The Infinix Note 12 VIP is a powerful and sleek phone from infinix with amazing specs and a fantastic display. Hello, and welcome to our Infinix Note 12 VIP review.
We are going to go through everything there is to know about the phone from design to performance, and camera.
Infinix is one of the leading smartphone brands in Africa and some parts of Asia. To continue their dominance they released the Note 12 VIP as part of the Note 12 Series which seems to fit perfectly in a lot of people’s budgets.
The big question is should you buy the phone? We are going to answer that here for you today.
The phone has 8GB RAM, and thanks to memory fusion the RAM can be expanded. We also have a whopping 108MP main camera and a 4500mAh battery. The infinix Note 12 VIP comes with an AMOLED display, with a 120Hz refresh rate. It is the fastest charging phone available right now with a 120W fast charger inside the box. It takes just a few minutes to charge from zero to 100% more on that later. The phone has a very slim profile despite packing so much heat underneath. Let’s deep dive and explain if this phone is a true VIP like infinix claims.
Infinix Note 12 VIP Unboxing
In a world where smartphone boxes are shrinking in size, Infinix is giving us a large box that tells you there is a charger inside at a glance, it is no ordinary charger but a 120Watts fast charger.
We also have an excellent black case that won’t show dirt over time, and it fits the phone perfectly. There are some documents, an earpiece, a USB type C cable, an Xclub dollar bill that was still yet to find a use case for, and of course, we have the phone.
Infinix Note 12 VIP Review – What You Should Know
Infinix Note 12 VIP Design and Build Quality
The device has a glass fibre finish at the back that makes it feel and look premium, but it is slippery to hold in the hand. We have the side panels made of plastic, and it matches the colour of the phone. The device is flat both at the back and front, I personally like flat devices they feel more comfortable in the hand. There is almost no curve except for the little curves at the edge of the device. It also comes in two colours that include force black, and cayenne grey. I personally don’t have a favourite colour among the two, they both look outstanding. The phone has a slim profile for a phone packing all the specs it comes with.
It is also lightweight in the hand, not as bulky as I expected. There are three cameras at the back housed in a black bar in the upper part of the back. We also have a quad flashlight, and the VIP engraved at the top left end. At the bottom left we have infinix written. The phone charges through a USB C port at the bottom, we also have a speaker grille and a headphone jack. Headphone jacks are disappearing on phones within these price categories, so it’s pleasing that infinix squeezed one on the Note 12 VIP despite its slim profile. We also have another speaker at the top.
There are two microphones for calls, one at the top and another at the bottom. The unlock key and the fingerprint scanner are on the right side, it is very fast and responsive. Infinix also kept it in an easy-to-reach area, the volume rockers are slightly above the unlock key. To the left we have the dual sim card and SD card holder, the phone supports dual 4G sim cards and an SD card of up to 2TB storage. The Infinix Note 12 VIP is a standout phone and despite having some outstanding features like the 108MP camera it still looks slim and compact in the hand.
Infinix Note 12 VIP Review – Display
Display on the Infinix note 12 VIP is 6.7 inches, we have a super AMOLED panel that is super bright under direct sunlight. There is no need to struggle especially if you have the phone set to auto-brightness, it peaks at almost 800 nits under the sun. The display is flat with no curved edges so there would be no accidental touches. The resolution on the display is 1080 by 2400, and the display also supports a 120Hz refresh rate. It has a 360Hz touch sampling rate putting it at the top among other high-end devices.
The colours on the display are very sharp and contrasty. There is a tiny camera cut out at the top centre of the display, but it doesn’t intrude in the way while consuming content or playing games. Streaming content on YouTube can be done at 1440p and 60Hz. If you set it in that resolution, you will witness the high quality of the display. Overall, the display is super-fast, and it is one of the finest features of the Infinix Note 12 VIP.
Software and Performance
This Infinix Note 12 VIP review won’t be complete if we don’t touch on software and Performance. The phone has 8GB RAM, and thanks to memory fusion you can increase the RAM to 13GB with free storage space on your phone. The phone is running on Android 12 and it packs some of the features prominent on Android 12. The user interface is XOS 10.0, as usual, it comes with preinstalled applications with some that can be removed. There are some shortcuts on the phone if you hold and drag the left or right side of the display.
You can also do some customizations in the settings just like we have with all android phones. Folax infinix new virtual assistant can also be set to read messages and initiate calls and searches on the web. You can call on folax by tapping and holding the unlock key for a while. The Google assistant is also present but folax kinda makes it redundant. There is kid’s mode in the settings that will help you monitor what your kids are doing on the phone. You access the notification shade by swiping left, and the control centre by swiping left. The icons and fonts pop out because of the AMOLED display.
Performance
Performance wise the phone is powered by the Helio G96 which is supposed to be a budget gaming chip. The phone handles games swiftly, I played call of duty mobile at medium settings and high frame rate. It performed smoothly without any lags. Another game I tried again was thetan arena and it also performed well. Just in case the phone has a graphene cooling system that helps cool it down during excessive gameplay.
The phone is not super-fast, but it is decent for medium tasks. It takes split seconds to load apps and games. If you are used to flagship phones you will notice the difference in performance. The phone gets warm after long gaming sessions. Performance is normal for the price category it comes in at. At this price point, the Helio G96 is the most common chipset found on almost all devices. Performance is very okay as expected of a phone that cost as much as $300.
Infinix Note 12 VIP Camera Review
We have three cameras at the back, a 108-megapixel main camera, a 2-megapixel depth sensor, and a 13-megapixel ultra-wide lens. There is a 16-megapixel camera up front with a flashlight that also takes some great images.
I took the phone out to take some pictures. Here are some pictures I snapped with the phone. The 108MP megapixel takes some well-detailed images but there are times when it can be over-exposed.
The Portrait camera is quite okay, the edge detection excellent at this price point but the background is a bit over-exposed under direct sunlight.
Pictures taken with the 16MP front-facing camera come out really well with a good dynamic range. Outdoor selfies are Okay but just need a bit of fine-tuning.
There is also portrait video but it isn’t really perfect, especially with videos outdoors. Portrait video works with both the front and back camera. You can also turn on stabilization to have more stable videos. The phone shoots 1440p videos @30fps using the front and back camera but there is no image stabilization.
Infinix Note 12 Battery Test
The battery is 5000 milliampere and it lasts a whole day on a single charge. Infinix added a 120Watts fast charger and it takes just less than 20mins to charge the phone from zero to 100 percent, which is crazily fast. We haven’t tested any phone that charges this fast before. Great innovation from the Infinix team.
The fast charging makes the phone even more fun to use. It is one of the features we have on board the Note 12 VIP that separates it from other phones it is closely competing with. As far as the battery goes Note 12 has fantastic battery life.
The Final Take
In conclusion, the Infinix Note 12 VIP is a solid device for the price of $333 or 199,000 naira. It has a great camera, fantastic 120W fast-charging technology and an awesome design. Though the processor was manufactured last year, it is still capable of handling anything you throw at it.
If you are looking for a device with a decent camera, good performance and amazing battery life, look no further than the Infinix Note 12 VIP.
