Infinix GT 20 Pro Review : It Can’t Lose

Specs

What’s It Like To Use?

The Infinix GT 20 Pro is a phone that clearly prioritizes design, especially for its target gaming audience. It boasts a striking “Cyber Mecha” design aesthetic, featuring angular lines, bold color accents, and a unique rear panel with customizable LED lighting. Personally I like that touch. It may be a little tacky, but it’s a nice flair to have on a phone at this price range, as most brands just simply wish to create an interesting design.

This one in particular, lights up. This gives it a futuristic and almost cyberpunk-esque look that’s sure to turn heads. The phone is available in several eye-catching colors, further enhancing its visual appeal.

However, while the design is undoubtedly attention-grabbing, it might not appeal to everyone. Some users might find the “Cyber Mecha” aesthetic a bit over-the-top or prefer a more understated look. Additionally, the rear panel, while visually interesting, is made of plastic, which is less premium, but at least it won’t crack as bad when dropped.

6.78″ AMOLED 144Hz

The Infinix GT 20 Pro boasts a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a FHD+ resolution, which is standard practice right now for most brands. What stands out in particular, is its 144Hz refresh rate.

Here’s what stands out:

• Vibrancy and Color Accuracy: Colors pop on this screen. Whether you’re gaming, watching videos, or browsing photos, the AMOLED panel delivers rich and saturated colors that are pleasing to the eye. While it might not be the absolute most color-accurate display on the market, it’s definitely a step above what you’d typically find in this price range.
• Smoothness: With a 144Hz refresh rate, everything feels incredibly fluid. Scrolling through social media, browsing web pages, and especially gaming is a buttery-smooth experience. The high refresh rate makes a noticeable difference in day-to-day use, making interactions feel more responsive.
• Brightness: The display gets bright enough for comfortable outdoor viewing, even under direct sunlight. This is crucial for a phone aimed at gamers who might be playing on the go.
• Viewing Angles: Thanks to the AMOLED, viewing angles are excellent. Colors remain consistent even when looking at the screen from an angle, which is great for sharing content with friends.

However, there are some areas where the display could be improved:

• Dynamic Refresh Rate: While you can cycle between 60-120-144Hz as indicated, it does it in a way that isn’t like the more premium LTPO panels. This is an LTPS panel, which means it would only switch between the 3 available refresh rate, and nothing in between them, making it more power hungry.
• HDR Support: While the phone claims to support HDR, it lacks official HDR certification. This means that while HDR content might look slightly better, it won’t offer the full impact of a true HDR display.

Another seemingly useful gimmick is Dynamic Bar, a virtual, pill-shaped bar at the top of your screen that’ll feed you bits of info, such as battery charging status and even music playback when minimized.

The Works

The Infinix GT 20 Pro, with its MediaTek Dimensity 8200 Ultimate processor and ample RAM, aims to be a performance powerhouse.

First off, navigating the phone’s interface is like a hot knife through butter. Smooth, responsive, no lag whatsoever. Apps pop open instantly, and multitasking is a breeze, since 12GB RAM out of the box is good. Whether you’re scrolling through Instagram, responding to emails, or just browsing the web, the GT 20 Pro handles it all like a champ.

Now, for the real test: gaming. Few games support 120Hz, and even fewer 144Hz. Natively, it’s just not very obtainable a number, but Infinix was able to emulate the feeling through a variety of methods, which are Ultra Frame Rate Mode and 360Hz touch sampling. The marketing material constantly plastered out “Dedicated Gaming Display Chip” and Ultra Stable 120 FPS gaming, and inside all that was simply interpolation. Extra frames are inserted into the games through the MEMC approach, which does generate extra frames into the game’s initial native FPS value.

This method does not apply to every single game, and needs to be individually calibrated, and that’s something I applaud Infinix in taking the time doing. For MOBA titles, MLBB ran flawlessly and smoothly, even being able to set the Ultra Refresh Rate mode, an accolade that even some flagship devices are not able to do. Consecutive 5 ranked matches under these settings, the GT 20 Pro stayed cool and collected, barely breaking a sweat. This applies to HOK (Honor Of Kings) as well.

