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When it comes to mid-range smartphones, there are two schools of thought that smartphones normally take reference from—either they are rich in design or they double down on specifications—but the Infinix Zero 30 5G seems to have struck the right balance between the two with its eye-catching design and decent internals.

However, there are still a few niggles that come to my mind as I write this review. So, let me tell you about my real-world usage of the Infinix Zero 30 5G and tell you if you should consider it over other phones in the same category.

Design: Looks And Feels Good In-hand

I remember first unboxing the Infinix Zero 30, and the moment I first held it in my hands, I could tell that it was a comfortable device to hold. Thanks to its vegan leather back finish on our Rome Green unit, the back feels quite premium and gives you a reassuring feel that a phone made out of glossy plastic can never match.

With that said, the phone also feels quite narrow and thin (7.9mm) and— naturally—quite grippy. To the average user, I’m sure this design will be quite appealing—especially due to the curved front display that you rarely find in this price range. More on the display later.

One thing I’m not fond of is the back camera module. I wish Infinix would have gone for a simpler look, sans the large plastic housing. It looks unnecessary to me and could have looked better with just the camera lenses on a simpler, less flashy camera module. Or perhaps something like the Zenfone 10, with just the camera lenses sticking out. But I do get where Infinix is coming from. The masses do want a flashy aesthetic.

Minor niggle: The buttons on the sides should have been a little wider as well, as they are situated on a rather thin side frame made of plastic.

Display: Exceeded Expectations

The Infinix Zero 30 5G comes with a 6.7-inch FHD+ OLED panel that supports a 144Hz refresh rate. And it is safe to say that this device offers a pleasing experience when it comes to media consumption—there is minimal distortion of the curved edges, the display is quite bright even outdoors, and most importantly, it gets the color right. I feel it isn’t too saturated and offers just the right colors. Moreover, it does come with support for a high-refresh rate—you can choose between 60Hz, 120Hz, and 144Hz. I kept it on 144Hz all the time, and it is quite smooth.

And yes, the bezels are not the slimmest but due to the curved display, you can barely notice them, at least on the sides.

Performance: Reliable but Software Could Use Some Optimization

As far as performance is concerned, I feel the Infinix Zero 30, for the price, offers decent performance with its MediaTek Dimensity 8020 octa-core chipset.

I noticed no slowdowns or stutters while doing day-to-day tasks. However, I did notice that sometimes, the phone can drop frames for a second while switching between apps and opening new ones, but this only happened occasionally. I’m sure this is a software issue and can be fixed through better optimization.

I also played a lot of Defense Derby on the device and experienced no slowdowns or heating. The phone comes with a vapor cooling solution, so I believe throttling is kept at bay. You should have no problems going through light to moderate gaming, and even some more demanding titles like COD Mobile.

As for battery life, the phone lasted me all day with moderate to heavy usage and had around 15% battery left on most days of my testing.

Software Experience: Needs More Commitment

The device runs on Infinix’s XOS 13.1—which is based on Android 13. The experience is overall quite feature-rich with multiple gestures available for power users, the ability to choose themes and fonts, Game Mode, the ability to clone apps through XClone, and multi-window support. The UI itself is also quite clean with icons that are well-designed, and system apps that aren’t too far off from a “stock” feel.

So yes, the software experience is quite decent with the Infinix Zero 30, but there’s a big elephant in the room that needs attention—limited updates. Yes, the device comes with the promise of just 1 major OS update and 2 years of security updates; compared to rivals, this isn’t enough and is certainly not ideal. I hope Infinix listens to this feedback and gives at least two major Android OS versions.

Camera: Overall a Fun Experience with Good Content Creation Presets

The Infinix Zero 30 has been targeted at content creators who like to push out video content—especially vlogs. And yes, the phone does deliver on this front with its myriad templates. You can head to the Film mode and choose from different templates like Travel, Vintage, Family, Street, and more. Some of these are actually quite decent, especially the vintage template.

As for the sensors, the device comes with a 108MP primary camera with an f/1.7 aperture and support for OIS. I feel it does a decent job in daylight apart from its tendency to blow out highlights. So yes, the HDR needs some tuning but overall, I’m quite happy with what the phone delivered. The images aren’t too saturated, and have good colors. The portrait mode also does a fine job of edge detection and creating a pleasing Bokeh.

Even at night, the noise levels are decent for the price. But the phone does suffer from shutter lag, so if you are capturing fast-moving subjects such as pets and cars, you will have to get your timing right.

The front-facing camera does need some work though. The videos are good with a maximum of 4K60 fps resolution but the photos leave a lot to be desired. They lack detail and skin tones appear greyish.

Overall, if you are buying the Infinix Zero 30 for videos, you will not be disappointed but don’t rely on it for selfies.

Verdict: A Different Offering In a Sea of Similar-Looking Slabs

If you are looking for a smartphone experience that puts design first, looks good, and has good battery life alongside some decent set of cameras, the Infinix Zero 30 can be a good option under the Rs 25,000 price bracket.

Notably, rival devices do cost much more, at least by 3-4 thousand. So, for the current price of Rs 23,999 for the 8+256GB variant and Rs 24,999 for the 12GB+256GB variant, we feel you can certainly have a look at buying it. However, it’s important to keep in mind that you will receive only one major Android OS update—specifically XOS 14 based on Android 14. So, this is a factor you must consider before buying.