This is not an incremental upgrade in the NOTE series; it is a definitive expression of Infinix’s vision at the high end, where design, performance, and user experience converge to deliver a truly flagship experience.

What makes that ambition even more compelling is its collaboration with Pininfarina, a name synonymous with timeless automotive elegance and performance-driven design. Known globally for shaping the visual identity of Ferrari, Pininfarina brings a level of craftsmanship rarely associated with smartphones in this category.

The result is a device that doesn’t just look good, it feels intentional, refined, and engineered with a sense of motion, precision, and prestige.

In a market like Nigeria, where smartphones double as tools of productivity and symbols of personal success, this matters more than ever. The NOTE 60 Ultra speaks directly to a growing class of young professionals, entrepreneurs, and digital creatives who want more than functionality; they want identity, confidence, and presence in the palm of their hand.

This is where the device stands out: it merges high-performance expectations with lifestyle expression. Whether you’re jumping between Zoom calls, editing content on the go, managing online businesses, or simply navigating the fast-paced rhythm of Lagos life, the NOTE 60 Ultra positions itself as a companion that keeps up, without compromising on style.

Put simply, this isn’t just a smartphone, it’s Infinix redefining what premium can look like in an emerging market, delivering a product that feels like a calculated leap forward.

Let’s unpack it:

Design: The Ferrari of Smartphones

Infinix has moved away from plastic-heavy builds to a World’s 1st Uni-Chassis Camera Module. The first thing you notice about the NOTE 60 Ultra is its sleek, premium flagship-level design.

Infinix has moved away from plastic-heavy builds to a World’s 1st Uni-Chassis Camera Module. The first thing you notice about the NOTE 60 Ultra is its sleek, premium flagship-level design. The slim profile with curved edges, premium glass-like finish, and solid grip despite large size are inspired by supercar monocoques.

Display:

Content lovers will like this phone. The NOTE 60 Ultra features a large AMOLED display with vibrant colours and smooth refresh rate, 144Hz. With 4500nit it is bright enough for outdoor use; very important for sunny environment; great for Netflix, YouTube, and football streaming, and smooth scrolling across apps.

Active Matrix Display: This secondary screen on the back isn’t just a gimmick; it’s a silent operator. It stays invisible until you need it for notifications, call alerts, or even custom “Pixel Pets” that keep you company.

The Ignition Moment: A floating taillight design spans the back, pulsing during startup or notifications, mimicking a high-performance engine coming to life.

It carries the presence of a true flagship, refined, confident, and unmistakably premium. For users who value both status and performance, it delivers on every front.

In the Nigerian context, where a smartphone doubles as a fashion statement, this device holds its own effortlessly.

Whether you’re streaming live matches or scrolling through TikTok, the experience remains fluid, immersive, and consistently top-tier.

Performance: Built for the Heavy Lifters

Under the hood, the NOTE 60 Ultra packs the MediaTek Dimensity 8400 Ultimate 5G platform. For the Nigerian gamer or multitasker who deals with constant app-switching and heavy data usage, this chip delivers a 41% multi-core performance gain over previous generations.

7000mAh Silicon-Carbon Battery: In a country where consistent power can be a challenge, this massive battery is a game-changer. It uses advanced energy density to stay slim while providing enough juice for over 27 hours of nonstop video playback.

100W All-Round FastCharge: When you do run low, you can hit 50% in just 18 minutes. Plus, 50W Wireless Charging means you’re not tethered to a wall. We shall discuss this in details, later.

For software & UX, it runs on Infinix’s XOS based on Android and in-built customizable interface and occasional ads (which could be a downside). But, generally, with some tweaking, the experience becomes much cleaner.

Connectivity & Network Performance:

For Nigerian users, network performance is critical. Infinix NOTE 60 Ultra supports strong 4G connectivity and 5G (where available). It has dual SIM support and stable call quality

Works well across major networks like MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom and T2 (formerly 9mobile).

Camera | Imaging: The 200MP Powerhouse

NOTE 60 Ultra cameras are social media ready. The camera system delivers decent-to-good results: Clear daylight shots, AI enhancements for portraits, and Acceptable low-light performance

Is it flagship-level? No. But for Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp status, it’s more than good enough. The camera system is a Dual-Flagship setup designed to rival the industry’s best. With 200MP HPE Main Sensor it delivers Ultra HD clarity that captures every texture, even when you crop in heavily.

