out for is the battery life. The 5000 mAh capacity just died in less than 13 hours during our back-to-back video loop test. It’s less than the average performance, much similar to the 4500 mAh of Infinix Zero 8. You can expect an even faster drain percentage with dual speakers at max volume, and we noted it around 9% an hour.

An hour of PUBG drained out 17% of the juice.

The phone accompanies a 33W charger out of the box and promises fast charging; however, the charging time is above two hours. It’s 2 hours and 10 minutes exactly.

Our test indicated the charger doesn’t go beyond 25W in contrast to the claimed wattage.

Infinix claims that the battery can survive in 55+ Centigrade for at least a week and, in contrast, 3 days in freezing temperature as low as -33 Centigrade. Indeed, we couldn’t test it out, so we have to go by their words for it unless someone pops up with a different real-time experience.

Checkout best mobile phones with the longest battery life

A safety feature I liked about the charging mechanism is that it shuts off automatically when the phone gets fully charged.

If you are interested in finding out more about its battery, check out our detailed battery test video below.

Camera

The Infinix Note 10 Pro gives us the joy of a 64MP main lens and its ability to shoot 4K videos from rear and front camera setups, a rare trait in this price point. Here are the camera highlights;

• Rear: 64MP + 8MP (ultrawide/super macro) + 2MP depth sensor + 2MP B/W with quad flash
• Front: 16MP AI selfie camera with quad flash

There is much focus on Super night mode. Infinix claims the camera captures 17.8% more light, and images are 35% brighter than the predecessor Note 8, thanks to a 1/1.72″ large sensor size.

And, of course, video stabilization and bokeh videos are part of the package.

16MP shots are better than 64MP

Infinix Note 10 Pro takes a 16MP default picture with its standard AI Cam mode. 

One of the key marketing features is its large 64MP quad-Bayer camera that can shoot considerably bigger images than standard mode. However, the 16MP shot turns out better in exposure value, white balance, and dynamic range than its bigger variant in most scenarios.

Infinix does not overdo the colors giving us a saturation level close to natural colors. There is no added feature to boost colors, though. 

However, if you are an old Oppo user and obsessed with chroma boost, you can use Super Night mode even in the day shots and get vibrant colors in your pictures. By the way, more on Super Night mode in the following paras.

Take a look at the following duos, where you can see a visible difference between the images from the two modes. Although bigger, the 64MP shot shows a blackish tone all over. The under-exposed areas are also noticeable that are much more visible on smaller 16MP pictures.

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1x is better than 2x

Usually, full-resolution modes don’t allow zooming features on rival brands; in contrast, Infinix and sister company Tecno give equal zooming on the standard and high-resolution modes. 

On Infinix Note 10 Pro, 64MP can magnify the scene up to 10x. However, I found 1x zoom to carry better details than 2x and beyond. Check out the same image with 2x zoom for both the modes and also notice the same area cropped out from 1x zoom. 

The 2x zoom image seems over-sharpened but lacks in desired details.

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Noise is the culprit in most indoor pictures unless the surrounding light is good but outdoor images in the daylight are less grainy.

Infinix Note 10 Pro struggles to capture moments that involve facing the light source. Sometimes, the light source blows out badly and disturbs the overall image. A quick remedy is to use Super Night mode effective for almost every situation in the day and night. The downside is it involves a firm grip that may not be an effective practice for moving objects. 

Clicking this sunset shot turned out a little hard for me. I tried almost every default mode, and most of the time, it gave me a blown-out sun. Though bringing down exposure value helped contain the sun, but it also darkened the overall image at the same time.

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Note 10 Pro is quite reasonable with portrait, the edge mapping of the subject is good, and so is the background blur. For beauty mode, Infinix hasn’t done a great job. It washes away all the natural skin patterns overdo the makeup, and make images a lot more artificial.

Super Night mode grabs more light

Like I said earlier, Super Night mode works in almost every situation. I used it indoors and outdoors, where ever the ambient light was below the recommended level, and it turned out vibrant, sharp, rich in detail, and handled light source in a much better way. You would find it shooting some awesome pictures of the skyscrapers. 

I couldn’t’ get a similar result with the standard or a 64MP shot. They are just below-average performers at night.

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4K is a huge charm 

At this price point, shooting 4K video from both front and rear cameras is a huge charm, especially for Vloggers. Like Super Night, the algorithm keeps 4K videos vibrant and colorful. I could comfortably shoot 30 minutes video without a glitch in a surrounding temperature under 29 centigrade, but for outdoor, you will need to shorten your clips as rising phone temperature, and corresponding heat notifications keep plaguing the screen and forcing the camera app to shutdown.

Infinix Note 10 Pro can shoot stable and bokeh videos at 1080p resolution workable only at 30fps. However, you can still shoot 1080p at 60fps without an effect.

Videos at 60fps are clearer, colorful, and almost noiseless. However, additional frames bring down the exposure value and ask for more ambient light. 

When the light is low, 30 fps is perhaps the only solution for getting a visible clip.

Infinix Note 10 Pro also gives you this feature to shoot slow-mo and short videos. Take a look at the following samples to see the video quality.

Verdict

If you are looking for a superfluid big screen that is glossy and works even better at a 90Hz refresh rate, the Note 10 Pro might turn out a topper here in this entry-level segment.

With a smooth touch and able chipset, it gives a great gaming experience.

But, I wouldn’t praise similarly for the battery that falls short of expectations hugely. If the battery is your sole concern, take a look at our Realme C25 battery test. At a similar price, it gives a fantastic battery performance.

The sound experience, on the other hand, isn’t as immersive as you would expect from a dual speakerphone such as Poco X3 NFC.

And like all previous Infinix phones, the camera gives a mixed performance, but you can still like the Super Night mode by clicking some vibrant shots.

Despite all the cons, it’s still not easy to find all these flashy features in this price slot. You can still make a few significant compromises for speedy performance and shiny display.

But Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro is out there as a prime competitor if you want an excellent overall performance.