Infinix’s third member of its Hot S smartphone lineup is now available in the country through Safaricom which will be the exclusive retailer of the device through its countrywide network of retail stores. Select Safaricom dealers will also stock the device.
This is not the first time that Safaricom is getting first dibs on an Infinix Hot S series device. The very first generation Hot S, called, well, the Infinix Hot S, was only available officially through Safaricom shops and Infinix’s own brand stores.
It is not being sold through Safaricom that spares the first generation Hot S a spot in Infinix’s history, though.
The Infinix Hot S was a device of several firsts. It has the distinction of being the first Infinix smartphone to feature a fingerprint scanner, ushering the then nascent Chinese smartphone brand to the modern smart age where several features keep on being added under the guise of “improving security”. The latest craze is the face unlock feature which, thanks to not being totally secure, is complemented by good old PINs and passwords as well as the now-secondary fingerprint sensors.
The Infinix Hot S3 may be hitting the Kenyan market today but it’s been around in the global market for a few months now following its announcement in February. As such, it shipped without the face unlock feature. However, users of the device in countries like India where it has been available on sale since the start, have been receiving an over-the-air (OTA) update that brings the feature to the device. Those who part with the Kshs 18,999 that is required to bring it home will however get the feature right away.
The Infinix Hot S was also the first smartphone from Infinix that arrived running XOS, the software overlay from the company that adds several apps and features on top of the ones supplied by Google to differentiate the product as well as “add value”. The Hot S launched with the “Chameleon” version of the software. Those who will be buying the third generation Hot S will definitely see some progress as it arrives with a recent version dubbed “Hummingbird”.
Like its first generation predecessor, the Hot S3 also has its own firsts.
The Infinix Hot S3 happens to be the first ever smartphone from Infinix to pack an 18:9 aspect ratio display. However, thanks to its delayed launch in the country, it is the second device from Infinix to launch with such a display since the Hot 6 and Hot 6 Pro already went ahead of it and stole its shine and thunder.
The Infinix Hot S3 is also the very first smartphone from Infinix that opts for a processor from Qualcomm instead of the usual MediaTek chipsets, packing the Snapdragon 430. Just as is the case with the display, in the local market, the Infinix Hot 6 Pro already has the title of the first Infinix device to enter the market with a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.
However, the Hot S3 will be banking on its camera to cement its status as one of the top Infinix smartphones in the market though we are not sure for how long that will be the case as it will be looking over its shoulders to see what the Infinix Note 5 that is set to be launched over the weekend in Dubai and which is already up for pre-order will be bringing to the table given that the price difference will be just Kshs 1,000.
The device’s big 4,000mAh battery is expected to provide users with enough juice to last more than a day.
