Infinix is back again with three new smartphones that are guaranteed to save your wallet from a beating. Despite sporting competitive prices, all three models have decent specs under the hood. If you’re looking for a new smartphone, check out the Infinix Note 30, Note 30 5G, and Note 30 Pro.

Infinix Note 30

At its most basic, the Infinix Note 30 series starts with a Helio G99 chipset, 8GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of internal storage. If that’s not enough, it is also compatible with expansion via a microSD card. It will have a 64-megapixel main camera (paired with a 2-megapixel camera and an AI camera) at the back and a 16-megapixel selfie shooter in front.

In front, the Infinix Note 30 features a 6.78-inch LCD screen, 120Hz refresh rate, and 240Hz touch sampling rate. Underneath, the smartphone will have a 5000mAh battery capable of 45W wired charging.

It will be available in Magic Black, Interstellar Blue, and Sunset Gold.

Infinix Note 30 5G

The next model in the lineup shares much of the specs of its lower-tiered sibling. However, it will have a MediaTek Dimensity 6080 chipset. It will also offer a choice between 4GB and 8GB of RAM.

As for its camera, the smartphone offers a larger 108-megapixel main camera, paired with the same duo as the regular model. The selfie shooter remains the same.

It will be available in Blue, Black, and Sunset.

Infinix Note 30 Pro

Much like the 5G variant, the Pro mixes and matches some specs to compare against the regular model. For example, instead of an LCD panel, the Pro will feature an AMOLED screen of the same size with a higher 360Hz touch sampling rate. It will also have a vapor cooling chamber with ten layers of cooling material for more focused gaming.

The Pro will have the 108-megapixel main camera of the 5G variant. Plus, it will have a better 32-megapixel selfie shooter.

Though it will still have a 5000mAh battery, Infinix has bumped the charging capability up to 68W for wired charging.

It will be available in Black and Variable Gold.

Price and availability

Infinix has not confirmed pricing for the three models yet. However, the brand promises that they will cost less than US$ 300.

2023 is a year where phone brands focus their flagship smartphones towards professional photography — Samsung and HONOR are no exceptions.

Samsung headlines the Galaxy S23 Ultra with its astronomic 200MP camera. That’s with the inclusion of three more cameras. On the other hand, HONOR offers a completely different setup for the Magic5 Pro: triple 50MP cameras to be exact.

While the phone’s naming superlatives don’t actually feel like they are the direct competitors of one another (as HONOR also has the Magic5 Ultimate), this is still the best comparison we can deliver to you because the latter is China-exclusive.

Best of both worlds

Just like in other camera shootouts, it would be amiss not to talk about the specific camera hardware these two smartphones possess.

	HONOR Magic5 Pro	Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Wide	50MP f/1.6 1/1.12” sensor size OIS + Laser AF + Multi-directional PDAF	200MP f/1.7 1/1.3” sensor size OIS + Laser AF + Multi-directional PDAF
Ultra-Wide	50MP f/2.0 122º FoV	12MP f/2.2 120º FoV
Telephoto	–	10MP f/2.4 3x optical zoom
Periscope	50MP f/3.0 3.5x optical zoom	10MP f/4.9 10x optical zoom
Selfie	12MP f/2.4 100º ToF 3D (depth + biometrics)	12MP f/2.2 –
Others	Rear ToF 3D (depth) Up to 4K/60fps	– Up to 8K/30fps

Aside from the obvious difference in megapixel count, the wide camera of the HONOR Magic5 Pro is slightly brighter at f/1.6 (versus f/1.7). Moreover, the Magic5 Pro has an overall bigger pixel count in its ultra-wide and periscope lenses.

I just find it weird how HONOR decided to choose a “periscope” camera that only zooms in optically at 3.5x. Meanwhile, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 10x periscope zoom lens with a separate 3x telephoto zoom shooter. Of course, both phones are capable of up to 100x digital zoom.

Lastly, the HONOR contender is equipped with a ToF 3D sensor on its front and back for depth (plus biometric scanning through Face Unlock). While the Galaxy S23 Ultra doesn’t have one, it can record videos up to 8K/30fps whereas the HONOR maxes out at 4K/60fps.

Wide (1x)

On paper, their main cameras seems like a day and night difference — but is that actually the case when they almost share the same lens opening minus the inclusion of 1-inch camera sensors?

W1

W2

W3

W4

W5

Ultra-Wide (UWA)

Choose your weapon: 122-degree + f/2.0 aperture or a 120-degree Field of View + f/2.2 ultra-wide camera?

