Get ready for a high-performance ride with the Poco X5 Pro Review! Our review exposes the secrets of this unstoppable device. Don’t miss it!
Originally designed for a young audience seeking the best value for money, the early models of Poco, behind the Xiaomi brand, were often referred to as “Flagship Killers.” The brand continues to grow with aggressively priced devices. The year starts with a bang with the arrival of the Poco X5 Pro, which takes on the highly coveted mid-range segment.
Our Detailed Hands-on Review
The Poco X5 Pro has memory configurations: of 6/128 GB and 8/256 GB for PKR. 103125 and 117900, respectively. This pricing position will face competitors such as the Redmi Note 11 Pro, the Realme 9 Pro+, and the Samsung Galaxy A33 5G. Three colours are also on the program, from classic black to extravagant yellow to light blue. Our hands-on was performed with a yellow model with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage, lent by the brand for the occasion.
Design and Ergonomics
As is often the case with Poco smartphones, the design is open to attend and goes for delicacy. It is especially evident on the back, where the majority of the personality of smartphones, across all brands, is now concentrated. A huge camera block accommodates three cameras, two of which are more imposing. This block is visually extended by a black matte plastic area partially occupied by a large, aluminium-coloured Poco logo.
The rest of the back is in matte yellow plastic. It’s original but practical, as this finish is resistant to fingerprints. Of course, discretion seekers can always opt for the black version. Yellow has always been part of Poco’s offerings, and this colour is also found on the power button placed at a good height on the right edge of the phone, also made of plastic. This button integrates a highly efficient fingerprint reader that allows for particularly quick unlocking of the X5 Pro. The volume control button is still relatively easy to access, a little higher up. The front of the smartphone is 87% occupied by a large 6.67-inch screen in 20/9 format. These features are identical to those of the Poco X4 Pro launched last March.
The front camera fits into a central notch, and the whole setup is protected by Gorilla Glass 5 glass, with a factory-applied film included. With such a large screen, the Poco X5 Pro is necessarily quite bulky, but this remains good thanks to a very good screen utilization rate and a slight improvement in thinness compared to its predecessor. In comparison, it has lost over 20 grams. Now weighing 181 g, this smartphone is 20 g lighter than the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro, for example. Counter to the current trend, the Poco X5 Pro still offers a headphone jack on its top edge, accompanied by an infrared port. The smartphone can accommodate two nanoSIMs, but not a memory card. Unfortunately, it is not waterproof, but only splash-resistant.
The Screen
The large display of the Poco X5 Pro uses a P-OLED DotDisplay panel with a resolution of 1080×2400 pixels, giving a density of 395 PPI. This data is standard, as it is identical to that of the Poco X4 Pro. The same applies to the refresh rate, which can reach a rate of 120 Hz (240 Hz for touch sampling rate). The user can choose automatic management or manually opt for a rate between 60 and 120 Hz.
The brand claims a brightness of 500 nits, reaching 900 nits at peak with a contrast of 5,000,000:1. This is not as good as the Poco X4 Pro, which could reach 700 and 1,200 nits, respectively. While waiting for measurements from the Lab, here are our first impressions of the Poco X5 Pro’s screen: the display is sharp. It allows you to enjoy relatively authentic colours, especially if you refine the settings in the right menu for a few minutes. The brightness, which is lower on paper than its predecessor, seemed ample enough for us to use this smartphone, even during the day outdoors comfortably.
Audio Quality
The Poco X5 Pro typically has two speakers in an architecture that can be considered asymmetrical since it uses two different transducers. It creates a relatively unbalanced sound, with high and medium frequencies concentrated on the top speaker (or the left one depending on the smartphone’s orientation) and lower frequencies on the bottom. It could be more pleasant, but it’s enough to follow a podcast or TV series.
The power is there, but there is a slight saturation when the volume is pushed to the maximum. The wired headset jack or, if applicable, Bluetooth headphones will therefore be better suited for listening to music. The Poco X5 Pro has Dolby Atmos with advanced equalization that can be customized or directly linked to predefined scenes (rock, jazz, classical). It is also possible to choose the type of content being listened to (video, music) or to let the smartphone do it automatically.
Performance and Interface
The Poco X5 Pro has evolved mechanically compared to its predecessor, bringing an upgrade since we are switching from a Qualcomm Snapdragon series 6 processor to a Snapdragon series 7 processor. So, the X4 Pro’s Snapdragon 695 is replaced by a 778G, which has made many smartphones happy since its release.