For heavier titles, such as Hoyoverse’s infamously heat-piling Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ), I was able to get natively 30-40 FPS on medium, which stayed stable during an entire Hollow Zero run, which is both on a 3D and 2.5D setting. This was when things started to get a little warm. Granted, it is a stressful, demanding game, but when you do consider the price, it is actually good, and with interpolation kicking in to make it butter smooth, even without Performance Mode enhancements, which would make it more stable and sustained but at the cost of faster heat buildup. My go-to advice? high-performance, sustained gameplay on a phone like this is achievable if you stick an external cooling fan to offset the heat. Throttling on any device would reduce this to a painful, sluggish experience and we simply can’t have that here!

Finally, a welcome addition is ByPass charging, and on a RM 1299 phone! Bypass Charging allows you to charge and play, drawing power directly from the charger and delivering it to your phone directly, and not charging the battery while at it. It’s a great piece of tech, and a must have for any device that calls themselves a gaming phone. It drastically reduces heat build up since it doesn’t affect the battery, and this also prolongs battery longevity, since heat gradually degrades cells in batteries, which eventually lowers total available capacity. Well done Infinix.

Battery Life

Battery life for gamers is an important aspect, even with the benefit of bypass charging. The GT 20 Pro packs a 5000 mAh battery, supported by 45W fast charging out of the box. A full charge can last a day with some change, even with some moderate gaming sessions. Those invested in heavier games will drain the device completely in about 4-5 hours, which is average in the industry.

A full charge takes about slightly over an hour, with up to 65% after the first 30 minute mark.

Camera System time.

As a gaming phone, the GT 20 Pro follows the industry practice well, showcasing a relatively simple triple camera setup where the main sensor is the centerpiece that’s supported by simple tertiary lenses.

The main sensor is a 108MP Samsung HM6, the very same one on the Infinix Zero 40 and Xiaomi 12T. Generally, it’s a very serviceable camera that does a better job in bright conditions and just okay when lights get lower.

There’s a good amount of detail to enjo, while colors don’t look too saturated. Dynamic range is also acceptable, and does a decent job making sure nothing looks blown out in terms of light sources.

This is honestly the only camera to focus on, and the only comment I have is the slow shutter. While to some a slow shutter allows people to capture shots with some nice artistic blurs, the general market of users prefer to just capture a straightforward sharp image, and that’s something the GT 20 Pro can only do with preparing and timing, which is not always on everyone’s mind.

See also

Review

·September 28, 2022

Sony INZONE H9: It’s called the INZONE because you really get in the zone

Zooms are digital crops from the main sensor, and since the sensor is able to climb up to 108MP, there’s plenty of headroom to play with.

Of course, digital zooms aren’t as sharp and responsive compared to an optical, but I did manage to land some pretty good shots on a street photography and building design level.

Portrait

Portraits were suprisingly okay, capable to figuring out blurs and seperation on an above average level. Smartphones these days are able to pick that out on a variety of levels and quality, and it’s nice to see that the GT 20 Pro did a good job here, even when it’s a crowded shot. The blurs aren’t perfect, but it still impressed me since it’s a gaming phone. Shots do come out a bit soft, but it was on a level that looked pretty pleasant to look at.

The Verdict

As a smartphone, I feel the Infinix GT 20 Pro is impressive on a design and software level. It’s packed with so many notable features like Bypass Charging, MEMC frame interpolation and customizable lighting, complete with a well-developed gaming suite that provides granular configurations for gamers to adjust accordingly to their performance needs.

I can also respect the camera, though it is just 1 good sensor, it has performed above the expectations I have set for a gaming smartphone, and I find it even to be competitive towards non-gaming phones that more or less have the same setup.

Performance for gaming is generally okay, though it is more tailored to prefer MOBA titles, and some leeway on AAA games. Frames do get inserted through digital means, and it does technically deliver those advertised numbers, but just remember to keep the phone cool. It’s more for e-sports athletes, and that in itself speaks volumes.

RM 1299 is a good price, and I look forward to the GT 30 Pro!