Poco F5 Pro review

Competition

The Poco F5 Pro's regular price pushes it into the 2022 flagship territory, and although a well-rounded phone, it's no match for some 2022 flagships asking anything between €500 and €700. On the other hand, the device sports a flagship-grade 120Hz OLED panel with high maximum brightness, all the HDR certifications and excellent color accuracy. The F5 Pro also supports wireless charging and is pretty good at taking photos and videos during the day.

One may argue that last year's phones shouldn't be recommended over a freshly released 2023 phone, but the F5 Pro isn't running the latest hardware, does it? The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC makes the case for a 2022 flagship easier. Take the Samsung Galaxy S22, for example. It's a capable flagship from last year, with Samsung promising 4 years of major updates and 5 years of security patches, so it will stay relevant for a long time. It's a better photographer, has a comparable screen and better speakers. The flagship OneUI iteration is also better and more feature-rich than MIUI for Poco. And you get all that for around €50 less than the F5 Pro. In case you are ready to settle for a smaller phone, of course.

Samsung Galaxy S22 5G • OnePlus 10T • Google Pixel 7

The OnePlus 10T is another 2022 competitor with the same silicon, and it's considerably cheaper. It also has a better main camera, faster charging and nicer speakers. Aside from the different Android overlays, the two devices are quite similar and offer somewhat comparable user experience. So in a way, the OnePlus competitor has the upper hand thanks to its lower price and extended software support (OnePlus commits to 3 years of major updates and 4 years of security patches).

The Pixel 7 is another good example of a relevant flagship a year later. It's a smaller device, but it excels in the camera department, gets speedy and extended software support directly from Google, delivers better screen-on battery endurance and packs nicer speakers. However, it's a slouch in the charging race and has an inferior display.

Realme GT Neo 3 150W • Xiaomi Poco F4 GT

Going down the price ladder, we find the Realme GT Neo 3 150W (or the 80W variant, which is even cheaper). Realme's upper-midranger from last year packs a serious punch. It has an excellent display, better main camera performance (except videos), boasts crazy-fast charging and has better endurance too. The Dimensity 8100 isn't enough to overtake the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, but it will do the job just fine if you are looking to save on some cash with this purchase.

Why not the Poco F4 GT? If you don't mind the gaming-centric aesthetics and features, the F4 GT is probably the better option. It has roughly the same display, better speakers (four of them!), a bigger main sensor, faster charging and a more premium build. The best part is that the F4 GT is sitting in the mid-€400.

Verdict

At first glance, the Poco F5 Pro is a capable yet affordable flagship phone. It has the performance, ships with 256GB of storage by default, has an impeccable display, and it's pretty good at taking photos and videos during the day. Not particularly impressive at night, though.

However, the handset is easily outclassed by many 2022 flagships offering longer software support and better hardware overall. Once the handset reaches its early bird price under €500, it will make a bit more sense in 2023. But for now, maybe a last year's flagship is a sound choice. Alternatively, the vanilla F5 will take you 90% of the way for a lot less.

Pros

• Excellent hi-res AMOLED, 120Hz refresh, Dolby Vision, HDR10+.
• Great daylight performance from the main cam, excellent videos.
• 256GB base storage.
• Solid battery life for the class.
• Feature-rich MIUI 14 on top of Android 13.

Cons

• Camera low-light performance is merely okay, and the ultrawide is not good in any light.
• Thermal throttling is evident with prolonged loads.