If you are looking for a smartphone for less than Ksh 12,000, you probably have seen the Infinix Hot 8 and the Tecno Spark 4 and at this point, I will assume they are both on your list. These are some of the latest from the two companies that you can get in Kenya right now.
The Tecno Spark 4 is available on Jumia for Ksh 12,000 while the Infinix Hot 8 is available for Ksh 10,900. Given that these two phones are practically competitors, putting them head to head is a good way to give you an idea on which one is a better choice for you.
The Infinix Hot 8 and the Tecno Spark 4 are owned by the same mother company, Transsion, and you should expect them to have quite a number of similarities here and there. This is not a bad thing and having used both devices, I can tell you that they feel different and you do not even think about their similarities.
Before we jump into the comparison, let us look at some of their specifications.
The Design
Looking at the design and build quality of the two devices, you can see they share a lot. They both have solid and sturdy build quality. The Infinix Hot 8 is slightly heavier than the Spark 4 but not by much.
Both devices have plastic back covers available in different colour options. They both look good and have free transparent back covers included to help protect them from accidental scratches.
Still on the back, that is where we find triple camera setups on both. The Tecno Spark 4 has a 13MP main sensor, 2MP depth sensor and the last one is a VGA sensor. The Infinix Hot 8 on the other hand has a 13MP main sensor, 2MP and a third one that Infinix is calling an AI camera, I am not sure what that means.
Button placements and ports and in the same place on both devices. You get the USB port, speaker and headphone jack at the bottom with the SIM/MicroSD tray on left.
Flipping the phones to the display, you get to see the notch on both of them and this is where the 8MP selfie cameras are housed on both.
In terms of the winner here, it is hard to say, they are similar here except for the weight difference which is not by much. It all goes down to preference. If I was to make my choice primarily on the two devices on my hand, I will be attracted to the Tecno because of the colour since the Hot 8 I have is in black. You can get the Hot 8 in different colours so I guess my argument does not hold water here
The Displays
You are going to be looking at the displays most of the times. Both the Infinix Hot 8 and Spark 4 comes with 6.5 inch displays with 720p resolution. Colour reproduction is accurate but they are not the best for using under direct sunlight. They do not get bright enough as I have experienced in other devices by the companies.
Besides the brightness issue, both devices are good for everyday use and for watching movies if you are into that. They are big but not too big and vibrant for a very good experience.
Performance and Software
Both the Infinix Hot 8 and Tecno Spark 4 come with Android 9 Pie pre-installed with XOS 5.2 and HiOS 5.5 respectively. They both comes with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage space that can be expanded to 256GB using a microSD card.
The 2GB of RAM on both devices is sufficient for light use but when you start multitasking a running demanding applications, RAM management gets aggressive to ensure your experience is improved.
Powering the two devices are two different processors from MediaTek. On the Infinix Hot 8 we have the MediaTek Helio P22 while on the Spark 4 we have the Helio A22 processor. From my experience, the Helio P22 handles performance better than the A22 and the overall experience on the Infinix feels much smoother.
Cameras
Neither the Tecno Spark 4 nor the Infinix Hot 8 are camera-centric phones but they do have decent cameras for their prices. The cameras used on both devices are pretty much the same and so the results you get don’t vary that much.
You do get 13MP main sensors, 2MP and an extra VGA sensor on both. You will need good lighting to take decent shots with either one and trying to take photos indoors when the lighting is bad will result in a disaster.
For selfie lovers, you get an 8MP sensor on the two devices and the results are the same too. Outdoor shots are quite good with just the right amount of saturation.
Battery
The Infinix Hot 8 comes with a 5,000 mAh battery that outshines the 4,000 mAh one on the Tecno Spark 4. Both batteries are good even for heavy users but the one on the Hot 8 is just better. It could easily last me for more than two days and I was impressed.
None of the devices support fast charging so the Hot 8 definitely takes longer to fully charge compared to the Spark 4. With that said, the Hot 8 definitely has more juice than the Spark 4 after every session.
Conclusions
When I started this comparison, I expected the Tecno Spark 4 to win as it is slightly more expensive. In the end, The Infinix Hot 8 is a better choice for me. You get a very big battery that lasts long and slightly better performance. Considering this is the cheaper option, this is really good value for your money.
Most of the other sectors do not present any differences as they do tie.
Also Read: The Infinix Hot 8 Battery Review