We have the Infinix NOTE 12 for almost a week now as we share our experience and thoughts on this latest budget-friendly smartphone from Infinix.
With a very attractive price point of PHP 8,999 for the 8GB+128GB variant, Infinix wanted to position the NOTE 12 as one of the most affordable gaming smartphone to date packed with top-tier specs.
Here’s the full specs of the Infinix NOTE 12 to give you a better idea of what you’re getting with that appealing price.
- Price: PHP8,999 8GB+128GB / PHP9,999 8GB+256GB
- Color: Force Black, Snowfall, Sapphire Blue
- Display: 6.7-inch FHD+ True Color AMOLED Display
- Resolution: 1080×2400 pixels
- RAM: 8GB+5GB (Up to 13GB extended RAM)
- Storage: 128GB expandable up to 2TB
- Processor: MediaTek Helio G96
- GPU: ARM G57 MC2
- OS: XOS version 10.6 based on Android 12
- Rear Camera: Rear 50MP/AF+2M/FF+Q with Quad Rear Flash
- Front Camera: 16MP
- Video: 2K, 1080p, 720p @ 30fps
- Battery: 5000 mAh
- Sensors: G-Sensor, E-Compass, Gyroscope, Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor
- Security: Fingerprint, Face Unlock
- Connection: GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2.4G, 5G, OTG, 3.5mm, USB Type-C
- SIM Card Slot: Dual Nano SIM+Micro SD
- Network: 4G, 3G, 2G
- Dimension: 164.57×76.80mmx7.89mm
- Weight: 185g
APPEALING DESIGN
As for the overall aesthetics of the Infinix NOTE 12 we find it very eye-catching, comfortable to hold, and easily scroll on the display even with just one hand.
We like the squared-off slab design with curved flat edges on each sides, the nice flowing wave pattern effect of the back panel and materials used are durable.
The camera module gets a modern design significant to what’s being used these days in any other smartphone. However, I just don’t find it useful for the extended glossy part on the right side where the camera lens and LED light are housed together just to fill the gap.
The front display is made of glass protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass while the back panel and frame are made of polycarbonate plastic material.
LARGE & VIBRANT DISPLAY
One of its main key features built on the Infinix NOTE 12 is the large 6.7-inch HD+ AMOLED display.
The AMOLED display offers good contrast, vibrant colors and a decent level of brightness enough to view the display at indoors or at night. But using the phone outdoors in direct harsh sunlight gave us a slight struggle seeing the display.
Another advantage having a huge screen we get plenty of size to watch our favorite content, browse through your social media or scroll your photo gallery.
As we’ve mentioned, the Infinix NOTE 12 is geared towards the perfect choice for a gaming smartphone for those who are mindful of their budget. If you’re going to enhance your mobile gaming capabilities then a large phone display can be an edge or managed to rack up more wins than those players having smaller displays. This is where the NOTE 12 stands out!
Under the display settings, you can opt to set it into dark theme mode which uses a black background to keep the battery longer. It also has adaptive brightness, always on display and eye care making it easier to look at your screen or read in dim light.
SPECS BUILT FOR MOBILE GAMING
In terms of hardware specs, It’s also another main highlight of the Infinix NOTE 12 making it sure that the device is powerful and offers smooth performance suited for mobile gaming.
It gets the latest 64-bit octa-core processor using a Mediatek Helio G96 with clock speeds of up to 2.05GHz combining 2x Arm Cortex-A76 and 6x Arm Cortex-A55 chipsets. For its GPU it uses an Arm Mali-G57 MC2.
Next, you have a huge internal storage of 128GB UFS 2.2 expandable up to 1TB via microSD to download all your favorite games and if this is not enough there’s an available 256GB variant.
For its memory the device offers an 8GB LPDDR4x memory plus an additional 5GB virtual RAM that extends the total RAM to 13GB.
Below are the benchmark scores for the Infinix NOTE 12.
- Geekbench 5 – 498 Single Core / 1673 Multi-Core Score
- PC Mark – 8968 Work 3.0 Performance Score
- 3D Mark Wild Life – 1189 (Average frame rate – fps: 7.10)
- Disk Speed Test – Read 786MB/s and Write 266MB/s
The Infinix NOTE 12 included more additional features to aid your mobile gaming experience.
First, playing on your phone for hours can produce more heat. To reduce the core temperature of the NOTE 12, they equipped it with 10-layers graphene cooling system decreasing the temp around 6-degrees.
It offers a variety of haptic feedback and vibration thanks to its linear motor tactile system that enhance the players immersion and feel while playing.
With the XArena-Darlink 2.0, users has an array of gaming optimization such as view your game duration, data usage patterns, manage your game apps, enable floating windows while playing, game assistant panel and more.
Lastly, sound quality plays a very important part in mobile gaming as it can immerse you even deeper to the game you’re playing. The Infinix NOTE 12 has dual speakers using DTS theater audio format which is encoded at a higher bit-rate and therefore it is considered by some audio experts to perform better audio quality. During our test the sound is surprisingly good, well-balanced, decent bass and clear vocals.
With the good audio quality, the NOTE 12 is much more perfect to watch your favorite content and listen to your favorite music tracks.
