Review Summary
Expert Rating
The Infinix Smart 9 HD is the brand’s latest budget device that comes at an affordable price tag of Rs 6,699. For the cost, it packs some solid features and delivers great value. It comes with a MediaTek Helio G50 chipset, 3GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, a 5,000mAh battery, and a 13MP dual rear camera setup.
But does it carve out a place for itself in the budget segment, especially against the feature-packed Itel Zeno 10 (review)? I’ve been using the device for a while now, and here’s my take on it.
Table of Contents
Verdict
The Infinix Smart 9 HD is a well-rounded option at a budget price. It delivers a good multimedia experience, has capable cameras, and offers a reliable battery life. If you’re on a tight budget and need a reliable device for daily use, the Infinix Smart 9 HD is an option worth considering.
Design and display
| Infinix Smart 9 HD | Itel Zeno 10 | |
| Weight | 188 grams | 186 grams |
| Thickness | 8.35 mm | 8.7 mm |
| IP Rating | IP54 | NA |
The Infinix Smart 9 HD boasts a minimalist yet premium-looking design. The rear panel has a glass-like finish that helps resist smudges and fingerprints. The Green colour variant I received for review comes in a soft pastel shade that looks great, and the camera island isn’t too overbearing, featuring two ring cutouts and a flash unit—something I quite like.
The power and volume buttons are towards the usual right, with a speaker grille sitting up top, with the second speaker grille, USB-C port, and 3.5mm jack at the bottom. The device comes with an IP54 certification for protection against dust and water, which is commendable for a smartphone at this price point. Even the in-hand feeling is refined and ergonomic, which will surely appeal to many customers.
The device has a 6.7-inch IPS display with an HD+ (1600 x 720p) resolution, a 90Hz refresh rate, and 500nits brightness. It’s a fairly basic display—brightness is good indoors, but visibility takes a hit outdoors or in bright surroundings. The colours are vivid, and the overall multimedia experience is decent for the price, improved by the stereo speaker setup.
| Infinix Smart 9 HD | Itel Zeno 10 | |
| Display | 6.7-inch IPS | 6.6-inch IPS |
| Peak Brightness | 500 nits | 600 nits |
Cameras
The cameras on the phone are fairly basic but perform great! The device comes with a 13MP dual rear camera and an 8MP selfie lens, and these lenses take impressive shots in well-lit surroundings. The primary camera has a wide dynamic range and turns up the contrast to churn out social media-ready shots. The selfie camera is equally good. It captures a lot of details and has good colour accuracy. I compared the phone’s cameras against the Itel Zeno 10 (review), and here’s how it went:
Daylight
The key difference between the shots of the Itel Zeno 10 and Infinix Smart 9 HD mostly boils down to the colour science. The former’s colours are a lot more vivid and have higher contrast, which makes the image more appealing. In terms of clarity, the Itel Zeno 10’s image is a notch higher.
Selfie
Both phones take good-looking selfies, although the Infinix Smart 9 HD’s image is closer to reality. It preserves facial details really well, and the skin tone reproduction is spot-on. The Itel Zeno 10 softens the facial details and makes the skin colour appear a little saturated.
Low-light
The low light performance of both phones is quite poor, which is a given considering the price segment. The Infinix Smart HD 9 softens the image and adds a green tint to the shot, while the Itel Zeno 10’s shot is riddled with noise.
The Infinix Smart HD 9 skips the ultra-wide camera, which is fairly common among smartphones in this price range. Additionally, portrait shots can be inconsistent and require a few attempts to get a good result. Its edge detection isn’t the most accurate either, but that’s common among its peers as well.
Performance and software
The MediaTek Helio G50 chipset powers the phone, paired with 3GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 64GB of storage, further expandable up to 1TB. The chipset is quite modest but works well enough for regular use like browsing social media, streaming videos, and texting. There is, however, a slight lag when opening apps and switching between them, which becomes more noticeable when multitasking with more than three apps. To be fair, this does not isolate the Smart HD 9, as most smartphones in the sub-Rs 10K segment exhibit similar performance issues while multitasking.
We tested a few popular games like COD: Mobile and BGMI, and while the device can run them, it does so at low resolution with a low FPS count. We compared the performance output of the Infinix Smart 9 HD against its prime competitor, the Itel Zeno 10, using our regular ensemble of benchmarks. The Itel Zeno 10 had slightly better performance, both in benchmarks and while gaming. The Infinix Smart 9 HD wasn’t compatible with Geekbench 6, so we couldn’t include the CPU results. We’ll update this section once we’re able to run the benchmark successfully.
The Infinix Smart 9 HD runs on XOS based on Android 14 GO edition, and overall, performance is smooth. The Dynamic Bar is a neat addition, and it pops up while charging, music playback, Face Unlock, etc., adding a bit of character to the UI. There are a few pre-installed apps, but you can delete them if they’re of no use to you, although some system apps can only be disabled.
| Infinix Smart 9 HD | Itel Zeno 10 | |
| Pre-installed apps | 43 | 41 |
| Software support | NA | 2 years security updates |
Battery and charging
The Infinix Smart 9 HD is powered by a standard 5000mAh battery with 10W charging support. Battery life is decent for the price, delivering results on par with competitors in benchmark tests. With moderate usage, it should easily last a full day, while heavy users will likely need to charge by the end of the day. The low-resolution display helps with efficiency, drawing less power and extending battery life.
Charging time, however, is on the slower side, taking roughly 2 hours to go from 20 to 100 percent. This could make overnight charging the more convenient option, as topping up during the day might feel a bit slow. At least in comparison, the Smart HD 9 performs better than it’s rival.
| Infinix Smart 9 HD | Itel Zeno 10 | |
| Battery size | 5,000mAh | 5,000mAh |
| Charging time | 139 minutes (10W) | 170 minutes (10W) |
Final Verdict
The Infinix Smart 9 HD has quite a few things going for it, and at Rs 6,699, it offers a lot of value that’s hard to ignore. The multimedia experience is great for the segment, and it has one of the best camera setups in its price range. The phone’s battery life should also comfortably last a full day for most users. Its main competitor at this price is the Itel Zeno 10 (review), another budget device, which gains a slight edge based on performance, although its cameras don’t quite match up to the Infinix Smart 9 HD.
Therefore, if you seek a reliable smartphone under Rs 10,000 with great cameras and a solid battery, the Infinix Smart 9 HD is a great choice.
Editor’s rating: 7.5/10
Reasons to buy:
- The phone has a classy design with IP54 water & dust resistance.
- The device offers a good multimedia experience, thanks to its vivid display and stereo speakers.
- The cameras deliver great results in well-lit environments.
- The phone’s battery will deliver a full day of use for most users.
Reasons not to buy:
- The device takes a while to charge completely.
- The performance can feel slow at times.
