7 months since the Infinix S4 became available locally, Infinix is back with its successor.
The Infinix S5, which has been available in other markets like Nigeria and Uganda, is now available for purchase in the country.
The device, officially announced in mid-October, had been up for pre-order in the country for the past week with a reserve fee of Kshs 300 being all that one needed to be among the first in line to get the new devices.
Infinix’s new smartphone picks up from where its predecessor left and trades some of the features that stood out on those devices, for either new ones or improved ones.
Top on the list is the camera, which is what the S series (even back when it had “Hot” branding) has been known for all along.
In the Infinix S5, the number of image sensors on the back has grown to accommodate 4 cameras: a 16-megapixel high-res headliner, an ultra-wide-angle lens and macro camera, a depth of field sensor and an AI camera.
A variant of the Infinix S5, the Infinix S5 Lite, however, sticks with the triple-camera arrangement that adorns the back of the S5’s predecessor.
As before, the selfie shooter is there in all its 32-megapixels glory. The difference, however, is in how it is presented. Whereas the Infinix S4 broke new ground with its teardrop notch, the Infinix S5 follows in the footsteps of the Tecno Camon 12 Air in bringing a punch-hole display to the budget smartphone market in what Infinix is calling an Infinity-O display.
At 6.6 inches, that display, featuring a 20:9 aspect ratio that is up from the 19:9 that defined the previous generation’s, is the largest that Infinix has ever packed on an S-series device.
The Infinix S5 is available comes in 4GB and 6GB memory configurations that are paired with 64GB and 128GB internal storage respectively. The Infinix S5 Lite, on the other hand, arrives packing either 3GB or 4GB RAM that is paired with 32GB and 64GB of onboard storage respectively.
Price-wise, the stakes have only gone up a little.
Whereas the maxed out variant of the Infinix S4 started at Kshs 19,000 back in April, this time around, the maxed-out Infinix S5 with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage is going for Kshs 20,999 while the other variant with 4GB RAM and 64 gigs of onboard storage retails at Kshs 16,499. This latter variant is available through Infinix’s online store (this comes with a free Infinix smart band) while the former is available through select Infinix brand stores countrywide.
According to Infinix, the S5 Lite will be made available from December 15th at a price of Kshs 13,499 for the base model (3GB RAM + 32GB storage) and Kshs 13,899 for the 4GB RAM + 64GB storage variant.
The devices will be officially launched next Friday (November 29th) at the University of Nairobi during the third edition of Infinix’s Beat ya Campo singing talent show.