This chip is still engraved in 6 Nm, but it has a modernized and more complex architecture with a first Cortex-A78 core clocked at 2.4 GHz, three other identical cores, but with a frequency of 2.2 GHz, and finally four Cortex-A55 at 1.9 GHz. With 8 GB of RAM in our test unit and a brand-new graphics circuit, this processor gives the Poco X5 Pro excellent vigor. In use, there is nothing to say; this mobile allows a smooth and non-overheating experience. All applications work without a problem, including demanding games. Let me tell you all this perfectly exploited processor should suffice for 95% of users.
The lab test should finally fix us on the good condition of this smartphone. On the software side, the Poco X5 Pro relies on a duo consisting of Android 12 and the MIUI 14 interface. First surprise: this is Android 12 on the smartphone we tested, while everyone thought MIUI 14 would only run with Android 13.
The brand has worked hard to optimize and generally lighten its interface. In any case, as we mentioned earlier, this overlay reacts very well. It offers many customization options while remaining simple to approach. The interface becomes more readable, and the control panel is a model of the genre with clear and readable controls. The progress is real. But once again, Xiaomi floods us with pre-installed applications of the famous bloatware, and the manufacturer is close to breaking the record.
You will find games (Dust Settle, Crazy Juicer), apps (Opera, Snapchat), and online stores (AliExpress, Booking). Of course, it is possible to uninstall everything that does not interest you, but it will necessarily take your time. Too bad.
Xiaomi announces that the smartphone should benefit from two years of system and security updates. Classic in this price range, but we could have hoped for a little better.
Communication
With the Snapdragon 778G platform comes the radio components of this smartphone, starting with the 5G modem. Most frequency bands are supported. There is also wifi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2. What does this mean in practice? It is difficult to feel the limitations of these components that are largely sized to get the best out of the current mobile network.
Photos & Videos
For photography, setting up will be quick since the new arrival takes over the equipment from its predecessor. The main camera, therefore, relies on a 108-megapixel sensor with shots taken by default at 12 megapixels by implementing the famous and now unavoidable technology of pixel binning.
The wide-angle lens opens at f/1.9 and would correspond to a 26mm analog. The second module is an ultra-wide-angle offering a capture angle of 120°. The sensor is content with 8 megapixels. Finally, the last camera is solely dedicated to macro photography with a modest 2-megapixel sensor and a fixed focus at a distance of 40mm. Finally, the front camera is the same as the X4 Pro, with a 16-megapixel sensor.
Of course, if nothing changes from a hardware point of view, digital processing and software aspects can strongly affect the performance of these different cameras. Pending the tests of the Lab, here are a few words about our photo experience with this Poco X5 Pro. During the day, shots taken with the wide-angle are appealing, with precise autofocus ensuring sharpness that is difficult to fault.
The colors seem too strongly emphasized. The dynamic range is good, and the contrast is rather high. The level of detail is a bit disappointing compared to the competition even though, by switching to 108 megapixels, things improve in this regard, with, however, heavy files. The smartphone may need help handling micro-contrasts, particularly in the face of complex elements such as dense foliage. In low light, the Poco X5 Pro produces a usable photo for social networks, for example, in most cases.
However, digital noise appears when opened on a large screen, and there is a slight under-exposure. However, this smartphone is rather advantageous compared to other mid-range models in this difficult exercise. The ultra-wide angle could be better. Sharpness degrades significantly when moving away from the center of the image, although this is mainly noticeable when using a large screen. The acutance is passable, as is the rendering of night photos.
The macro camera is largely dispensable, as it is difficult to obtain a perfectly sharp photo, and the colors are washed out. Selfies, on the other hand, display good performance. Details are there, especially when it comes to transcribing the skin grain. The presence of more powerful mechanics may explain the upgrade in the X5 Pro’s capabilities for video capture. While its predecessor was content with 1080p at 30 frames per second, the X5 Pro now has access to 4K at 30 fps and 1080p at 60 fps. Videos are smooth and dynamic, with an interesting level of detail.
Autonomy
The Xiaomi Poco X5 Pro has a large 5,000 mAh battery, like its predecessor. The previous model did not perform well in testing, with only 6 hours of battery life, so we are eager to see how the new model will perform. With moderate usage, the Poco X5 Pro has lasted 1.5 days without needing a recharge.
The brand provides a 67 W power adapter. Based on our experience, the charging time should be around 50 minutes. The Fnac Lab’s more precise measurement will give us a more accurate estimate. But in practice, this smartphone has a fully satisfactory charging speed. As expected for a smartphone under PKR64,000, wireless charging is not available.