The Infinix Hot 10 Play is an upgraded version of the Infinix Hot 10 in a lot of aspects. It has a bigger screen, a faster processor, RAM and the biggest upgrade of all being the 6000mAh battery.
The XOS software Android 10 version is the same plus the ever efficient smart panel is still there. But first, let us look at the main differences between the Hot 10 and the Hot 10 Play.
Hot 10 Vs. Hot 10 Play
Here is a chart representing the major differences between the Infinix Hot 10 and the Hot 10 Play. I’m using the Infinix Hot 10 version that I did a review of in October of 2020.
| Spec/Phone | Hot 10 | Hot 10 Play |
| Screen Size | 6.78 Inch | 6.82 Inch |
| Resolution | 720 X 1640 HD | 720 X 1640 HD |
| Processor | Helio G70 (1.7 GHz octa-core processor) | Mediatek Helio G35 (2.0 GHz octa-core processor) |
| RAM | 3GB | 4GB |
| Storage | 64GB | 64GB |
| Battery | 5200mAh | 6000mAh |
| Front Camera | 8MP Dot In Display with Dual Flash | 8MP Waterdrop with Flash |
| Rear Camera | 16MP Quad camera setup with Quad Flash | 13MP + Portrait AI Dual Camera with Quad Flash |
| Price In Kenya | Ksh13,999 | Ksh15,499 |
From the chart above you can see that the Infinix Hot 10 Play has a bigger screen, more processor speed, bigger battery and more RAM. On the other hand the Hot 10 has a bigger rear camera setup and costs less. The only specification that is the same is the screen resolution.
Just like the Hot 10, all these specifications make the Infinix Hot 10 Play suited for most applications. Do you want a phone for watching videos, social media browsing, gaming or a video creator phone for a budget? Then the Infinix Hot 10 Play is for you.
Price
The Infinix Hot 10 Play goes for Ksh15,499 in Kenya which is an equivalent of USD 141 according to the latest exchange rates. If you check my differences chart above, you’ll see why this phone costs more.
While I do appreciate the bigger battery capacity that can literary last for up to 3 days, I expected the price to be lower but slightly higher than the Hot 10’s price. But certainly not that high.
Performance
The Hot 10 Play is powered by a Mediatek Helio G35 2.0HGz octa-core processor. This gets the job done with most applications. With 4GB RAM, there is no lagging or overheating while watching videos, playing simple games or reading articles on browsers.
Cinematic Display
With a big 6.82″ Dot Drop display and 90.66% screen to body ratio. Watching landscape movies on the Hot 10 Play is an enjoyable treat. The 20.5:9 full view ratio is closer to the IMAX movie ratio plus a slim display allows for comfortable single-hand operation.
If you watched my unboxing video of the Hot 10 Play you might have noticed something about the speaker. And that is that the speaker is not located at the bottom of the phone but at the top just above the front camera. I like it when the sound comes from the front of the phone as opposed to the side where you can block it with your hand while gaming or watching videos in landscape mode.
Camera
When it comes to video recording both, the front and rear cameras can record up to a quality of 1080p. The rear camera records at 30 fames per second while the front camera also records at 30fps. Depending on how bright the environment you are shooting is in, the Hot 10 Play can change the frame rate. In bright environments the frame rate is 30fps but in very low light it can drop to 12fps.
The following short video shows you how good the Cameras are. Personally I like how fast and excellent the autofocus feature is.
Video Samples
For the price mentioned above, I expected the Hot 10 Play to have inbuilt video stabilization and supernight camera features. From the video above, you can see that the Hot 10 play dos not have either of these features.
Battery
The biggest upgrade on the Hot 10 Play is the 6000mAh battery. I’ve only charged this phone twice this past week while using it normally.
The phone des not have fast charging so it takes around 3 hours to fully charge the battery. Lastly the Power Marathon application does a very good job of tracking the power consumption. The next paragraph depends on the screen shot below.
The power boost feature can extend the battery life even longer. For example, I can extend it by 1.4 hours in the image above. What’s amazing is that battery time can be extended even further by 152 hours simply by enabling the ultra saving feature.
However that will disconnect my internet. So the ultra saving feature should only be used while the battery is too low for comfort.
Conclusion
The performance is great, storage is more than enough, the dual cameras setup is good and the battery performance is top notch. Therefore that is why this Infinix Hot 10 Play review shows that it is a good performer with bigger specs. That is if you overlook the ads and bloatware. But I have a solution for that here.
I want to Buy infinix Hot 10play 4 to 64Gb