Infinix Zero Flip review: Best affordable flip phone yet

Infinix Zero Flip is available in India at a starting price of Rs 49,999. The phone features the largest cover display in this segment and packs a massive battery. But how does it perform in a real-life scenario? Let's find out in this detailed review by India Today Tech.

Infinix Zero Flip review - 8/10

Pros

• Cover display
• Compact design
• Long battery life
• Price

Cons

• Heating issues
• Wobbly hinge

In Short

• Infinix Zero Flip features a 3.64-inch cover display, which lets you use over 100 apps on it
• The 4,720mAh battery provides up to 24 hours of runtime
• Delivers vivid and crisp images, thanks to the 50-megapixel rear camera

Infinix launched its first ever clamshell phone in India, the Infinix Zero Flip. I have been using the phone for a couple of weeks, and I think –– especially considering the sub-Rs 50,000 pricing –– Infinix has set its best foot forward. Infinix is only the fifth smartphone company to step into the limited market of compact-flips in India, and the first one to sell a clamshell phone in the sub-50k budget.

The Infinix Zero Flip features a sleek design, a MediaTek Dimensity 8020 chipset, and a 4,720mAh battery. And I have found that all these features come together really well, even though it is the first foldable by the company. That said, is it perfect? No. But it’s still very easy to recommend. Let's deep dive into the Infinix Zero Flip’s review to find out.

Design is a 10/10

The Infinix Zero Flip is designed to impress. The smartphone offers a premium design with a slim 7.64mm thickness and weighs 195g, making it easy to carry. The flip style makes it even better with its compact nature. The sturdy design is not only appealing to the eyes but is also functional. When folded, the phone can easily be used with a single hand.

Talking about the aesthetics, it resembles the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 closely –– it has the same flat edges. The cover screen also picks up cues from the Moto Razr 50, with its curved display. And if you look at the Tecno Phantom V Flip 2, the Infinix Zero Flip looks almost the same. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Taking some design cues from its competition also means that the company has done its homework.

About the overall design language of the Zero Flip, for a foldable smartphone priced below Rs 50,000, it screams premium. I have been using the Rock Black variant for over a week and I love how it fits snuggly in my hand. It also fits easily in pockets of any size. When unfolded, it opens to reveal a big 6.9-inch display, which I will speak in detail about a little later. On the cover display, the phone uses a dual-camera setup.

While the Infinix Zero Flip gets full marks for its aesthetics, I am a bit concerned about its long-term durability. I have used the phone for about two weeks and I can already feel the hinge getting looser. Infinix, however, claims that the Zero Flip’s hinge passed a 4,00,000-fold test, which basically means it should remain durable in the long-term.

Overall, the Infinix Zero Flip has a gorgeous design, especially when folded. It is compact, light and has an elegant look.

Both displays are decent, but cover display is the real winner

The Infinix Zero Flip sports a 6.9-inch AMOLED internal display and a 3.64-inch AMOLED cover display, both with a 120Hz refresh rate. Before going into details about the main display, let’s take a look at one of the best parts about this phone — the cover display.

Infinix claims that the Zero Flip’s cover display is the largest in this price segment. The Moto Razr 50 –– launched in September –– has a 3.63-inch cover display. But this is not just about the few inches of display. What makes the Infinix Zero Flip’s cover display standout is that it lets you handle most of your notifications and tasks without needing to flip open the phone. You can text, scroll social media, click selfies, all from the cover display. This not only looks cool, it also makes you quickly attend to most of your notifications, and personally, I believe, it also helps you reduce your screen time.

Infinix also offers these “Cute Pets” animation — and cute they are, alright! These animations may not be as engaging as those on the Moto Razr 50, but they are still quite entertaining. There are also cover screen widgets for apps like Apple Music, weather app, among others. The Infinix Zero Flip’s cover display is also bright enough to use even under direct sunlight. I loved the cover display so much, I used almost everything on it.

The inner display, however, doesn’t impress as much. Under harsh sunlight, you can barely see colours on it. Indoors, I did not face any issues.