The 100x Periscope Zoom used an inverted prism structure to keep the phone slim (7.9mm), this lens allows you to capture detail from distances previously impossible on an Infinix device!

Ultra HDR Capture is the proprietary XDR Image Engine that restores real-world brightness and shadow detail, ensuring your photos don’t look washed out in the harsh Nigerian sun.

Battery & Charging: A Major Selling Point

The Infinix NOTE 60 Ultra’s battery is one of its most significant upgrades, designed specifically to solve the long-term power anxiety many mobile users face. The 7000mAh Powerhouse features a next-generation silicon-carbon negative electrode battery. This technology allows the battery to store significantly more power than traditional batteries without increasing the phone’s physical size.

When compared to the previous NOTE 50 Pro+ 5G, the capacity has increased by 34.62%. In real-world terms, you can expect up to 27.2 hours of nonstop video playback on a single charge.

The silicon content has been doubled to 10%, which helps the battery handle high-load scenarios like intense gaming and multitasking more efficiently.

When you do run low the 100W All-Round FastCharge speeds are designed to get you back in the game quickly. With wired charging we got 50% battery in just 18 minutes and a full 100% in 48 minutes.

Wireless charging supports 50W wireless charging, making it compatible with the Infinix MagCharge family of accessories.

Infinix has also introduced a unique Battery Self-Healing Technology that acts like physical therapy for your battery.

AI Features: Hype or Helpful?

Infinix is pushing AI hard with this device. The AI features on the Infinix NOTE 60 Ultra go beyond simple marketing buzz, offering several functional tools that directly impact daily use, especially for content creators and professionals in the Nigerian market.

Here is a breakdown of the key AI features to help you decide if it is helpful for your needs:

Helpful Creativity: Infinix AI Studio

The phone includes a dedicated Infinix AI Studio. This isn’t just a basic photo editor; it includes professional-grade tools like:

Image Matting & Object Erasure: Useful for quickly cleaning up photos by removing unwanted background elements.

Photo Expand: AI that intelligently “fills in” the edges of a photo if you need to change its aspect ratio for social media.

AI Wallpaper Generator: Allows you to create unique, personalized backgrounds natively without needing external apps.

System-Level Productivity

Infinix has integrated AI into the core operating system (XOS 16) to assist with multitasking and organization:

AI Suggestions: A tool that integrates AI into everyday tasks at a system level, offering one-tap actions based on what you are doing.

SnapMemo MindHub: Uses AI to help you organize research and useful developments you find while browsing, which is a major plus for journalists or students.

Native Performance: Most of these features run natively on the device using mainstream models like Grok, meaning you don’t need a subscription or constant high-speed data to use them.

Communication and Health

Two-Way AI Noise Reduction is a feature that filters background noise from both your end and the caller’s end. In noisy environments like a Lagos market or a busy office, this ensures conversational clarity while the Advanced Health Monitoring helps track bioindicators like heart rate, blood oxygen, and heart rate variation, providing in-the-moment updates on your health.

In simple terms, if you are a creator or a busy professional, the AI Studio and Two-Way Noise Reduction are genuinely helpful tools that solve real-world problems.

If you are just looking for a simple phone, the interactive Pets and UI effects might feel like hype, but they are built into a very capable system that doesn’t force you to pay for subscriptions.

The Nigerian Edge: Satellite & Longevity

Perhaps most impressive for those traveling to remote areas is the Global Satellite Calling & Messaging. Through a partnership with Thuraya, the NOTE 60 Ultra allows for two-way communication even when you are completely outside cellular coverage, a first for a consumer-grade device in this region.

Infinix is also finally addressing software longevity, promising 3 years of full OS updates and 5 years of security patches, ensuring your investment stays relevant until at least 2031.

Final Verdict

The Infinix NOTE 60 Ultra is a beast in a tuxedo. It offers the battery life Nigerians demand, the camera quality creators crave, and a design that finally feels as premium as the Ultra name suggests. If you want flagship specs without the typical big brand markup, this is currently the one to beat.

