Xiaomi Poco X4 Pro 5G smartphone review: 5G phone with 108 MP & 120 Hz OLED at a bargain price – NotebookCheck.net Reviews

For many users, one of the most important innovations of the Poco X4 Pro may well be the introduction of the 5G standard in the Poco X Pro lineup. However, this improvement in connectivity comes at the cost of reduced performance because the Snapdragon 860 in the Poco X3 Pro is nominally stronger than the Snapdragon 695 that now equips the successor. 

The display of the Poco X4 Pro 5G is a big step forward and no compromises are made here. Xiaomi no longer relies on an LCD panel for its mid-range smartphone, but rather on AMOLED technology with peak values of over 1,000 nits. The refresh rate is still 120 Hz.

The recommended retail price for the Poco X4 Pro 5G is around US$ 315.

Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

Although the Poco X4 Pro 5G is comparatively heavy at 205 grams, it is lighter than its predecessor. But the Pro model of the X4 series is not really compact either. The glass backside is adorned with “laser stripes” which spread over the casing like the lights of small spotlights. The mid-range smartphone is available in three different colors: Laser Black, Laser Blue and Poco Yellow. The Poco X4 Pro has IP 53 certification, which means that it is officially dust and water resistant.

The build quality and feel are on a high level for a smartphone around US$ 300. Sure, the plastic frame deprives the Poco X4 Pro of some of the value of a high-end phone, but it doesn’t feel cheap. However, the flat glass panel encasing the cameras on the back feels a bit bulky in the hands.

In contrast to the predecessor, the manufacturer cuts back on Corning Gorilla Glass 6; only Glass 5 is used for the Poco X4 Pro. The edges on the top and bottom of the 6.67-inch display are moderately sized, which is reflected in the solid display surface ratio of 86%.

      Samsung Galaxy M23       realme 9 5G       Xiaomi Poco X4 Pro       Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G       Motorola Moto G52       Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 165.5 mm / 6.52 inch 77 mm / 3.03 inch 8.4 mm / 0.3307 inch 198 g0.4365 lbs164.3 mm / 6.47 inch 75.6 mm / 2.98 inch 8.5 mm / 0.3346 inch 191 g0.4211 lbs164.19 mm / 6.46 inch 76.1 mm / 3 inch 8.12 mm / 0.3197 inch 205 g0.4519 lbs163.56 mm / 6.44 inch 75.78 mm / 2.98 inch 8.75 mm / 0.3445 inch 195 g0.4299 lbs160.1 mm / 6.3 inch 74.5 mm / 2.93 inch 8 mm / 0.315 inch 169 g0.3726 lbs159.87 mm / 6.29 inch 73.87 mm / 2.91 inch 8.09 mm / 0.3185 inch 179 g0.3946 lbs

Xiaomi combines the Android system with its in-house user interface MIUI for Poco in version 13. At the time of review, however, the Poco phone is only based on Android 11, which is better considering the RRP of around US$ 300. The security patches from July 2022 are very up to date

The Poco X4 Pro should certainly get an upgrade to Android 12, but the manufacturer does not provide any official information on this. The update guarantee of the Xiaomi 12 series, i.e. three major Android updates and four years of security updates, does not apply to the Poco series. More than 3 years, including 2 major upgrades, should not be expected.

With MIUI 13 for Poco, the X4 Pro uses a redesigned MiSans font, a variety of new widgets, and support for Google’s “Material You” design. We cannot make out any advertising banners or ads within the MiUI 13 interface, for example when an app is installed. Generally speaking, these so-called MSA (MIUI System Ads) can be disabled quite easily in the system settings under “Passwords & Security”.

The Poco X4 Pro uses the main satellite systems GPS (L1), GLONASS (G1), BeiDou (B1) and Galileo (E1) as well as SBAS for localization. In order to evaluate tracking accuracy in practice, we took the mid-range phone on a short trip and recorded the route together with a Garmin Venu 2 for comparison purposes.

