Xiaomi Poco F5 Pro review – Powerful mid-range with a high-end SoC

The Xiaomi subsidiary, Poco, has established a reputation for delivering affordable yet feature-rich smartphones. In contrast to the main Xiaomi series, Poco opts for a simpler design, but it is evident that there are few compromises in terms of internal features. This philosophy holds true for the Xiaomi Poco F5 Pro, the latest flagship in the Poco F series, which shares its technical specifications with the Redmi K60, officially available only in China.

Despite competing in the mid-range segment, the 6. 67-inch Xiaomi Poco F5 Pro boasts high-end performance powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 , ensuring longevity without performance bottlenecks. Speed is also a key focus for its counterpart, the Poco F5 performing at a level similar to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 with the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 1 .

The Xiaomi Poco F5 Pro offers additional appeal with its 3200 x 1440 pixel AMOLED screen (WQHD+), featuring a 120 Hz refresh rate and achieving a peak brightness of over 1000 nits. It is equipped with a triple camera system, including a 64 MP lens with OIS, and a substantial 5160 mAh battery that can be fully charged in less than an hour using a 67-watt charger. Xiaomi employs a significant amount of plastic in the construction of the Poco F5 Pro.

Both the matte frame and the back are crafted from polycarbonate, marking a notable improvement in tactile feel compared to smartphones in the Xiaomi series. The back cover, featuring a high-gloss surface and carbon-look edges, exudes a stylish appearance but is prone to collecting fingerprints, particularly in our black color variant. This issue can be mitigated by utilizing the provided protective case.

Thanks to its flat display and rounded back cover along the long sides, the well-crafted Xiaomi Poco F5 Pro offers a comfortable grip, although its weight of 204 grams makes it slightly hefty. The camera module protrudes approximately 2 millimeters from the back, but its flattened sides contribute to a sleeker appearance and improved feel. The display is safeguarded by Gorilla Glass 5, and a protective film is applied at the factory.

In addition to the black test sample, the Xiaomi Poco F5 Pro is also available in white. It boasts IP53 certification, outperforming its counterpart, the Poco F5 , providing protection against dust and splash water. Three storage options are available for the Xiaomi Poco F5 Pro, with prices posted on the official w ebseite as of December 2023.

Storage extension using a microSD card is not possible. The Poco F5 Pro is equipped with WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5. 3, NFC, Miracast, stereo speakers, and Dolby Atmos support.

An infrared transmitter on the top allows the smartphone to function as a remote control for compatible devices like TVs. Notably, the Poco F5 Pro lacks a 3. 5 mm audio jack, which is available only on the Poco F5 in the current Poco F series.

The USB-C port of the Poco F5 Pro operates at USB 2. 0 speed but is USB OTG-compatible, allowing connection to peripheral devices (exFAT and NTFS are supported). In a USB copy test with the Samsung 980 Pro in the Asus ROG Strix Arion Case, the USB-C port achieved a data throughput of 31.

6 MB/s, a typical value for USB 2. 0. Unlike the Poco F5, the Xiaomi Poco F5 Pro features a ‘real’ always-on display.

While the screen of its counterpart can only be left on temporarily, the AMOLED screen of the Poco F5 Pro can be left on permanently if desired. The Poco F5 Pro operates on Xiaomi’s in-house user interface, MIUI 14, which is built on Android 13. As of the testing date in December 2023, the smartphone had Android security patches dated July 1, 2023, indicating that the patches are already outdated.

Xiaomi has not provided specific information regarding the duration of OS upgrades and security updates for the Poco F5 Pro, and the smartphone is not listed in the Xiaomi Security Center . However, it can be assumed that the device may receive OS upgrades for 2 years and security updates for 3 years. While this is a reasonable timeframe, it falls short when compared to competitors.

For instance, Samsung offers a more extended support period; the Galaxy S23, for example, receives four OS upgrades and an additional year of security patches. Having a smartphone with WiFi 6E is not common in the mid-range, but the Xiaomi Poco F5 Pro boasts this advanced wireless module. As a result, it achieves impressive transfer rates of up to 1738 MBit/s when paired with our reference router, the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000, although these rates are not always perfectly stable While the Poco F5 also supports WiFi 6E, its WLAN performance is slightly inferior to that of the Poco F5 Pro, likely due to differences in the SoC.

Regarding mobile coverage, the Poco F5 Pro offers a slightly more limited range compared to its counterparts in the Xiaomi series. It is well-suited with 15 4G and 12 5G bands, however it may not be the greatest choice for global travel. The Poco smartphone uses GPS (L1), Glonass (L1), Galileo (E1), Beidou (B1), and QZSS (L1) satellite navigation systems, all of which operate on single-band frequencies.

In our practical test, we assessed the Poco F5 Pro’s ability to accurately determine its location. The smartphone recorded the distance covered during an approximately 10-kilometer bike ride, and the results were compared to those of the Garmin Venu 2 fitness smartwatch. Despite the differences between the two devices, they exhibited a similarly high level of accuracy.

