Infinix Note 30 series from last year revolved around wireless charging. The Pro model could wirelessly charge on its own, while the regular Note 30, the one I received, required a special phone case for wireless charging. This year, with the Infinix Note 40 series, they’ve doubled down on wireless charging and added magnets.
While other smartphone brands are removing accessories from their packaging. But Infinix is including more with everything they might need including a wireless charging pad. First, I’m unsure if every region will receive the same Note 40 packaging, so ensure you confirm that before purchasing.
Design and Build Quality
![Infinix Note 40 Review - Design and Build Quality](https://www.clearcrypt.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Infinix-Note-40-Review-Design-and-Build-Quality.jpg)
The design is squared off, flat, and boxy, and the camera module is glossy. The rear is matte, and the camera module is glossy. The minimal, simple look is appreciated. The camera module is glossy, and the gold color may look better. The obsidian black color looks more blue than black.
Infinix has added necessary accessories like wired earphones, but the Infinix Note 40 lacks a headphone jack and micro SD card slot at the bottom. The tray at the bottom is for SIM cards, resulting in a lack of headphone jack and micro SD card slot.
The headphone jack may not be a significant issue for many, as most people don’t use one today. However, the Note 40’s 256 GB storage is sufficient for most people, making it a good choice.
The tour features two JBL-tuned speakers and two mics, similar to the Note 30s. The power and volume buttons are located on the right, with the power button being a button for the fingerprint sensor underneath the display. It offers a more stylish and fast fingerprint sensor, compared to the Note 30.
Display
![Infinix Note 40 Review - Display and Picture Quality](https://www.clearcrypt.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Infinix-Note-40-Review-Display-and-Picture-Quality.jpg)
And that’s the exact same story with the display. It’s very different. First off, Infinix changed the notch; it’s now a hole-punch cutout. They also went from an 84.5% screen-to-body ratio to 89.9%.
The refresh rate, formerly 60 Hz, is now 120 Hz. The peak brightness went from 600 nits to 1,300 nits. So you get the point, it’s different, much better even. It was only the resolution and display panel that stayed the same.
The display looks honestly very impressive. In fact, when you compare it to the Pro model, the only major difference is that this doesn’t have a curved display. But even with it being flat, you can still sort of see and feel a slight curve on that flat display. It definitely helps with gestures.
So again, the display is really good, looks good, very little bezel, smooth, and pretty bright. It’s definitely better.
Software
![Infinix Note 40 Review - Software](https://www.clearcrypt.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Infinix-Note-40-Review-Software.jpg)
To match that new display, we have new software. This is running on XOS version 14 on top of Android 14. Although XOS 14 looks very similar to XOS 13 and comes with a lot of the same features, there are some new additions.
Under personalization, you can now edit the lock screen. You can change the clock style, font, and color. You can also change how you want notifications to appear on the lock screen and customize the shortcuts on the lock screen. Lock screen customization is kind of the highlight feature of Android 14, so it’s nice to see Infinix implement this.
Also under personalization, there’s a setting called “color,” which lets you choose a specific color that you would see all around the UI. So that’s kind of like Material You, which again, I’m glad that Infinix is trying to implement. The only thing I would add is I wish they could move the themed icon setting to the color section so that everything is just kind of there, and you can change the setting yourself.
This isn’t new, but we have the AI wallpaper generator which basically lets you create whatever wallpaper you want using AI. This, though, might be new: under live wallpapers, there are some new styles that can be tweaked and messed around with to create very original wallpapers. Overall, Note 40 offers a lot of options you can customize to your heart’s content which is very nice.
Performance
The G99 Ultimate is the chipset of choice here. You might recall that this was the same chipset used on the Spark 20 Pro Plus. In my review of that device, I said the G99 Ultimate is basically an overclocked version of the G99. It would, without a doubt, handle all your phone needs. It’s great at multitasking; you can have multiple apps open, up to 18 according to Infinix. It’s really good at multitasking.
It also comes with 8 gigs of RAM, which can be extended to 16 with virtual RAM, but frankly, I don’t think you would need to. I was able to play all my favorite games with really no issues, no overheating, no lagging; gameplay was really smooth. Again, for a $200 phone, performance is really good. The only thing you might complain about is that Not 40 is a 4G phone not a 5G. But then again, when you look at the price and all the features it comes with, asking for 5G may be a little bit too much. This has really too much.
Camera
![Camera Setup](https://www.clearcrypt.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Infinix-Note-40-Review-Camera-Setup.jpg)
![1x and 3x image](https://www.clearcrypt.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Infinix-Note-40-Review-1x-and-3x-image.jpg)
![Camera test image](https://www.clearcrypt.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Infinix-Note-40-Review-Camera-test-image.jpg)
I know it looks like it has more on the rear. There’s the 108-megapixel main sensor, a 2-megapixel depth sensor, and an AI camera. These are some of the pictures that I took on the Note 40. I took pictures of humans, random objects, cars, plants, and they all turned out really good. I was honestly really impressed with the image quality.
Now, although it’s a 108-megapixel main camera, it wouldn’t actually take 108-megapixel photos. I think they would be brought down to 12 megapixels. But if you want that extra sharp, extra detailed shot, then you’d have to switch to the 108-megapixel mode. But frankly, I think most people would just be shooting in the default camera mode, which again looks really good.
The only mode you should be shooting in when it comes to video is 1080p 30fps because that comes with stabilization. And then when it comes to its quality, it’s actually really good outdoors with really good lighting. These are the types of results to expect, and if I remember correctly, this is much better than the Note 30.
Battery
With big phones, you typically get big batteries, and this is no different. We get a 5,000 milliamp battery, and with light and medium use, it would last the entire day. If you’re streaming content, like watching YouTube videos, you can expect this phone to last for 10 plus hours. So, battery life is very okay, but that’s not where this phone shines; it’s recharging.
The Infinix Note 40 offers various charging features, including 45W wired charging, which takes an hour and 10 minutes to charge from 0 to 100%. It has three charging modes: Hypercharge, Smart Charge, and Low Temp Charge. Hypercharge provides a quick boost, allowing the device to go from 0 to 50% in 20 minutes.
45W wired and wireless charging options are available, along with reverse wired and wireless charging for charging friends’ phones. Bypass charging, which directly charges the motherboard, prevents overheating and faster battery degradation, making it a useful feature.
The Note 40 costs roughly $199, so what do I think of the Note 40? Well, if it wasn't clear already I'm pretty impressed with it. It's a phone that's actually pretty decent in every single category, and on top of that, we have wireless charging. Anyway, that's my review of the Infinix Note 40.
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Design and Build9
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Display9
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Software8
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Performance8
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Cameras8
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Battery8
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Price9