The update began late Tuesday, with the company saying posts in any language can now be translated automatically for users across the platform.

The feature, powered by Grok, the AI model developed by xAI, has a translation quality which has “improved substantially over the last couple months.”

Users can still manage the feature as they want. Any user who prefers reading posts in their original language, can turn off auto-translate through the settings icon on each translated post.

At the same time, X is adding new image editing tools within its iOS app. The update brings basic options like drawing and text, along with a blur tool that allows users to hide parts of an image, including faces or sensitive details.

There is also a new option to edit images using simple written instructions. Users can ask Grok to change how a picture looks.

For example, they can request a version styled like a painting, and the system will generate it.

The company says the update will reach Android devices later, though no date has been confirmed.

These changes place X alongside other tech companies already providing similar tools. Reddit has been testing translation features for some time, while Google and Adobe have introduced image editing systems that respond to written prompts.

The rollout of auto-translate also comes after the issues raised against X and its owner Elon Musk. At the time, regulators and users complained about misuse of AI tools, especially where images were altered without consent.

The company later limited some of those features to paying users.

The company says it is working to quickly close those gaps, calling the content illegal and unacceptable.

Users have shared screenshots showing Grok’s public media feed populated with altered images. In several cases, people uploaded photos and asked the chatbot to modify them. The results, according to Grok, crossed a legal and ethical line.

“There are isolated cases where users prompted for and received AI images depicting minors in minimal clothing,” Grok said in a public post. “xAI has safeguards, but improvements are ongoing to block such requests entirely.”

The chatbot went further, acknowledging internal failures. “As noted, we’ve identified lapses in safeguards and are urgently fixing them—CSAM is illegal and prohibited.” Grok did not explain how long the issue lasted or how many users were affected.

In another exchange on X, the chatbot tried to put the incident in context, arguing that most harmful outputs can be stopped before they appear. It added that “no system is 100% foolproof”, while saying xAI is strengthening its filters and reviewing reports from users.

Regulators in both the United States and Europe are warning that generative tools can be misused to create child sexual abuse material, even when no real child is involved. 

Under the EU’s AI Act and existing child protection laws, companies are expected to prevent such content outright, making any failure a potential legal risk.

Advocacy groups have also argued that AI-generated abuse material, though synthetic, can still encourage harmful behaviour and demand. From that perspective, the Grok incident exposes how fragile current safety systems can be when faced with determined users.

Grok is xAI’s flagship product and is tightly integrated into X, formerly Twitter. It is marketed as a challenger to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, with an emphasis on humour and a rebellious tone. 

Reports say that same positioning may complicate efforts to enforce strict safety boundaries, especially on a platform already criticised for weak moderation.

On public reactions, images attributed to Grok spread quickly on X, prompting a new case of Elon Musk’s approach to content control. When Reuters contacted xAI for comment, the company responded with a short message: “Legacy Media Lies”.

That reply has only added to the issue about transparency and responsibility in the AI sector. Warnings about trust in chatbots being eroded if companies appear dismissive when serious safety concerns emerge, have been released, particularly where child protection is involved.

For now, xAI says fixes on the safety of Grok are underway.

Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, has sued Apple and OpenAI, accusing them of conspiring to shut out rivals in the fast-growing artificial intelligence market.

The lawsuit, filed in a Texas federal court on 25 August, is the latest escalation in Elon Musk’s long-running disagreement with OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman.

According to the complaint, Apple has given OpenAI an unfair advantage by integrating ChatGPT into iPhones, iPads, and Macs while sidelining Musk’s xAI products, including the Grok chatbot. 

xAI claims that Apple manipulates App Store rankings to exclude Grok from its curated lists, despite the app’s high user ratings. Musk himself reinforced this point on X, writing: “A million reviews with 4.9 average for @Grok and still Apple refuses to mention Grok on any lists.”

The lawsuit alleges that Apple’s dominance in the smartphone market, holding roughly 65% in the United States, combined with OpenAI’s estimated 80% control of the generative AI chatbot market, has created what Musk calls a “duopoly.” 

