The Cherry Mobile Infinix Pure is One Smexy Octa-core Smartphone

Octa-core smartphones are what's hot in the market today. They're expected to run laps ahead of other droids that bear dual-cor...

Octa-core smartphones are what's hot in the market today. They're expected to run laps ahead of other droids that bear dual-core to quad-core processors. But then again, as discussed all over the interwebs, the number of cores do not equate to better performance. Well, that really depends on the SoC, but you may have to dish out a couple of big bucks if you think of getting more out of an octa-core smartphone.

This is where we put the Cherry Mobile Infinix Pure to the test. No, not the XL variant. While that may seem like the better choice to review, there are already a handful of blogs who've done that duty, quite rightfully so. Oh and hey, while screen real estate is somewhat getting bigger by preference and demand, there are still those who'd want something handy dandy. Like a 5-incher that is the Infinix Pure.

Unboxing, Inclusions and Build Quality

Cherry Mobile added up some flair with the packaging of the Infinix Pure. It comes with an angled sleeve that adds up to the presentation up front. Adds a touch of class if I do say so myself.

Inside, there's the handset itself, placed in its very own platform. Take those out and you'll be greeted by an instruction manual, the headset, a USB cable, and a 0.2A 5V charger - pretty much the standard fare.

The build quality is what you'll probably like second about the Infinix Pure (performance made first, and we'll talk about that in a minute). First off, the back cover is made out of sturdy soft-touch matte plastic, and faux metal run on the sides. It's all glass upfront, with the capacitive buttons making its business at the bottom. Just to note, the capacitive buttons aren't backlit. It's no dealbreaker by any chance, but you may miss not fumbling around controlling your phone while you're in the dark.

Design-wise though, the form factor of the Infinix Pure is quite pleasing. It looks quite similar to the Nexus 5 upfront, albeit with a few changes such as the camera placement and the capacitive buttons. 

Display

As stated, the Infinix Pure features a smaller than the Infinix Pure XL, but only by half an inch. Now that may seem like a small number, but the footprint that both handsets leave greatly differ. Both sport a 1280x720 resolution, which, of course translates to the Infinix Pure having denser pixels.

The colors are quite sharp and bright, texts appear crisp and you'll like browsing through content. Sunlight legibility is quite good, given that the brightness can go up a notch.:D

While we would have preferred a full HD display, that would probably only add up to the price.

There is but one problem to the display. The brightness can be praised, but you're going to hate it when you're using it before you sleep. It's going to blind you until you get used to how bright it is. =.= Your mileage may vary, but point in case, it was a downside on our playbook.

User-Interface

The Infinix Pure runs Android Kitkat 4.4.2. Browsing through the app drawer to the settings to different apps are fluid. There are occasional lags.. very, very occasional as it could only happen if you forget to close several apps and jump through a selection of them like hoops.

And to add to that nice experience, the UI is one of the things that you'll love with Cherry Mobile's droids.

They did made some additions such as Cherry Fun Club, eWarranty, Pinoy App Shop, but they're quite lightweight so you won't have any problems about bloatware.

Performance

The Infinix Pure falls on the midrange segment. The performance cuts above it, and you can have your fun playing graphic-intensive games. Check out the benchmark results, they're quite awesome for a midranger.

  

Yes, benchmark results are simply tests, and they don't wholly represent the performance of the phone. But during our time with the Infinix Pure, we're gladly pleased how fluid it can be.

Have you checked out Marvel's Champions by Kaboom? Well, it can play that game nicely. Even Dragon Nest Labyrinth and Gameloft's Asphalt 8 are just as fluid. There are the occasional lags, and loading times can sometimes be a bother. Take note, sometimes. Summoners War is lag-free as expected, and naturally, the same goes for other games that aren't too demanding. If you're wondering about Clash of Clans, I guess that's also taken care of?

Feel free to request games that we can try. We can post a video for show.

Camera

For the camera performance, we can only say, you get what you pay for. That 8MP primary shooter can do good under proper lighting conditions, but you're probably just reaching if you think you can achieve the same under dimly lit situations.

The 2MP front-facing camera? Well, it's good for usual selfies, just don't expect too much.

Multimedia Playback

The Infinix Pure features ClearMotion™ Video fluency enhancer (thanks tooltip!) so you can make videos play in 60fps. It's cool when watching movies and gameplay videos once you've got them downloaded, and you get the feeling of watching it on an HDTV.

Audio playback sadly doesn't cut it. I've heard other Cherry Mobile handsets do better, and this would probably make sub-par. It's not a dealbreaker per se, but you may find yourself going for a Bluetooth speaker if you're in need of a good music fix.

Battery

The Infinix Pure sports a non-removable Li-Po battery with a 2100mAh. It can take you to a day (and over if you're not going for a dual-SIM setup and you're careful switching to 2G network when 3G is spotty). That's regular to heavy usage, btw. And of course, since it's a non-removable battery, your only choice for a backup would be handy-dandy power bank. (it's the majority's choice, since power banks are a lot more cheaper and a lot more convenient compared to official batteries)

Other Features

It was a bit surprising when I received an OTA update out of the blue, and doing so got me a USB OTG functionality. So, props to Cherry Mobile for that.

Conclusion

Pros:

• Nice Performance
• Vanilla UI
• ClearMotion™ is just awesome
• Awesome Display
• Excellent price-tag

Cons:

• Sub-par speaker
• That minimum brightness level can hurt your eyes at first
• Non-removable battery (but it's good enough to plow through the day)
• Camera (but considering the price)

So, here's what you're going to get when you go with the Infinix Pure: an HD screen, a capable octa-core processor, a nifty multimedia playback feature, and a USB OTG feature. This, I believe, beats the company's very own Flare 3/S3 if all you're going to add up is at most Php 500.00. So, in a sense, Cherry Mobile just beat themselves in their own game?

This definitely scores a gold for us.

Feel free to ask us questions if you have any. We'll gladly return them A-SAP!