We like the tracking capabilities of the Poco X4 Pro for the most part. However, deviations from the selected routes are sometimes clearly visible upon examining the GPS history in detail. Despite minor inaccuracies, the Xiaomi phone is suitable for navigation tasks, but a satellite fix indoors takes a very long time and the signal strength is not very pronounced with an SNR value of 23.

Users should not have high expectations of the Poco X4 Pro’s selfie camera, but the photo quality is solid. In difficult lighting conditions, the 16-megapixel shots are often overexposed, especially in portrait mode, and the sky looks burned out. Moreover, the soft focus is quite pronounced.

On paper, Poco has made major improvements to the rear-facing main camera, which now has 108 megapixels and an aperture of f/1.9. As is usual for this price range, optical image stabilization is absent, so images become blurry and out of focus relatively quickly in the dark. The illumination is also not very good. But for the price, the photo quality achieved in bright surroundings is appealing. Image sharpness and contrasts are convincing in daylight.

The 108 MP camera is accompanied by a 118 degree ultra-wide-angle camera with 8 megapixels and a 2-megapixel macro lens. The ultra-wide-angle camera has solid photo quality, but offers little detail and low sharpness.

Although the main camera of the Poco X4 Pro has a very high resolution, video can only be recorded at up to 1080p at 30 fps – a higher frame rate or a UHD option is not available. Switching between the main and ultra-wide-angle lenses during video recording is also not possible. The well-known video modes of the X3 Pro, such as dual video, are still on board.

The Poco X4 Pro comes with a modular 67-watt power supply, a data or charging cable, a protective cover, a SIM needle and a quick start guide with warranty terms and conditions. A screen protector is applied ex-works.

A two year warranty is provided in Germany. This may differ in your country of purchase, so be sure to check with your supplier before purchasing.

The fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button unlocks the Poco X4 Pro 5G reliably, but not very quickly. The FaceUnlock feature via the front-facing camera, which takes place via a rather unsafe 2D facial recognition solution, also works reliably in everyday use

Inputs on the 6.67-inch OLED display are accurately implemented right up to the corners of the touchscreen. Due to the 360 Hz sampling rate, the panel of the Poco X4 Pro is scanned for touches up to 360 times per second, such as in games, which ensures low latency during touches. Thanks to the high refresh rate of 120 Hz, image changes or scrolling on web pages are displayed smoothly.

The Poco X4 Pro has a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen with a 2400×1080 resolution and supports a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz. Those wanting to save some energy can also set the screen refresh rate to 60 Hz. An adaptive refresh rate change is not possible.

The OLED panel performs very well in our brightness measurement. With a full white display, the inexpensive mid-range phone from Xiaomi reaches a maximum of 713 cd/m², which is very good for this price range. In the APL18 measurement, which is more representative of everyday use, this even reaches 1,106 cd/m² in the center of the screen. The display thus is well suited for rendering HDR content, although Poco does not officially advertise this.

Due to the OLED panel, flickering cannot be avoided in the Poco X4 Pro. Below a display brightness of 68%, the PWM frequency fluctuates between 159 and 479 Hz. The amplitude curve levels out more up to the maximum brightness and becomes more consistent at 120 Hz. 

… smaller is better

ℹ

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession – a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.

We checked the AMOLED panel’s color calibration using CalMAN analysis software. Under factory settings (profile: Standard), the sRGB color space is almost completely covered. According to the manufacturer, the larger DCI-P3 color space is also supported.

Our measured DeltaE values indicate some very small deviation in the colors. Minimal differences can be seen in blue and magenta. An even smaller deviation within the target range (<3) is seen in grayscale reproduction.

ℹ

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.

The Poco phone is well equipped for outdoor use. Bright ambient light does not cause any problems thanks to its high brightness. Only the highly reflective surface prevents good readability in sunlight.

The viewing angle stability of the AMOLED display is very good. The typical drop in brightness is seen at flat viewing angles, but no color distortions were observed.