Infinix Note 4’s sharper and well-built brother aka the Note 4 Pro just made an appearance at our office. The phone, which is already on sale on Kilimall, builds on the Note 4’s strong points with additions like the X-Pen, 3 gigs of RAM, 32 GB of internal storage that I think should be a standard for all phones in 2017, an all-metal body, a meatier 4500 mAh juicer and more heft at 196g. However, it keeps most of its spec sheet from the Note 4, including the 5.7-inch 2.5D full HD screen that we like, the same camera optics on the front and back at 8MP and 13MP respectively, dual SIM slots with an SD card expandability (no fancy hybrid trays to confuse you), and, to my disappointment, the same chipset. I do hope that the extra gig of RAM will run smoothly (maybe) to keep some of the performance issues I had with its sibling at bay. The rest of the specs are right here.
The unboxing affair is different than what you may have been used to. The retail box is huge because it houses two other boxes; one that has the phone and its usual array of accessories like a thick (a plus for people who love their things, thick) charging brick, an equally robust charging micro USB cable that will last for some time and the same ‘ol proverbial Infinix earphones. The second box has the X-Pen, and a handsome but wide flip case.
The case is broad because it has a silo that provides residence for the X-Pen. If you choose to use the phone without the case, you will have to keep X-Pen in your pocket. Or leave it at home. Worth noting is that the X-Pen draws power from the phone via three connector pins on the on the stylus. We would be happier if this was not the case, but where are you going to score a phone with a stylus at less than KES 20,000? Be nice.
We will look into the case’s offerings in our review but just to shed some light on its features, it has a triangular window on its front with shortcuts for a flashlight and music controls. You can also receive phone calls with it, in addition to having access to notifications. Handy, if you are into cases.
To take full advantage of the Note 4 Pro’s provisions, you will need that case and X-Pen. There is a companion app called X-Note that is packed with some cool features. For instance, popping the X-Pen out of its slot opens a memo page for you to note important stuff down. You can also draw with it using multiple pen tips and colours, do some screen shots or take cropped screenshots with the ‘smart select’ feature. These will be discussed in detail when the full review goes live.
XOS Chameleon and its tricks is unsurprisingly present on top of Android 7.0, coupled with an overgenerous share of utility apps that Infinix believes will make you a better person. How the software performs will also be reported at a later date.
I predict that camera performance will follow Note 4’s trend, which means very good, especially the selfie one that is equipped with a front-facing flash.
Lastly, you need not to have sleepless nights about this humongous battery. You will be happy with it, assuming past history of Note devices holds.
We will do a one-on-one comparison with the Note 4, so sit tight.
