As Xiaomi focuses more on its high-end and premium offerings, its sub-brand Poco has stepped up to fill the gap left behind. Last year the Poco F4 and X4 GT impressed us with their sleek design and powerful gaming hardware despite being cheaper than the competition. For 2023, Poco is back with the F5 Pro and F5, featuring premium design, more powerful internals, and packing many firsts for the brand.
Poco F5 Pro
The Poco F5 Pro is the company's newest flagship phone. It features a 6.67-inch 120Hz QHD+ OLED panel with a proclaimed peak brightness of 1,400 nits and 1920Hz PWM dimming. This is the first time Poco is using a display panel with a resolution higher than FHD+ on its premium phone. The phone's IP53-certified design is equally premium, with an aluminum chassis and Gorilla Glass 5 panel at the front.
Inside the Poco F5 Pro is a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip paired with 8/12GB RAM and 256/512GB of UFS 3.1 storage. While not the latest or the fastest, Qualcomm's 2022 flagship chip is powerful enough to run the best Android games and apps without issues.
The primary 64MP camera features OIS and supports 8K recording. It is paired with an 8MP ultra-wide and 2MP macro camera, but their pictures will not impress you.
Poco F5 Pro
The Poco F5 Pro packs almost all the features you’d want from your smartphone, including premium build quality, superfast wired and wireless charging, and a great display. The phone also delivers great performance thanks to the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip. It only falls short in the imaging department, with the cameras struggling in low-light scenarios. Poco’s software support could have also been better.
- SoC
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
- Display
- 6.67" 120Hz QHD+ (3200 x 1440) AMOLED
- RAM
- 8/12GB
- Storage
- 256/512GB
- Battery
- 5160mAh
- Ports
- USB-C
- Operating System
- Android 13, MIUI 14
- Front camera
- 16MP (f/2.45)
- Rear cameras
- 64MP (f/1.79, OIS), 8MP ultra-wide (f/2.2), 2MP macro (f/2.4)
- Connectivity
- Dual-SIM 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, IR blaster
- Dimensions
- 162.78 x 75.44 x 8.59mm
- Colors
- Black, White
- Weight
- 204g
- Charging
- 67W wired, 30W wireless charging
- IP Rating
- IP53
Another highlight of the Poco F5 Pro is support for wireless charging, another first for a Poco phone. It supports 30W wireless fast charging, though you'll need a compatible Xiaomi wireless charger to reach such speeds. With a regular Qi charger, the phone should reach a maximum speed of 15W. Wired charging speeds are also fast and top out at 67W, which is good enough to fill the 5160mAh battery to 50% in a claimed 15 minutes.
As for European pricing, the Poco F5 Pro will start from €579 and go up to €629 for the high-end model. Early bird customers can get the phone for as low as €479.
Poco F5
The Poco F5 drops the Pro moniker but packs an equally impressive specs sheet. It uses mid-range Qualcomm's Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 chip, which is almost as good as the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.
While the Poco F5's display size remains the same as its Pro sibling, the resolution and brightness levels are both a step down: FHD+ and 1000 nits. The refresh rate remains unchanged at 120Hz, though. There's no in-display fingerprint scanner; instead, the sensor is integrated into the power button on the side.
Similarly, the primary camera's resolution remains the same as Poco F5 Pro at 64MP, but it misses out on OIS and 8K video recording. An 8MP ultra-wide and 2MP macro shooter also sit at the back. At the front, you get a 16MP f/2.45 selfie shooter. Other specs include a 5,000mAh battery with 67W fast charging, dual speakers, 8/12GB RAM, and 256GB storage.
Poco F5
With a Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 chip, a 6.67-inch FHD+ display, and a beefy 5,000mAh battery, the Poco F5 is a great mid-range smartphone. Unless you care about the camera, the phone won’t disappoint you in any of the other aspects: display, performance, or battery life. MIUI’s experience still leaves a lot to be desired, though, especially with the pre-installed bloatware and spammy notifications.
- SoC
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2
- Display
- 6.67" 120Hz FHD+ (2400 x 1080) AMOLED
- RAM
- 8/12GB
- Storage
- 256GB
- Battery
- 5000mAh
- Ports
- USB-C
- Operating System
- Android 13, MIUI 14
- Front camera
- 16MP (f/2.45)
- Rear cameras
- 64MP (f/1.79), 8MP ultra-wide (f/2.2), 2MP macro (f/2.4)
- Connectivity
- Dual-SIM 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, IR blaster
- Dimensions
- 161.11 x 74.95 x 7.9mm
- Colors
- Black, White, Blue
- Weight
- 181g
- Charging
- 67W wired charging
On the software front, the Poco F5 and the F5 Pro run on Android 13-based MIUI 14. Poco promises two OS updates and three years of security patches for the phones. This is the first time the company has promised two OS updates for its devices, though it is inferior to the competition.
The Poco F5 will retail in Europe for €429 and €479 for the 8 and 12GB RAM variants, respectively. If you pre-order the phone, you can get it for as low as €399.