Your favorite smartphone vendor, Infinix Mobility, launched a 3G smartphone in Kenya, the Infinix Hot 7, in March 2019. Yes, in 2019. At a time when the Mobile World Congress had just given us the future that is 5G, the Chinese company still had the boldness to bring a 3G smartphone into the country. Can you imagine?
To be fair, though, there are plenty of other device makers that sell low-cost 3G smartphones not just in Kenya but in Africa at large. Furthermore, the infrastructure needed to power 5G isn’t even ready in these parts of the world where some remote areas are still struggling to get hold of 4G or even 3G, so Infinix and the Hot 7 3G are actually vindicated. SMH.
We don’t know how many units of the Hot 7 Infinix has sold so far, but the supposed arrival of its successor, the Infinix Hot 8, hardly six months later says a lot. Perhaps Infinix is quickly making amends for the uninspiring Hot 7 with an improved Hot 8 whose retail box has recently leaked ahead of launch.
The first amend, so it seems, is to add support for 4G LTE. Most people keep phones for years and we all know that areas currently without 4G should get it eventually and with the 4G-capable Hot 8, they’ll be future-proof. On the other hand, those who have the Hot 7 are stuck on 3G forever even if they move to a region with 4G. Too bad!
This could be one of those tricks companies use to force users to upgrade to a newer or rather more expensive phone. And we know Infinix is no stranger to related strategies, having on several occasions released two variants of the same phone with 3G and 4G support as one of the main differences.
If the box is anything to go by, the upcoming Infinix Hot 8 could borrow some of the Infinix S4’s aesthetics. Or perhaps just about the entire external looks and feel. The box has an image of the Hot 8 with a waterdrop-style notch on an otherwise full-screen bar the tiny chin at the bottom. I hate to admit it but this type of notch looks much cleaner and minimal than the Hot 7.
The image also reveals that the Hot 8 will ship with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage with room to expand via a microSD card. In comparison, the Hot 7 sold in Kenya has 1GB or 2GB RAM allied to 16GB or 32GB storage.
Still, we cannot guarantee that the aforementioned combo is what will come to Kenya. This is especially since the Indian market got a far much superior variant of the Infinix Hot 7 than what we got here. What’s even more painful is that it offers more value for the same amount of money we pay for the weaker model sold here. Are you even kidding me, Infinix?
Below is a summary of the rumored Infinix Hot 8 specs.
- 6.2-inch HD+ display screen
- MediaTek Helio P25 SoC
- 4GB RAM, 64GB expandable storage
- Dual 13MP + 2MP main camera
- 4000mAh battery
- Android 9.0 Pie with XOS 5.0
- Extras: Bluetooth 5.0, 3.5mm audio jack, microUSB, dual-SIM, 4G LTE, rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, etc.
The Infinix Hot 8 will reportedly be unveiled in India later this month priced at under INR 10,000, which is equivalent to about Kshs 14,500. It is alleged that Infinix will have it in Midnight Black, Aqua Blue, and Mocha Brown paint jobs.
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