As for the curve of the crease on flip phones, manufacturers are really doing everything to make it “invisible”. Infinix seems to have attempted to do the same. The Infinix Zero Flip’s display has a minimal crease. You can only see it at certain angles or if you deliberately swipe your hand over it to specifically feel the crease.

The smartphone also sports an iPhone-like dynamic island –– Infinix calls it the dynamic bar. It provides information of incoming calls, media player, charging animation and face lock animations.

Heated performance

Under the hood, the Infinix Zero Flip is powered by a MediaTek Dimesity 8020 chipset, coupled with 8GB RAM. It runs on XOS 14.5, based on Android 14. The company is also providing software updates till Android 16 and three years of security update. Yes, it is not exactly a new chipset but that does not reflect in the phone’s performance –– for most parts, at least.

The phone has a largely smooth performance. Whether it is the general daily performance, watching YouTube videos, or low-intensity gaming, the phone performs well. However, if you push the phone’s performance a little further, or use it continuously for long hours, you will experience a lag in its performance.

I ran a few benchmark tests on the phone: the results were impressive. In Geekbench, the Infinix Zero Flip scored 753 for the single-core and scored 2479 for multi-core. On the Wild Life Stress test, it scored a stability rate of 98.1 per cent with 4379 as the best loop score.

But if the scores are so good, where’s the lag? Here’s the thing: benchmark scores don’t always translate into a good real-world performance. In the case of the Infinix Zero Flip, not only does it have patchy performance when used for long hours, it also heats up quite a bit. I have been jokingly referring to the phone as a “hot-head”. It heats up to an uncomfortable level and takes a while to cool down.

I have specifically noticed the phone heating up while using WhatsApp or Instagram on the cover display. The temperature starts to rise within just 15 minutes of usage of these apps. I also noticed the device heating up while running the 3DMark tests –– it went up to 53 degree celsius.

Another downside is that the Infinix Zero Flip’s UI is not clean. It comes with excessive bloatware pre-installed like Instagram, Snapchat, Messenger, and many other apps.

Great rear camera

Coming to the good parts of the Infinix Zero Flip again. It is the first flip phone to come with three 50-megapixel cameras. Both the front and rear cameras support 4K video recording. It also offers an AI Vlog Mode, which is great for new and existing content creators.

As for the image quality, the phone manages to click pretty and social media-ready pictures with the rear camera. Images produce natural colours, with accurate focus, and a good dynamic range. AI takes a few seconds to post-process images, but it is not something that would bother a user.

That said, the front camera –– the one on the internal display –– could have been better, which is usually the case with most flip phones, but we expected better from the Zero Flip, considering it offers a 50-megapixel sensor on the selfie camera as well. However, we found that images clicked from it have a hazy focus, and it softens the skin texture. Colour accuracy is still maintained in the front camera images, but they lack the sharpness. But here’s why that’s not such a big problem: You can use the Infinix Zero Flip’s primary camera setup on the cover display for selfies too. You can open the phone in the laptop mode, and even use the external display as your viewfinder. I, in fact, ended up rarely using the selfie camera. Take a look at the camera samples here.

Big battery phone

The Infinix Zero Flip packs a large 4,720mAh battery with 70W charging speed. The company claims this is the largest battery on a flip phone available in India, and it can also charge up the phone to 50 per cent in 17 minutes. The Infinix Zero Flip delivers quite close to the claim. It takes only 50 minutes to fully charge the phone, from 0 per cent to 100 per cent.

In the two weeks that I used the Zero Flip, I have been impressed by its battery performance. That is especially interesting for a flip phones, which usually struggle offering even a full-day battery. The Infinix Zero Flip, on the other hand, lasts an entire day even on heavy usage.

Infinix Zero Flip: At Rs 49,999, is it worth it?

The Infinix Zero Flip launched in India at a price of Rs 49,999, but with discount offers it can go as low as Rs 45,999. The pricing is the most attractive thing about the phone. It also impresses with its battery, camera, and the functionality of its cover display. However, the phone isn’t without flaws, but most of them aren’t even deal breakers. The only thing that can change your mind about the phone is its heating-issue, which also be compromised if you are not a heavy smartphone user. So, should you consider the Infinix Zero Flip? Absolutely, you should.