Infinix Hot S3X; a redesigned of S3; what's different and what stays the same.

Except for the redesigned body, larger screen size (with notch), distinct aspect ratio and the presence of dual camera, Infinix Hot S3X shares almost the same internal components such as RAM, ROM, processor and battery capacity with the Infinix Hot S3. In short, the differences between the Infinix Hot S3X and Hot S3 lie in the physical appearance.

Therefore, below are the attributes of the Infinix Hot S3X, starting from the ones that differentiate the phone from the Infinix Hot S3.

Introduction of screen-notch to Infinix S3X: Spotted at the top of the Hot S3X display is the screen notch, a small cut out that houses the phone's front camera, speaker grille and LED notification light. The notch was first introduced by Apple in its widely known iPhone X, and so many other phone makers have adopted it too in their various smartphone models.
Infinix now follows the footsteps of those phone makers by also introducing screen-notch to the latest Infinix Hot S3X.

This means Infinix Hot S3X is the company's first phone to feature notch, and in addition, this also indicates that Infinix Mobility is the first company among its main competitors or peers, in this part (region) of the world, to feature notch in its phones' line up.

And if you are among the users that don't fancy the notch, like other phones with such notch, i hope Infinix have made provision of UI software (in settings) to hide the notch thereby making the top screen appears like that of regular ones.

What is the use of the notch? The purpose of using notch in a smartphone is to gain more screen real estate, most especially in the phones with bigger screen and taller aspect ratio for instance iPhone X, OnePlus 6, Huawei P20 Pro, LG G7 ThinQ, Nokia 6.1 Plus and the new Infinix Hot S3X. What all those phones have in common is a bigger screen, the notch and aspect ratio that is between 19:9 to 19.5:9.

Large Screen with another 19:9 aspect ratio: Unlike the Infinix Hot S3 that came with 5.7-inch display and 18:9 aspect ratio, Hot S3X has a bigger 6.2-inch display that comes with an unusual aspect ratio of 19:9. Remember 18:9 (of Hot S3) is a recent aspect ratio that replaces the standard 16:9, then the question we should ask is 'why do smartphone makers keep introducing different kinds of aspect ratio, in this case 19:9?

The answer lies with the same idea behind the recently introduced 18:9 aspect ratio (read more on 16:9 in Camon CM) and it is simple: like 18:9, the 19:9 aspect ratio makes production of smartphones with large screens and narrower bodies possible.

In other words, 19:9 aspect ratio makes it possible for manufacturers to produce large screen smartphones with slender bodies. This is quite necessary, because for optimum phone's experience, users should be able to hold (grip) and operate their phones with one hand comfortably. As a result of this, therefore, despite its ample 6.2-inch screen, Infinix Hot S3X fit snuggly to your palm, unless you have a very small hand.

But the same HD+ resolution: However, despite its bigger 6.2-inch size, Hot S3X display has the same 720p resolution as the 5.7-inch screen of the Hot S3, whereas, one would have expected the phone to pack more pixels. While some might think that the new phone's 1500x720 resolution is more than 1440x720 of the Hot S3, hence, it should be sharper, but the fact is that the extra 60 pixels of the Hot S3X display is as a result of 19:9 aspect ratio.

And so, when it comes to sharpness, those fewer pixels are less of importance because the phone has 6.2-inch screen which, of course, is bigger than 5.7-inch of its predecessor. In fact, the truth is Infinix Hot S3 has slightly higher pixel density (ppi) than the Hot S3X, this is because while the new phone has 268 ppi, S3 has slightly higher 282 ppi. Therefore, S3X display may appear brighter, but technically, it's not sharper than S3.

Presence of Dual Rear Camera, But Lower Megapixels Selfie Lens: Instead of having a single lens back camera like the Hot S3, Infinix Hot S3X comes with a dual-lens back camera. And while the single rear camera of the Infinix Hot S3 has 13MP lens, the dual-lens back camera of the latest Hot S3X is also made up of the same 13MP and an additional 2MP.
The dual back camera of the latest phone is quite useful when it comes to taking Portrait pictures i.e. photos with bokeh effects, portrait mode allows you to blur the background of your picture to make the photo subject appear standout or prominent.

The dual back camera also gives you the opportunity to take Wide angle photos. Wide angle picture allows you to capture more image of the subject before you finally take the shot.
Meanwhile, despite the fact that the previous Hot S3 does not have dual back camera, yet the phone's front camera is better than that of the new Hot S3X. In other words, while the earlier Hot S3 offers an higher 20MP front-facing camera, the new Hot S3X comes with a lower 16MP Selfie camera.


Below are things that remain the same...

