Infinix S5 Pro review

Design

The Infinix S5 Pro may be a cheap smartphone, but its design is exactly the opposite - a fashion statement with a hint of premium and a paint job envisioned to impress. Whether it's the Forest Green (ours) or Violet Flowers, the S5 Pro is easily recognizable and likable.

But just like any modern smartphone, the S5 Pro has a conventional build. The front is protected by a flat piece of glass, there is a plastic frame with a glossy finish, and the back may look like glass, but it's actually plastic with a couple of layers.

The 6.53" notch-less screen is probably the first thing everyone will notice and it's quite good. All but the bottom bezels are very slim, the corners - nicely rounded, and the colors seem pretty saturated and punchy, so in fact, that it can be mistaken for an OLED panel at first.

The chin isn't that of an eyesore, especially when considering the price of the S5 Pro.

The earpiece is etched within the screen enclosure at the top and is so thin that's it's almost invisible. There is also one very small notification LED embedded around the left part of the top bezel.

The 16MP selfie camera was placed on a motorized pop-up module at the top of the S5 Pro. It goes up and down automatically every time you open and close the selfie mode from within the camera app. There are some screen lighting effects if you are keen on such animations, but you can also opt out of the eye-candy.

Infinix promises a lifespan of at least 150,000 retractions of the pop-up, and we hope it indeed lasts long enough. Just like any other motorized pop-up, this one is also optimized for automatic retraction when an accidental drop is detected. It goes down a bit slower though, so we are not exactly sure about its chance of survival. We guess only time will tell.

The frame is thin, glossy and somewhat sharp, which makes for some grip and helps the S5 Pro feels secure enough in hand in spite of its all glossy body.

The Infinix S5 Pro has a tri-card slot on its left side, while the physical controls are on the right side.

The bottom of the S5 Pro contains a lot - the audio jack, the dated microUSB port, the mouthpiece, and the speaker.

The poison ivy, sorry, forest green back is catchy, alright. The plastic piece is so well polished, that it looks and feels like glass, and it's as reflective. The piece is bent towards the frame at all sides and the shade of green goes darker there making for an even cooler look.

There is a massive camera hump on the back that contains everything photography related. First comes the QVGA low-light sensor, followed by the 2MP depth sensor, and the 48MP primary is last. A dual-LED flash is also around.

The whole camera setup protrudes quite a bit and the S5 Pro will wobble a lot when left on a desk or table. If you use the provided case - that will take care of the wobbling.

There is also a rear-mounted fingerprint reader, which we expected to be of an excellent quality. Sadly, it's not. The sensor is always on, but it is hit and miss when it comes to accuracy.

So, the Infinix S5 Pro is one beautifully crafted phone, easily likable and a pleasure to handle. Its slim profile and curved back, as well as the rounded notch-less screen, and the catchy hues, of course, easily make for a positive experience even if the camera setup is an unnecessary big black blot.