Lawyers for xAI argue that this exclusive arrangement violates U.S. antitrust law, particularly Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act. The company is seeking billions of dollars in damages.

OpenAI, in response, dismissed the filing, saying: “This latest filing is consistent with Mr. Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment.” Apple has so far declined to comment.

Legal experts say the case could become a watershed moment for how American courts define the AI market and apply competition law to emerging technologies. Christine Bartholomew, a law professor at the University at Buffalo, described it as “a canary in the coal mine in terms of how courts will treat AI, and treat antitrust and AI.”

Musk’s issue with OpenAI is not new. He co-founded the company in 2015 but left three years later after disagreements over its direction. Since then, he has repeatedly criticised its shift from nonprofit to for-profit, even filing a separate lawsuit to block the move. Earlier this year, Musk attempted to buy OpenAI outright for $97.4 billion, an offer the company rejected.

Beyond the fight, Musk is pursuing ambitions for xAI and his social media platform X. He envisions turning them into a “super app,” combining social networking, payments, and AI tools in a model similar to China’s WeChat. 

Experts say Apple’s partnership with OpenAI could be seen as an attempt to neutralise that threat by locking users into its ecosystem.

The case draws comparisons to the U.S. government’s antitrust issue with Google, which centred on exclusive search deals with Apple.

In a series of posts on X, Musk alleged that Apple’s approach to curating and promoting apps leaves no realistic path for AI competitors to surpass OpenAI in visibility. 

“Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation. xAI will take immediate legal action,” he wrote.

Musk’s anger goes beyond rankings. He criticised Apple for leaving his apps, Grok and X, out of the “Must Have” section despite their strong performance. “Hey @Apple App Store, why do you refuse to put either X or Grok in your ‘Must Have’ section when X is the #1 news app in the world and Grok is #5 among all apps? Are you playing politics?” he asked.

Apple has yet to respond to the accusations, and Elon Musk has not provided evidence to substantiate his claims. According to Sensor Tower, ChatGPT currently leads the “Top Free Apps” list in the U.S., Grok is in fifth place, and Google’s Gemini is 57th.

The issue comes against the backdrop of Apple’s ties with OpenAI. The two companies entered a partnership in June 2024 that embeds ChatGPT directly into iPhones, iPads, and Macs through Siri and system-wide tools. 

With iOS 26, Apple plans to introduce “Apple Intelligence,” which will integrate GPT-5 into core functions like Siri, Image Playground, and writing assistance, a move that raises ChatGPT’s visibility.

Regulators have already been pointing to Apple’s control over its App Store as bias. Earlier this year, a U.S. judge ruled that the company breached a court injunction arising from its issue with Fortnite creator Epic Games, and referred the matter for possible criminal contempt proceedings. 

In Europe, the EU fined Apple €500 million for restricting app developers from directing users to cheaper deals outside the App Store, a violation of the Digital Markets Act. In the United States, the Department of Justice has an ongoing case accusing Apple of monopolising the iPhone ecosystem.

Musk has yet to file a formal lawsuit, but his public statements show he is preparing for a high-profile challenge in court. 

Morgan Stanley, which led the deal, confirmed on Monday that xAI had closed a $5 billion debt financing round made up of secured notes and term loans. 

The deal, according to the bank, was oversubscribed and attracted major institutional investors across the globe.

Simultaneously, xAI closed a separate $5 billion strategic equity investment. Though the identities of the backers have not been disclosed, Bloomberg previously reported that the startup had been negotiating a $4.3 billion equity round with investors. 

That conversation is part of a larger funding goal, Musk’s team is reportedly looking to raise as much as $20 billion in equity that could push the company’s valuation beyond $120 billion. Some insiders are even betting on a $200 billion ceiling.

The funds are earmarked for aggressive expansion. A key priority is scaling up computing infrastructure through data centres tailored to handle vast AI workloads. 

The capital will also accelerate development of Grok, xAI’s core conversational platform integrated into X (formerly Twitter), and help the company move toward building its own custom chips, codenamed “Gigafab”, to reduce dependence on Nvidia’s high-demand GPUs.

Musk launched xAI in 2023 after parting ways with OpenAI, the company he co-founded. He has positioned xAI as a rival not just to OpenAI, but also to players like Google DeepMind and Anthropic. 