GREAT CAMERA
The Infinix NOTE 12 has a triple camera setup with the main camera getting a 50MP with f1/6 aperture using a 1/2.8 large image sensor and a 2MP depth sensor with f2/4 aperture.
The third lens however was a bit confusing as it is listed on the specs as “Q”. Later we found out thru the internet that the Q was a shortcut for QVGA or Quarter Video Graphics Array. QVGA was often used before in the LCD viewing screens but somehow other basic phones are still using it today.
For selfies, you have a 16MP front facing camera with available LED flash both on the front and rear.
There’s no ultra-wide on the NOTE 12, it would be an awesome nice add-on to the cameras specs. But why complain when we know that this is a budget smartphone plus the main essential thing to consider would be the main camera you’re getting away with a 50MP.
The camera app is easy to use and access to the different camera modes is just a swipe up. You have a ready set of camera modes found on the camera app like short video, video, AI cam, beauty, portrait and super night. Other additional shooting modes are AR shot, slow motion, panorama, pro, documents and time lapse.
The quality of the camera on the Infinix NOTE 12 is pretty decent. As usual you get clear and less noise on your shots during conditions that are well lit or bright either outdoors or indoors. The color however is a bit dull however you can still edit the photo to make the colors pop out more. While on low light conditions the quality still decently clear but tends to have a bit of noise and mushy.
Videos we recorded both on the rear and front camera during bright conditions has good quality. With a range of resolution to choose from either in 2K, 1080p or 720p resolution at 30 frames per seconds I still would go with the 1080p. There’s no optical image stabilization on the phone so you may need to keep your phone very still. Quality of the videos when recorded during night time are a bit hazy and noise is evident as well.
On video mode you have some beautify and bokeh effect found on the top of the camera app.
Here are some sample photos and videos taken with the Infinix NOTE 12.
AI Cam – Indoor Low Light
AI Cam – Indoor Low Light
AI Cam – Outdoor Cloudy day
AI Cam – Outdoor Sunny day
AI Cam – Night Shot
Super Night mode on
Selfie Super Night mode on
Selfie AI Cam – Outdoor
Macro shot – Outdoor Cloudy day
SMOOTH UI, SECURE AND FAST BIOMETRICS
The Infinix NOTE 12 runs smoothly via the latest Android 12 with its very own updated UI the XOS 10.6 version.
You get some pre-installed apps on the Infinix NOTE 12 like Facebook, BoomPlay, Instagram, TikTok, a few Google apps and Infinix very own app as well.
The XOS also splits the notification panel and quick tool settings when you swipe down from the top. For some users this might be a little annoying but you’ll get used to it especially if you’re using the phone continuously.
Swiping from the any side of the screen will open the Smart Panel giving you shortcut access to some of the phone’s tools and apps which can also be modified or customize.
For security and biometrics, the phone has a fast fingerprint scanner, face unlock and the usual screen lock features which you can choose from either in Swipe, Pattern, PIN or Password.
Additional security features found on the settings are a Theft Alert, Emergency, Security Updates and Find My Device which locates your phone remotely.
MASSIVE BATTERY WITH FAST CHARGING
As a gaming smartphone users of the Infinix NOTE 12 will not worry too much as it has a built-in 5000 mAh battery and a 33W fast charging feature to quickly juice up the device using a USB Type-C cable.
During our test, battery on the NOTE 12 lasted for the entire day when we did our first impression article like browsing the internet, checking on our social media, listening to music, playing games and mostly watching YouTube videos. After that the days that followed, we have it relatively with it on light usage and left it on the desk. We were surprised that the NOTE 12 can comfortably last up to 3 days giving us a remaining 15% on its battery.
Charging the NOTE 12 after a 15-minute test from 0% already gets an initial charged of 21% which is good then after 30-minutes it went to 57%.
The Infinix NOTE 12 was fully charged in just 1 hour and 36 minutes.
What We Like
- Price
- Rear Panel Design
- Large AMOLED Display
- 8GB RAM with 5GB extended RAM
- 128GB storage with expandable option via MicroSD
- 5,000 mAh battery with 33W fast charging
- 50MP Main camera
- Haptic feedback
- Smooth gameplay
What We Want
- Ultra-wide Lens
- Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)
- Higher Nits brightness
Conclusion
I’m impressed with what the Infinix NOTE 12 has to offer at the price of only PHP8,999 for the 8GB+128GB variant. Now, if you could shell out some extra cash you may opt for the higher storage with the 256GB variant for only PHP9,990 which is really a great deal.
The Infinix NOTE 12 gets an arsenal of notable features that are made for mobile gaming. You get a MediaTek Helio G96 octa-core processor, large 6.7-inch AMOLED screen, 8GB RAM with 5GB extended RAM, 128GB storage expandable via MicroSD, and 5,000 mAh battery.
Aside from gaming, you capture good photos with its main camera at 50MP with a range of shooting modes as well as record videos at 2K.
Overall, we recommend the Infinix NOTE 12 for users looking for the best affordable gaming smartphone in the market today.
The Infinix NOTE 12 is available in Force Black, Sapphire Blue, and Snowfall in 128GB and 256GB for P8,990 and P9,990, respectively at Infinix stores nationwide, via Shopee. For more information, visit http://www.infinixmobility.com/.
