Poco has released another phone that boasts top-tier specifications without the price that usually goes with them. Here’s what we made of it when we tried it out.
Introduction
Poco is a sub-brand of Xiaomi that has often attracted the attention of discerning bargain-hunters, due to its track record of packing brilliant specifications into its devices without jacking up the prices to match.
The Poco X4 Pro 5G is no different in this regard, with a 120Hz display, 108-megapixel main camera sensor, and of course 5G connectivity being just a few of its boasts. I tried it out for a brief period, and here are my initial thoughts on the handset, and whether or not it’s worth a punt.
Price and Availability
The Poco X4 Pro has a starting price of just €299 for the variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, while the higher-spec option that offers. We’re still waiting on US and UK pricing and will update this page once we get it.
Design and Screen
Attractive glossy rear panelLarge, brash camera moduleGreat screen
The Poco X4 Pro is a large handset, measuring 164.2 x 76.1 x 8.1mm and weighing 205g, so it might not be the best choice if you’ve got relatively small hands or would simply prefer a smaller screen that you can use more easily one-handed. For the rest of us though, it’s usually preferable to have a larger screen, especially if you like watching video content or gaming – the latter of which being a key focus of this device.
Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)
After the size, the second thing that took my eye as I unpacked the handset from its box was the glossy rear panel, which attracts rays of light that creep up the screen almost like searchlights in the night sky. It makes a great first impression, but it also has to be said that it’s highly reflective and easily picks up smears as you handle it.
What’s more, the dominant camera module, which is raised and spans across the width of the rear panel, featuring heavy branding, is a bit of an eyesore which spoils an otherwise good-looking device.
One area where cheaper phones often cut corners is by failing to get an IP certification to prove its water and dust resistance, but I’m pleased to announce that this is not the case with the X4 Pro; it offers IP53 protection, which means that it does resist dust ingress and a light splash of water. Other welcome practicalities are the inclusion of a 3.5mm headphone jack and an SD card slot for expandable storage.
Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)
Flip it over, and you’re bound to be more pleased by what you find. The 6.67-inch, Full HD+ AMOLED screen is a real highlight of the handset, offering the kinds of specs you only rarely see this low down the price ladder; a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10 support, and 1200 nits maximum brightness make this a joy to use, being clear, bright, and smooth. If you like watching videos on your phone, this one seems to tick that box in style.
Camera
Good early results from the main sensorUltrawide less promising
The super specifications don’t stop with the screen; the camera is led by a 108-megapixel sensor (a fact that’s plastered on the phone with pride), and that’s joined by an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens and a 2-megapixel macro snapper. However, you can’t judge a camera just by its specs, and we took a couple of pictures with the device in order to check it out.
Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)
My initial impressions of that high-resolution main camera are good. The images were detailed and rich, with colours well represented but I’ll hold off giving a final verdict until I’ve had more time with it and an opportunity to use it in more difficult conditions, such as low light.
There’s a 2x digital zoom available on this sensor when you want to get closer to the action (there’s no dedicated telephoto lens), and once again I felt that this did a good job of retaining detail despite not being taken with optical zoom; results are good, and don’t look grainy but stay fairly clear.
The ultrawide was less impressive according to my usage, seeming to lack the detail and vividness of the main lens by quite some distance. Based on my opening go with the phone, I found it’s still somewhat useful to have this option, but don’t expect the same uniform photographic experience across all the lenses.
All that said, we’ve still got to run a few more tests before we pronounce our verdict on the camera system; but what we’ve so far from the main sensor is encouraging.
Performance and Battery
5G connectivityGood-size battery capacitySupports fast-charging
The Poco X4 Pro runs on a Snapdragon 695 5G chipset. We haven’t tested any other phones with this processor, but it looks to be a mid-range performer. I’m looking forward to running it through benchmarks and playing demanding games on it to really plumb its potential. Of course one of its greatest assets will be 5G connectivity, which is far from being a given at this price point in the mobile phones market, and not only gives you access to the fastest mobile data speeds but also makes it more future-proof too.
The battery capacity is 5000mAh, which is a healthy size and we’d hope to get a decent level of endurance from it. This can only be measured based on our actual experience, so the jury is still out for now, but the specifications seem promising. On top of that it also supports speedy 67W fast-charging. According to Xiaomi, that will give you 70% charge in 22 minutes, and a full cell after just 41 minutes, so once we verify those numbers that could be a key recommending feature of the device, being such a convenience for those days when you need to quickly juice up your phone and head off shortly afterwards.
Early Impressions
Poco describes the X4 Pro as being the “all-around ace”, and from our brief experience with the handset it’s quite difficult to disagree. The screen is excellent for the price, the main camera performance seems very promising, and the same goes for the performance and battery too. While the loud design may have its detractors and the secondary camera sensors may not pack the same punch as their
Specs table
Below you can see a full breakdown of the Poco X4 Pro 5G’s specs.
UK RRP
EU RRP
Manufacturer
Screen Size
Storage Capacity
Rear Camera
Front Camera
Video Recording
IP rating
Battery
Fast Charging
Size (Dimensions)
Weight
ASIN
Operating System
Release Date
Resolution
Refresh Rate
Ports
Chipset
RAM
Colours
Poco X4 Pro 5G
–
€299
Mitchell & Brown
6.67 inches
128GB
108MP + 8MP + 2MP
16MP
Yes
IP53
5000 mAh
Yes
76.1 x 8.1 x 164.2 MM
206 G
–
–
2022
2400 x 1080
120 Hz
USB-C
Snapdragon 695 5G
6GB
Blue, Black, Yellow
Poco M4 Pro 5G
£249
–
Watchguard
6.6 inches
128GB
50-megapixels
16-megapixels
Yes
Not Disclosed
5000 mAh
Yes
75.8 x 8.8 x 163.6 MM
195 G
B09LQK6DS6
Android 11, MIUI 12.5
2021
1080 x 2400
90 Hz
USB-C
MediaTek Dimensity 810 5G
6GB
Yellow, Black, Blue
A ‘hands on review’ is our first impression of a product only – it is not a full test and verdict. Our writer must have spent some time with the product to describe an early sense of what it’s like to use. We call these ‘hands on reviews’ to make them visible in search. However these are always unscored and don’t give recommendations. Read more about our reviews policy.
Jargon buster
mAh
An abbreviation for milliampere-hour and a way to express the capacity of batteries, especially smaller ones in phones. In most cases the higher the mAh, the longer the battery will last but this isn’t always the case.
5G
Offering faster download and upload speeds when compared to 4G. Great for game streaming and HDR video playback. Not supported everywhere yet and speeds vary wildly.
IP rating
An abbreviation for ‘Ingress Protection Code’, which lets you know to what extent a device might be waterproof or dustproof.