His approach is more unorthodox, Grok is marketed as a “rebellious” chatbot, an alternative to the more filtered responses seen in other models.

The debt raise and equity injection together represent one of the largest combined funding moves by a private tech startup in recent memory. 

It comes as global competition increases. OpenAI has a $51 billion partnership with Microsoft, while Amazon has poured $4 billion into Anthropic. These alliances are about access to compute power, chips, and distribution.

“The deal was oversubscribed and included prominent global debt investors,” Morgan Stanley stated in a post on X.

Musk has previously argued that building AGI, artificial general intelligence, requires vertical control over data, chips, energy, and distribution. This latest funding round gives xAI the firepower to attempt just that.

xAI has not issued a formal statement regarding the funding, and representatives did not respond to requests for comment at the time of filing. 

But then, we see that Musk is going all-in on building a scalable AI ecosystem, and investors, despite earlier doubts, are willing to put serious money behind it.

The app, now available in countries including the United States, Australia, and India, brings new functions to users, combining real-time data access with generative AI features.

Grok’s functionalities include rewriting text, summarising lengthy paragraphs, answering questions, and generating images from text prompts. 

Users can also upload photos to gain detailed insights. According to the app’s listing, Grok is designed to provide accurate, useful, and engaging responses, making it an all-in-one AI assistant.

Beyond the app, xAI is working on a dedicated website, Grok.com, to offer a more general access to the chatbot. Although the website currently displays a “coming soon” message, it shows that the company is working to expand Grok’s reach beyond mobile platforms.

Initially available only to paying subscribers of X, Grok introduced a free version in November as part of a testing phase. Earlier this month, the free version was made available to all users, increasing its audience significantly.

Again, Grok’s image-generation is unique for its high-quality, photorealistic outputs. Unlike many other AI platforms, xAI places minimal restrictions on its image creation, enabling users to produce content using images of public figures and copyrighted material.

This development could make Grok a more widely leveraged AI assistant for everyday use, blending text and image-based features with real-time information accessibility.

Coming from 97 investors, though their identities remain undisclosed in the filing, the investment round attracted companies including Andreessen Horowitz, BlackRock, Fidelity, Kingdom Holdings, and Nvidia, among others. 

xAI later confirmed that these funds have brought its total capital raised to $12 billion, following a previous $6 billion secured earlier this year. Reports reveal xAI is targeting a valuation of $50 billion, double its worth from six months ago.

xAI, founded in 2023, has been focused on integrating its flagship AI model, Grok, into various applications. Grok powers a range of features on X (formerly Twitter), including a chatbot for premium and select free users. 

Known for its unconventional style, Grok is marketed as a “truth-seeking” AI with fewer biases, although it has been criticised for its limitations and occasional inaccuracies.

The model has also been embedded in other functions on X, such as image generation, news summarisation, and analytics enhancements. xAI recently launched an API allowing third-party developers to integrate Grok into their platforms and introduced a standalone app for iOS.

While xAI continues to grow, the company is working to tackle challenges from rivals and regulators. Musk’s company has accused OpenAI and its collaborator, Microsoft, of limiting competition by allegedly restricting investor opportunities and benefiting from exclusive partnerships. 

Again, Tesla shareholders are having issues with Musk’s diversion of resources to xAI, even filing lawsuits against him.

Nonetheless, xAI is generating significant revenue, reportedly around $100 million annually. However, this pales in comparison to competitors like OpenAI, which is projected to earn $4 billion by the end of 2024.

Data Centre Expansion and Future Plans

xAI is scaling its operations really fast. The company built a data centre in Memphis in just four months, with 100,000 Nvidia GPUs, and has secured approval to double its capacity next year. 

The Memphis facility, partly powered by diesel generators, has been commended as well as criticised. While xAI has committed to improving local infrastructure, residents are unhappy about environmental issues over the stress on resources.

Tesla is expected to utilise xAI’s upgraded infrastructure to refine its autonomous driving systems, while xAI continues to train the next generation of Grok models at the facility.

AI Industry Competition

xAI’s growth comes with competition from rival companies like Anthropic and OpenAI, which have also raised billions to bolster their operations. 