This performance bodes well for all navigation-related tasks, earning a thumbs up for the Poco F5 Pro. The Poco F5 Pro has two nano SIM card slots that allow 5G, VoLTE, and Wi-Fi calls. During testing, the smartphone’s speech quality was excellent.

Calls via mobile and landline networks reproduced callers’ voices clearly and intelligibly, with effective filtering out of distracting background noise. The Xiaomi Poco F5 Pro features a concealed selfie camera with a 16 MP resolution behind a punch-hole cut-out. It is capable of recording videos with a maximum of Full HD at 30 frames per second.

Selfies taken with the 16 MP camera exhibit balanced exposure, and the images display good sharpness and dynamics. On the back, the triple camera setup is led by the OmniVision OV64B. This sensor is responsible for capturing images with the 64 MP main camera (f/1.

79), utilizing 4-in-1 pixel binning to produce 16 MP photos (pixel size 1. 4 µm) with optical image stabilization support. The main camera also handles zoom shots, achieving up to 10x digital magnification.

In favorable lighting conditions, images from the main camera impress with good sharpness and natural colors. However, in low-light conditions, the difference in quality compared to flagship cameras becomes noticeable, producing very dark and blurred images in the test. The main camera supports video recording with a maximum of 8K at 24 frames per second, while 4K can be recorded at up to 60 FPS.

The Poco F5 lacks the 8K recording option. Users can switch between the main and ultra-wide cameras when recording video by adjusting the zoom factor. The 8 MP ultra-wide-angle camera offers a 120° field of view and delivers solid image quality.

Overall, pictures tend to show less detail and are often blurred and distorted at the edges. The third lens in the camera ensemble is a 2 MP macro camera, which, in practice, proves less useful compared to a telephoto camera typically found in higher-priced smartphones. Lastly, under controlled lighting conditions, we analyzed how accurately the main camera could reproduce the reference colors of the ColorChecker color chart.

With a maximum Delta-E of 19. 23, the main camera revealed significant deviations from the ideal, particularly with darker green and blue tones. In optimal lighting conditions, the test chart was reproduced sharply with only slight brightening at the edges, an effect that even some high-end cameras might have displayed.

Under low-light conditions (1 lux residual light), the main camera’s weakness became apparent, as practically nothing of the test chart was visible. The scope of delivery includes a 67-watt power adapter, a USB-C cable (Type A to C), a SIM pin, a transparent a protective sleeve, a quick start guide, and two additional leaflets with warranty and safety information. Xiaomi offers a 24-month warranty on the Poco F5 Pro in the United States.

The AMOLED panel of the Poco F5 Pro operates with a touch sensitivity of 480 Hz, ensuring quick responsiveness to inputs. Combined with a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz, this results in very smooth operation. The vibration motor provides precise feedback.

The fingerprint sensor of the Poco F5 Pro is located under the display and boasts a high recognition rate. Additionally, the device offers biometric authentication through a 2D face scan using the selfie camera. While this method is reliable, it is less secure and requires sufficient ambient light or display brightness to function properly.

The Poco F5 Pro’s 6. 67-inch AMOLED panel exceeds expectations, making it one of the few mid-range smartphones to support dual resolutions. Similar to the Poco F5 , it displays content in Full HD (2400 x 1080 pixels) as standard.

To get an even crisper view, customers can convert from Full HD to WQHD+, which has a resolution of 3200 x 1440 pixels, with the Poco F5 Pro’s additional display settings option. In its default setting, the screen dynamically adjusts between 60 and 120 Hz based on the content. Alternatively, users can fix the refresh rate at 60 or 120 Hz.

Alongside support for HDR10 and HDR10+, the display also accommodates HLG and Dolby Vision. Xiaomi claims a maximum brightness of 1400 nits for the Poco F5 Pro’s AMOLED panel. In a measurement with an even distribution of bright and dark image areas (APL18), the display achieves a commendable 1224 cd/m², though it falls slightly short of the manufacturer’s specification.

When displaying HDR content, the AMOLED panel reaches up to 1180 cd/m² in testing. The AMOLED panel employs pulse width modulation (PWM) for screen brightness control, resulting in unavoidable screen flickering. However, the amplitude curve maintains a constant 120 Hz, which, despite appearing initially low, is consistent across the entire brightness spectrum, contributing to an overall eye-friendly experience.

Additionally, Xiaomi uses PWM dimming at a high frequency of 1920 Hz, enhancing comfort for sensitive users. The Poco F5 Pro provides users with three color profiles – Vivid, Saturated, and Original Color – to tailor the display settings to their preferences. Additionally, advanced options for adjusting color temperature, color space, and color saturation are available.

Measurement using a spectrophotometer and Calman analysis software reveals that Xiaomi has meticulously calibrated the display at the factory. The AMOLED panel shows optimal color reproduction in the Original Color profile, consistently delivering nearly ideal values for image parameters, including color temperature, gamma, and RGB balance Outdoors, the Poco F5 Pro’s AMOLED panel shines with outstanding readability, efficiently showing content even in direct sunlight. An optional sunlight mode is provided to improve the display’s adaptability to bright ambient light.

