XOS 4.0 HoneyBee Review: Unique OS perfected on the Infinix’s Hot 7

In case you’ve been living under a rock; a quick reminder for you. Just as Samsung has its One UI, Huawei’s EMUI, Xiaomi’s MIUI and so on, XOS is Infinix’s own customized skin that is proprietary to their smartphones alone.

From their very first XOS that we got most familiar with, the Chameleon, to XOS 3 Hummingbird and now the XOS 4.0 Honeybee, Infinix has been undoubtedly been on the rise in bringing a stylish look to the Android OS on its phone interface.

The Hong-Kong based smartphone company fresh from the release of their HOT 7 device, dubbed the “Powerful Entertainment” which has drawn so many applauds for the sleek design and Apple-like notch while also facing backlash for the allocated RAM capacity might just have quelled the wave a bit.

The Answer? The XOS 4.0, codenamed, HoneyBee…

The fourth edition to this software has left me absolutely speechless as it does not just pack tons of amazing new features but, might as well be regarded as that unique springboard that could propel the Transsion Holdings company to a whole new height for the tech year.

Infinix XOS 4 Honeybee Features

A much swifter feel when surfing through the display blended with series of new features(the major ones) that make the experience even much better.

PS: You might see this whole thing as pretty much overhyped but, this is definitely a FIRST for Infinix so why not make them cherish the moment…

1. Smart Screen Split

One of the amazing features the HoneyBee comes with and truly excites albeit due to its much fancy nature.

XOS 4.0 Infinix smart spit screen feature

Literally, when you receive a notification in the middle of a screen activity on your smartphone; say; watching a video, a click on the pop up will create a split in the screen to let you respond to the message while you continue watching the video.

This can be useful especially when you just cannot leave your present screen to attend to a secondary function on your smartphone.

2. Switch between the notch and normal view

Infinix XOS 4 notch and default display feature

The notch is good and it makes the screen look awesomely beautiful.

**Did I just say that!

Much has been made already about the Apple-like notch design on the Infinix Hot 7, but Infinix might just have taken it to a whole new dimension by integrating a settings option for it.

Benjamin Jiang during the launch explained that there are times when you will want to have the usual view on your screen especially when the notch can’t let you see some of what you want to have.

XOS 4 is designed to fit around the Notch while letting the screen to offer as much more content for the larger display area. Inevitably, there is room for a switch between a normal display and one featuring a notch.

How to switch between the notch and normal view

You can enable this feature by going to Settings on your phone, and under display settings, check out the ‘Display mode of notch screen’ and select whether to use the cutout mode – where apps are displayed with a notch – or the full-screen mode – where the notch is avoided.

For the cutout mode, you can customize your various apps to either be in the cutout, or for the interface to be filled with black for a full screen.

**Cool!

3. Scan to Recharge

Okay now, what is this?

A new feature present in the Hot 7 smartphone that lets you recharge airtime vouchers directly to your phone without having to dial or type the digits yourself.

All you just have to do is open the app, point your phone’s camera to the recharge card or airtime voucher, once your phone can see the numbers clearly, boom, your phone gets topped up immediately…

I wouldn’t tell how this is possible with so many Network providers out there as the feature is still a new one but albeit a welcome one. However, the company explains that the new tool is available to limited regions alone.

**We’ll wait for it

4. New System Navigation Gesture

Android 9 Pie system navigation on the XOs 4 HoneyBee

This simply means that Android 9 (pie) will be coming to future versions of Infinix phones which means a change in the traditional navigation style button.

You can swipe from the lower end of the phone up to locate the app drawer, create more screen space for any content you are working on, etc.

5. Multiple Accounts Support

XOS 4 multiple account support on Infinix Hot 7

A feature that has been existing on older infinix phones for some time now but still included in the new XOS 4. This literally aims at helping you avoid the use of mod WhatsApp versions which might be harmful to your device.

If you have two app accounts, but you only have one phone; XOS 4 Honeybee allows you to log in to both accounts on one phone using the official Whatsapp app.

**Making me remember the old days of 2go Maxibrains 4-in-1 apps. The roles have been reversed anyway.

Con-cluesion

The Infinix XOS 4 HoneyBee skin might see to be that significant upgrade we’ve all been waiting for but more is still needed on the way if they hope to match up with better Android skins like Samsung One UI which offer their amazing custom OS to even their midrange smartphones too.

More features present in the XOS HoneyBee includes; the Intelligent fingerprint functions which include the fingerprint call recording and quick app launch support, brand new app icon designs, AI beautification support using the Ignite AI face beauty and a better App hiding option, a definitive upgrade to the Xhide app.

So, what do you make of Inifinix new/unique OS? What features are you most excited about and already tried out? And if you’ve tried out the Scan to Recharge feature on the new XOS 4, let us know your experience with it in the comment section.