Ever since their debut, the idea of a gamer-based phone both intrigued me and seemed gimmicky at the same time. Often costing significantly more than even the top-end flagship phones on the market, they always seemed to lack in other aspects, making them a generally niche product line.
Newer to the game, Infinix, has recently released their new Infinix GT 30 smartphone, which slashes the price significantly while sporting a lot of what gamers want in a flashy appearance that is sure to turn the heads of those who see it. Packing 256 GB of storage, paired with 8 GB of RAM and powered by a Mediatek Dimensity 7400 chipset, all for a low cost of around $280 USD.
Taking a look at everything Infinix packs in the box, Infinix spared no expense and bundles the GT 30 with accessories that will make you feel like you’ve gone back in time. Not only do you get the phone and charging cable as one would expect, Infinix additionally packs a 45W charging brick, USB-C powered earbuds and even a clear case, all in a box that has futuristic cyberpunk-looking designs on all sides.
Offered in three colors, Blade White, Pulse Green and Cyber Blue (my unit came in Cyber Blue, my favourite of the three), each color scheme boasts sharp holographic lines and edges that look straight out of a futuristic looking video game or movie, something I was a huge fan of and got the attention of anyone who saw me using it among the sea of bland solid color phones on today’s market.
Display
Despite its 6.78” screen size, the Infinix GT 30 only weighs a lightweight 187g, thanks in part to its mostly plastic build, weighing only 8g more than the Poco F6 I reviewed last year. That screen sports a 1.5K resolution with a blazing fast 144Hz refresh rate that was butter smooth during my time of using it. Coming from my much smaller, but much more expensive iPhone 16e with only a 60Hz screen, the Infinix GT 30 felt significantly more modern and nicer to use, even if I typically prefer smaller form factor devices. The display is also AMOLED with Gorilla Glass 7i with colours that were punchy and true to life, covering 100% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut.
For those who use their phone outdoors regularly, never fear, the Infinix GT 30’s display has you covered, offering up to 4500nits of peak brightness, ensuring you can use your phone in even the sunniest or brightest conditions, while also having TÜV Low Blue Light Certification, helping to prevent additional strain on your eyes.
Also built into the screen is, what I would say, one of the fastest and most accurate in-display fingerprint readers I have used to date. Rarely did I have any failed attempts when using it, and once muscle memory got used to its location, I could unlock the phone without even having to turn the display on.
Performance/Gaming
As previously mentioned, the Infinix GT 30 is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7400, the same chip you’ll find in devices such as the Motorola Razr 2025 or Motorola Edge 2025, both of which are fairly mid-range devices. While this won’t compete with the top phones on the market today, this is not a device made to go after them anyway. In my time of testing the Infinix GT 30, I never noticed any major slowdowns or lagging when loading apps, often loading apps about as fast as my current phone, so average users should not experience any issues here.
Gaming, as the phone was designed for, is where the Infinix GT 30 showed its true colours and gave me an experience unlike any other phone I have used to date. Not only do any modern AAA titles, such as Call of Duty Mobile or PUBG, run at full speed, but Infinix has gone a step further by building in touch-sensitive triggers along the right side of the phone that can be programmed to various touch functions to enhance your gaming needs further. I often found myself mapping these to functions such as the sights on my weapons of choice and trigger, and in practice, I was able to achieve many more points and kills in-game than I previously would have.
“Gaming, as the phone was designed for, is where the Infinix GT 30 showed its true colours and gave me an experience unlike any other phone I have used to date.”
In titles such as Genshin Impact, I could map my controls to both make my character jump or attack, again, making my overall experience while gaming one unlike any other I have had to date. These triggers, quite literally, were a game-changer and made my time of gaming so much more enjoyable.
Audio
Audio was another aspect that I found fairly decent for the price of this phone. Where some sub $300 phones occasionally offer only single firing speakers, Infinix has still packed in dual stereo speakers that sounded above average in all conditions. Whether it be listening to music, watching movies or even gaming, all audio sounded as I would hope, with no noticeable distortion or crackling.
Battery
Packing a huge 5500mAh battery, the Infinix GT 30 will easily get you through the longest of days with plenty of extra to get into the following day. If I found myself sticking to mainly lighter tasks during the day, I could often get almost two full days of use before needing to top up. While I was not able to test the charging speeds with the included charging brick, due to it being for a different region in the world, using my 45W Anker adapter, I was able to quickly top up and be on the go, generally taking just over an hour.
Additional Features
In the words of Billy Mays, “But wait, there’s more!” Infinix has built even more features into the GT 30 that help further make it stand out from most other phones. Similar to that of the Nothing phone lineup, Infinix has built in rear lighting lines that they call “Mechanical Light Waves” that can light in a handful of different patterns to indicate charging or different notifications, although these are unlikely to be seen unless you keep your phone face down on a desk when not in use.
There is also an IR Blaster, something I wish flagship companies never removed from their phones, as it adds convenience when you have several devices that all need a remote of some kind. Additionally, to my surprise, the Infinix GT 30 also has an IP64 rating, which, while not as durable as most modern flagships, is still better than nothing and I’m glad to see it here.
Cameras
Generally, when it comes to lower-cost phones, cameras are an aspect that takes a big hit when it comes to quality. However, the Infinix GT 30 gave me a bit of a surprise when it came to the cameras. On the rear, you will find both an 8MP ultrawide lens and a 64MP wide lens camera.
Both lenses managed to capture great levels of detail in well-lit conditions without any noticeable distortion or blurriness, generally producing images I would be happy to share and present to others. Colours were true to life without looking overly saturated or blown out, similar to that of the colouring found on Google Pixel phones. Taking a picture of my car, everything looked as I would hope. Something that after using my iPhone 16E for the last several months, that I was glad to have back, was a wide-angle lens. This came in handy more often than I remembered, and it was nice being able to capture more in photos.
“…the Infinix GT 30 gave me a bit of a surprise when it came to the cameras.”
Lower lit conditions also turned out a lot brighter than I would’ve expected, often delivering results that look respectable. However, detail was often a mixed bag, sometimes making images sharp while others occasionally looked muddy and blurry. A photo of my mom’s cat looked detailed enough to show individual strands of fur, and her bed looked as fluffy as it does in real life.
Overall, for a lower-cost phone, these cameras may not be something to write home about; however, they are more than adequate for the average user and in a majority of conditions. They may not compare to those on much more expensive phones on the market, but I would have no problem using this as my primary set of cameras.
The Infinix GT 30 is quite a competent phone for its very low cost, especially considering everything it has to offer and everything it comes with. I never thought I would see the day when a company would offer a gaming-based phone at an affordable cost that is within reach of the average consumer.
Having the ability to map the built-in GT Triggers to do almost anything you would like to do in-game frees up your thumbs to perform additional tasks, making it a complete game changer for me and has certainly enhanced my overall gaming experience.
After being spoiled by flagship devices for years, using a device of this calibre took some adjustment at first, but I could easily see myself using the Infinix GT 30 as a daily driver and not having any major problems in day-to-day use. Infinix has certainly delivered a worthwhile phone with the GT 30 that I am happy to recommend to others, if they are the correct audience for this type of phone.