Anthropic recently secured $4 billion from Amazon, while OpenAI added $6.6 billion to its reserves, bringing its total funding to nearly $18 billion.

According to OpenAI’s status page, the outage began around 11pm WAT (3pm PT) and continued until approximately 5am WAT (9pm PT) when services were mostly restored.

In a brief statement, OpenAI acknowledged the incident on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “ChatGPT, API, and Sora were down today but we’ve recovered.”

The announcement drew a cryptic response from Elon Musk, who replied, “@Grok ,” indirectly inviting users to leverage his new AI platform.

OpenAI’s status updates revealed that users are gradually regaining access to the affected platforms.

During the outage, visitors to ChatGPT’s website encountered an error message stating that the issue had been identified and was being resolved.

Adding to the day’s complications, OpenAI launched its integration with Apple’s iOS 18.2, which some speculated might be connected to the outage.

However, Edwin Arbus, OpenAI’s developer community lead, clarified on X, “The OpenAI outage was unrelated to 12 Days of OpenAI or Apple Intelligence. We made a config change that caused many servers to become unavailable.”

Sora’s Launch by OpenAI Overwhelms Servers

The outage coincided with the public debut of Sora, OpenAI’s video-generation AI tool, which had already faced capacity issues earlier in the week.

CEO Sam Altman acknowledged the overwhelming interest in Sora, admitting the company had underestimated the demand.

Users reported difficulty generating videos due to server overload on launch day.

Sora’s functions, which include generating short videos based on text or image prompts, have attracted huge interest, particularly among gaming and creative communities.

However, its training data, which reportedly includes publicly available sources such as video game streams, has raised questions about intellectual property rights and potential copyright violations.

The training of generative AI models like Sora on unlicensed content has increasingly become a contentious issue.

Experts say that if video game playthroughs and related materials are part of Sora’s training data, OpenAI could face legal challenges.

Copyright attorneys highlight the layered intellectual property rights inherent in-game content, including game developers’ copyrights, streamers’ unique contributions, and user-generated content.

“Training an AI model on unlicensed footage from games risks infringing on multiple layers of copyright protection,” noted Joshua Weigensberg, an IP attorney.

This issue could bring about legal challenges, as courts are trying to find a balance between fair use and creators’ rights.

Nonetheless, OpenAI continues its “12 Days of OpenAI” event, a product launch series leading up to the holiday season.

Recent announcements have included updates to its o1 reasoning model, enhancements to the Canvas platform, and the integration with Apple Intelligence.

While the company remains tight-lipped about Sora’s training specifics, it maintains that its tools adhere to industry standards.

However, with generative AI becoming more integrated into creative industries, OpenAI and similar companies may face increased investigations over the ethical and legal dimensions of their operations.

The platform began processing user data without seeking permission, leading to a fresh wave of privacy complaints across multiple European countries.

The issue came to light when a vigilant user noticed a new setting that revealed X had quietly started using post data from EU users for its Grok AI chatbot. This discovery drew immediate concern from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), the main body responsible for overseeing X’s compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The Irish DPC quickly initiated legal proceedings against X, aiming to halt the processing of unauthorised data. However, privacy advocates, including the non-profit organisation noyb, have condemned the DPC’s response as insufficient. 

Noyb, led by privacy activist Max Schrems, has lodged complaints in nine countries, arguing that X’s actions violate several GDPR provisions. These complaints focus on the lack of transparency and consent in X’s data handling practices.

This situation has brought back the issue of personal data protection in the EU. Under the GDPR, companies are required to have a valid legal basis for processing personal data, typically through user consent. However, X has attempted to justify its actions under the “legitimate interest” clause — a defence that has already been dismissed by the European Court of Justice in similar cases involving other tech giants.

Despite this, X continued its data processing until early August 2024, without adequately informing users or offering them a chance to opt out. A setting allowing users to block data processing was only added in late July, long after the data had been ingested into the AI system.

Max Schrems and other privacy advocates are calling for more strict enforcement of GDPR regulations, noting that companies must obtain consent before using personal data for AI training or any other purposes. They argue that the current situation brings out the need for stronger oversight to prevent companies from bypassing user rights.