Infinix Zero Flip review

Design, build quality, handling

The Zero Flip has a more or less conventional clamshell design. The zero-gap folded state, nice solid clunk when folding, and the lack of wobble in any configuration mean there are no signs of a 'budget' approach to the build.

Both glass panels come from Corning, and the cover display is protected with Gorilla Glass Victus 2, while the other sheet is an unspecified type of Gorilla Glass. Two color versions are in existence - our Rock Black review unit, and a pink-ish Blossom Glow.

The hinge mechanism is rated for 400,000 folds, which sounds excessive as usual, but it should mean trouble free operation for years to come. The hinge allows for intermediate semi-open states in the 30-150 degrees range, opening up possibilities for table-top camera use, for example.

What the Zero Flip lacks in the build department is an IP-rated dust and water resistance. There were times when only the Galaxy foldables could offer water resistance, but now even more affordable bendy phones like the Motorola Razr 50 have an IPX8-grade water tightness - well, not this Infinix, even if its SIM slot (dual nano, no eSIM option) has a gasket to keep the some of the elements out (by now a seemingly mandatory fixture).

The internal display opens up to reveal a relatively faint crease in the middle. It's there if you look for it, and you could also feel it when you run your finger across it, but it's hardly prominent and certainly nowhere near being an issue in operation.

More annoying, perhaps, is the smudge-prone screen protector. We got more than the usual amount of oily streaks on the internal display, and it's a bit less smooth to swipe on than other foldables we've been getting recently. And it's not like you can peel it off from the flexible screen.

The frame around the display is about as standard-sized as you can expect.

Somewhat extraordinary was the setup process for the side-mounted capacity fingerprint reader - the phone insisted we don't lift the finger, but instead swipe it around on top of the sensor. It's not strictly better or worse than the tap-and-lift way, and after registering the fingerprint, unlocks were fast and trouble free.

Infinix fitted a nicely large cover display, the 3.64-inch squarish panel being more or less the same as that on the Razr 50 and larger than the Galaxy's 3.4-inch notched unit. Bezels are very reasonably sized, and the arrangement of the camera bits makes for a nicely usable and well proportioned 'active' area. There's a plastic screen protector on here, just in case.