Infinix ZERO Flip: At RM2,999, this might be the best flip foldable phone I’ve ever tried

I never thought I would see the day where I am ranked in the top three globally for any game, but alas, the day has come, with JumpUp.

Given, this is a game that only seems to be playable through the cover screen of the Infinix ZERO Flip. Still, I want you to know that I think I’ve genuinely spent upward of five hours on this game, all in an effort to be the top player in this game.

There is honestly so much I can say about this game (like how I discovered an Easter egg that basically gives you points for free that honestly should be nerfed), but well, I’m not here to review JumpUp. No, here’s my review of the phone—Infinix ZERO Flip.

First time’s a charm?

With the ZERO Flip being Infinix’s first foray into flip phones, I must say my first impression was: I’m impressed.

Coming in the beautiful “Blossom Glow” colourway, the back looks like a simple pink cover at first, but upon closer inspection, it actually features a nice, slightly textured marbled design with a matte touch.

Sporting a 3.64-inch cover, the foldable reveals a 6.9-inch screen when opened up. I’m happy to report that the hinges are nice and smooth, offering free hovering from around 30° to 150° before the phone snaps shut or falls open completely.

It’s not too tight, which I like, but some people may worry about it loosening up over the years. That said, the Infinix ZERO Flip promises that its 400,000-fold hinge is designed for longevity.

On the topic of durability, the device’s exterior is made from scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass Victus.

Under the hood, the phone sports a decent 4,720mAh battery and MTK D8020 6nm chipset.

Back to the ZERO Flip’s cover screen, it features something Infinix calls Dynamic MultiView Display, which offers customisable 3D animated pets and quick shortcuts to popular apps like TikTok, YouTube, and WhatsApp.

Admittedly, the pets (which include an alpaca, dachshund, penguin, brown bear, and Siamese cat) don’t do much besides looking cute, but that alone is more than enough. These animals also make another appearance in JumpUp, the game I can’t stop talking about.

Better photography than I expected

I must say, I feel like I have a negative bias against Infinix’s photography. I’m not sure why, but prior to this, I’ve developed an opinion that the brand’s photographic capabilities are on the lower end.

Yet, the Infinix ZERO Flip proved me wrong. Featuring a dual-camera setup with a 50MP wide and 50MP ultrawide camera, the specs are relatively impressive for a foldable flip phone.  

But the star of the show is the AI processing. The main camera is called “AI Camera”, and for good reason. The processing really makes pictures look like a DSLR-quality image, with beautiful colour correction applied. It’s able to balance light really well, too, and bring out the vibrancy in colours intelligently.

I will say that I prefer the phone camera more for portraits; landscape pictures without a primary subject do fall a little flat with this phone.

With it only having two cameras and no telephoto camera, though, I must say that zoomed-in images on this phone leave much to be desired.

And of course, as with any clamshell foldable, the dual-screen preview function is a key USP of the phone. Enabling users to see themselves on the external display, it’s perfect for high-quality selfies or timed group shots.

Another key feature of this phone is its DV mode. Designed for vloggers, the ZERO Flip transforms into a mini vlogging camera in its flipped state, offering an easy grip like those old-school digital video camcorders.

Adding to the DV mode, the phone offers a variety of video templates and filters for users to create their own retro vlog. Complete with music, the resulting videos are honestly pretty cute, albeit not cinematic masterpieces.

According to Infinix, its ZERO Flip is the only device in its class to feature 4K ProStable video capabilities on both the front and rear cameras.

Working with GoPro, this phone also allows seamless connectivity with the GoPro app. In any case, it seems to be a phone designed with various videography capabilities in mind.

Not without its cons

As much as I surprised myself with how much I liked the phone, there were little quirks about it that annoyed me. Such is love, am I right?

Apps on the cover screen do freeze from time to time, especially with the JumpUp app. My quick fix is removing the said app from the cover screen, and then re-adding it, as there doesn’t seem to be a way to close apps on the cover screen otherwise.

And one thing about this phone is that it gets hot. Like, worryingly hot. It gets hot when I play JumpUp, it gets hot when I watch videos for too long, and it gets hot when I’m taking timelapse videos.

Another thing is, you can’t access the full suite of camera features on the cover screen. Unlike the Samsung Z Flip5, for instance, you can’t switch the camera controls to the cover screen when previewing. You can only just use it as a preview.

At the same time, I kind of admire the limited nature—it knows what it is, and it’s not trying to do more than that.

The verdict

Its price point of RM2,999 makes it pretty much the most affordable flip phone on the Malaysian market.

If you’re someone who loves the clamshell build in a phone, I really think Infinix has done a good job with this phone. It doesn’t offer insane performance or specs, but it has truly become one of my favourite phones that I’ve tried in a while.

Yes, it’s not perfect, and perhaps as a daily driver some issues may crop up, but for a foldable flip phone, I think it’s a pretty great option.

• Learn more about Infinix here.
• Read other VP Verdicts we’ve written here.

VP Verdict is a series where we personally try and test out products, services, fads, and apps. Want to suggest something else for us to try? Leave a comment here or send the suggestion to our Facebook page

Featured Image Credit: Vulcan Post