The ambient light sensor demonstrates swift responsiveness to changing light conditions. The display has excellent viewing angle stability, with brightness practically remaining constant even at flat viewing angles. A little colour shift, typical of AMOLED panels, may occur, although it has no negative impact on readability.

Featuring the Adreno 730 GPU, the Poco F5 Pro delivers robust graphics performance. Impressively, it achieves 22 fps in the demanding 4K Aztec Ruins benchmark from GFXBench, indicating smooth gameplay even for high-resolution games. In contrast, the Poco F5 , equipped with the Adreno 725 GPU, performs less optimally, particularly in the challenging 3D tests of GFXBench.

Despite this, both smartphones exhibit nearly identical speeds in 3DMark. The smartphone excels in fast website loading, quick page rendering, and seamless scrolling. Consistently taking the lead in browser benchmarks, it’s worth noting that this performance advantage could be attributed in part to the device running a more up-to-date browser version.

Joined by many mid-range smartphones, the Poco F5 Pro boasts UFS 3. 1 memory. This choice ensures rapid charging times and swift data transfers for the Xiaomi device.

While not specifically designed as a gaming smartphone, the Poco F5 Pro, powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and Adreno 730 graphics chip, delivers effortlessly smooth gameplay at 60 frames per second for current games, even in high graphics settings. It’s worth noting that our test games PUBG Mobile and Genshin Impact did not reach the maximum possible 120 frames per second offered by the AMOLED display. We assess game frame rates using our Gamebench test tool.

Under heavy load, the Xiaomi Poco F5 Pro reaches a maximum temperature of 43. 3 °C, which is noticeably warm to the touch. It’s important to note that this temperature is derived from an extreme scenario, as the burnout benchmark used for this purpose runs for an hour to intentionally raise the smartphone’s temperature.

In typical daily usage, temperatures are expected to be lower than the average values determined under such extreme conditions. The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 in the Poco F5 Pro exhibits late throttling, allowing it to maintain peak performance for an extended period. For instance, throttling is observed only after 17 out of 20 runs in 3DMark’s Wild Life Stress Test.

Following this, the Poco F5 Pro experiences approximately a 30 percent reduction in its initial performance. The audio experience on the Poco F5 Pro is delivered through its two stereo speakers positioned on the short sides of the smartphone. These speakers achieve a relatively high volume of 89.

4 dB(A) and deliver mids and highs with a linear response. However, bass tones are less pronounced in the sound mix. For external audio devices, the smartphone offers connectivity options through the USB-C port or Bluetooth 5.

3. The Poco F5 Pro supports an extensive range of Bluetooth codecs, including AAC, SBC, LDAC, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive Audio, aptX TWS+ Audio, and LHDC V1 to V5. The “Pro” designation sets the Poco F5 Pro apart from the Poco F5 particularly in terms of battery capacity.

While the latter boasts a 5000 mAh battery, the Poco F5 Pro features a slightly larger 5160 mAh battery. Additionally, unlike the Poco F5, the Pro version supports wireless charging with a capacity of up to 30 watts. During testing, using the included 67-watt power adapter, the device took 56 minutes to fully charge from an empty battery.

Although this is slightly longer than the 48 minutes stated by Xiaomi, it still represents a notably rapid charging speed. We conducted practical battery life tests with the screen brightness set to 150 cd/m², while keeping the refresh rate at the default setting. During the WLAN test, the Poco F5 Pro demonstrated a commendable endurance, lasting a solid 16 hours.

When playing an HD video continuously, the smartphone required a recharge after 18 hours and 26 minutes. Comparable devices exhibited similar battery runtimes. Xiaomi has released the fastest Poco smartphone to date, the Poco F5 Pro.

This 6. 67-inch gadget, powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 , outperforms other mid-range smartphones significantly. It has remarkable features such as WiFi 6E, a powerful main camera in daylight, fast 67-watt charging, and a long battery life.

While the performance advantage over its counterpart, the Poco F5 ( Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 ), may not be substantial, the Poco F5 Pro stands out with additional features. Its 120 Hz AMOLED panel supports a fully-featured always-on function, operates with double the touch sensitivity (480 vs. 240 Hz), and boasts a WQHD+ resolution of 3200 x 1440 pixels, distinguishing it from the Poco F5.

Furthermore, the Poco F5 Pro exclusively offers IP53 certification and supports wireless charging at 30 watts. The Xiaomi Poco F5 combines robust features and high performance with a relatively affordable price. Despite its aspirations to compete in the upper class, the Poco F5 Pro reveals its mid-range status in certain aspects.

Notably, its plastic back and frame, while well-crafted, underscore its mid-range identity. The triple camera system could also benefit from improvement, and the uncertainty regarding software updates is a drawback. Additionally, it’s worth noting that the 3.

5mm headphone jack is only present on the Poco F5. For those considering alternatives to the Xiaomi Poco F5 Pro, options like the more budget-friendly Poco F5, Google Pixel 7a , and Samsung Galaxy S23 stand out. The latter two, in particular, offer an extended update period of 5 years, surpassing the Poco F5 Pro in this aspect.

The Xiaomi Poco F5 Pro is priced starting at just under $500 at Amazon . .