Same Processor, RAM and ROM: Found in the Hot S3, Infinix Hot S3X also has the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 chipset; which is an Octa-Core processor that has 1.4GHz clock speed. Also, like the earlier model, the new phone comes with the same 3GB of RAM and the same internal storage space of 32GB. The internal storage space of the Hot S3X can also be expanded, via microSD, up to 128GB.

Same Android Oreo, but updated; Infinix Hot S3 and Hot S3X feature the same version of Android Operating System (OS), which is Android 8 Oreo. However, while the Hot 3 came with the Android 8.0 (Oreo), the new phone comes with the updated Android 8.1 (Oreo). Also the new Infinix S3X also come with the Infinix XOS 3.3v instead of the XOS 3.0 version that came with S3.

Both features Face Unlock: In addition to the Fingerprint scanner, Face Unlock is another type of security feature, which can be found on both Infinix Hot S3X and Hot S3. Infinix Face Unlock is similar to that of iPhone X's Face ID or Galaxy 9's Face recognition; which scan your facial attributes, to check whether you are the authentic owner or not, before unlocking the phone. Furthermore, the fingerprint readers of the 2 phones can also be found in a similar spots, in other words, you'll find the rear mounted fingerprint sensors of both phones, close to the top.

Same 4000 mAh battery: Like the Infinix Hot S3, Infinix Hot S3X also comes with the same 4000mAh battery capacity. Though the battery life of the Hot S3X may not be on a par with that of the S3. And it's because the new phone has a bigger screen size of 6.2-inch, still, the HD+ resolution of the display, to an extent, will preserve the battery life. In other words, despite its larger screen size, Infinix S3X battery will last longer than average.

The Price of Infinix Hot S3X
Meanwhile, Infinix Hot S3X can be found in many smartphone retail outlets across the country, and the current price is about 49,500 Naira.

Full Specifications of Infinix S3X and S3

GENERAL

Maker	Infinix Mobility.
Name	Hot S3X	Hot S3
Year Announced	August  2018	March  2018
Weight	N/a	150g
Thickness	8.3mm	8.4mm
Colour	Polished Black, Blue and Gray.	Midnight Black and Champaign Gold.

DISPLAY

Screen Type	IPS LCD-LED Capacitive Touchscreen.	IPS LCD-LED Capacitive Touchscreen.
Size and Resolution	6.2-inch HD+ (1500x720) pixels.	5.7-inch HD+ (1440x720) pixels.
Aspect ratio	19:9 (268 ppi)	18:9 (282 ppi)
Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass.	Corning Gorilla Glass.

HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE

Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon 430.	Qualcomm Snapdragon 430.
Processor	1.4 GHz, Octa-Core.	1.4 GHz, Octa-Core..
RAM Memory	3GB	3GB
ROM Memory	32GB	32GB
MicroSD-Card	Yes, up to 128GB.	Yes, up to 128GB
Operating System	Android 8.1 (Oreo), Infinix XOS 3.3v.	Android 8.0 (Oreo), Infinix XOS 3.0v.

SIM, NETWORK AND CONNECTIVITY

SIM	Dual, Nano.	Dual, Nano.
Network	GSM, HSPA+ and LTE.	GSM, HSPA+ and LTE.
Connectivity	Micro-USB, Bluetooth 4.2, WiFi, GPS Navigation, OTG, Hotspot.	Micro-USB, Bluetooth 4.2, WiFi, GPS Navigation, OTG, Hotspot.

CAMERA AND MULTIMEDIA

Rear Camera (Dual)	13MP, AF And 2MP with LED flash.	13MP, AF with LED flash.
Front Camera	16MP, FF with LED flash.	20MP, FF with LED flash.
3.5mm Headphone jack	Yes	Yes
Video Playing Formats	MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM.	MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM.
Audio Playing Formats	MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, WAV, WMA, AMR, MID, MIDI, AWB, FLAC.	MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, WAV, WMA, AMR, MID, MIDI, AWB, FLAC.

BIOMETRICS AND SENSORS

Biometrics Security/Sensors	Fingerprint reader, Face Unlock.	Fingerprint reader, Face Unlock.
Sensors	G-sensor, Proximity sensor, RGB Light sensor, Accelerator and Barometer sensor.	G-sensor, Proximity sensor, RGB Light sensor, Accelerator and Barometer sensor.

BATTERY AND WATER RESISTANCE

Lithium-Ion	4000mAh.	4000mAh.
Non-Removable	Yes.	Yes.
Fast Charging	Yes.	Yes.
Wireless Charging	No.	No.
Wireless Fasting Charging	No.	No.
IP68 Certified Water Resistance	No.	No.