Lastly, 50MP versus 12MP?

U1

U2

U3

U4

U5

Zoom (3~3.5x)

As already stated, the HONOR Magic5 Pro rocks a 3.5x periscope shooter while Samsung is equipped with a telephoto lens that zooms in to 3x. But which is actually the better deal?

Z1

Z2

Z3

Z4

Z5

Farther Zoom (10x)

As previously mentioned, HONOR markets its 3.5x lens as “periscope”. Meanwhile, Samsung’s periscope is rather farther at 10x. While having that huge optical zoom gap, this doesn’t mean we can’t do a comparison as the HONOR can do its “Magic” using its periscope shooter.

P1

P2

P3

P4

P5

Night Mode

Shooting low-light photos using Night Mode is and will always be the dealbreaker in every camera shootout we make. Proven over many write-ups, Samsung is notorious for its bright night AI algorithm and post-processing techniques. But can you even tell which is which?

N1

N2

N3

N4

N5

BONUS: Faces

The closest camera spec we could have are the selfie cameras of each phone. But actually, one has the advantage of having an ultra-wide angle lens. Also, there’s a lone comparison which showcases how each phone shoots portrait subjects.

B1

B2

B3

BONUS: Farthest Zoom (Day)

In this comparison we’re going past 10x to actually know how each model performs when it comes to digital zoom.

B4 (30x)

B5 (50x)

BONUS: Farthest Zoom (Night)

I also did the same comparison during the night to actually test out how each phone can withstand the lack of ample light when taking zoomed shots.

B6 (10x)

B7 (30x)

B8 (50x)

Results

Confused with your picks? Well, you’re not alone. Even I had a hard time determining photos side by side.

Photo A – HONOR Magic5 Pro

Photo B – Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Conclusion

For the most part, you would barely distinguish the differences between each phone’s camera quality since they both looked similar. But in other shots, the Galaxy S23 Ultra still has that distinct saturation-boosting among its samples that Samsung always does in its phones (refer to W5 / U3 / U5 / Z5 / P5 / N2 / B5).

But to my surprise, the HONOR Magic5 Pro also delivered an almost equal ratio of photos that lean more towards the warmer and more saturated spectrum (W1 / U2 / Z1 / Z2 / Z4 / N1 / N4 / B6).

When it comes to HDR, the Galaxy S23 Ultra has the obvious advantage by not bumping up the shadows too much while still preserving the highlights of each photo taken. On the other hand, the Magic5 Pro delivered photos that has an overall brighter exposure — which honestly isn’t my cup of tea (W1 / W2 / W3 / W4 / U2 / U4 / P5 / B4 / B5). It’s either caused by the larger f/1.6 aperture or just HONOR’s HDR algorithm.

Zoomed shots in 3-3.5x look crisp and clear on both phones but if you go past the 10x mark, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra easily beats the HONOR Magic5 Pro with its dedicated 10x periscope zoom lens. With the provided moon shots, well, Samsung isn’t safe from the previous fake moon AI controversy so I’ll leave the judgments to you.

Lastly, selfies are down to your personal preference. In my opinion, the HONOR Magic5 Pro overtakes the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra especially because it has an even wider lens plus a ToF 3D sensor for both portrait depth and biometric scanning (or Face Unlock). The compromise is just the longer pill-shaped cutout instead of the Galaxy’s cleaner punch hole camera.

The world of cameras has been changing. For the past few months, the biggest names in the industry pulled out of the DSLR market to focus on mirrorless cameras. Of course, handheld cameras aren’t the only marketable products for a camera company. There are smartphones, too. According to a rumor, Canon is looking into a smartphone partnership for the future.

According to Digital Chat Station from Weibo, the camera company is actively searching for a partnership with a smartphone maker. Unfortunately, that’s it. The leaker has not revealed anything else regarding the company’s efforts to pursue partners.

However, it should be noted that camera companies have found a modicum of success in lending their talents to smartphones. OPPO, for example, recently inked a partnership with Hasselblad. Xiaomi also partnered with Leica around the same time. ZEISS, despite breaking up with Nokia last year, still has a partnership with vivo.

Given how the above companies volleyed between different smartphone companies, there are some potential names for a partnership with Canon. Nokia is one. There are also several Chinese companies who don’t have a co-engineered camera yet.

A partnership with Canon should spice things up for the smartphone company who gets the rub. Today, smartphone photography is just as important as actual hardware.

SEE ALSO: Elevate your vlogging: Canon announces EOS R8, R50 cameras