Poco F8 Pro review

Introduction and specs

With the Poco F7 series earlier this year, Xiaomi introduced an Ultra model that sits above the Poco F7 Pro. So even though the Pro isn't the top offering from Poco, the F8 Pro still packs a punch, especially with the upgraded hardware.

The Poco F8 Pro is now equipped with the previous-best chipset from Qualcomm - the Snapdragon 8 Elite. That makes it a compelling performer in its own respective price class.

Interestingly enough, the Poco F8 Pro is more compact now as it's built around a 6.59-inch display, down from the 6.67-inch panel in the previous generation. It still supports 120Hz refresh rate and 12-bit color depth, though.

Xiaomi Poco F8 Pro specs at a glance:

• Body: 157.5x75.3x8.0mm, 199g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass 7i), aluminum frame, glass back; IP68 dust tight and water resistant (immersible up to 1.5m for 30 min).
• Display: 6.59" AMOLED, 68B colors, 2560Hz PWM, 120Hz, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 2000 nits (HBM), 3500 nits (peak), 1156x2510px resolution, 19.54:9 aspect ratio, 419ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8750-AB Snapdragon 8 Elite (3 nm): Octa-core (2x4.32 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix L + 6x3.53 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix M); Adreno 830.
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM; UFS 4.1.
• OS/Software: Android 16, HyperOS 3.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.9, 24mm, 1/1.55", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 50 MP, f/2.2, 60mm, multi-directional PDAF, 2.5x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 15mm, 120˚.
• Front camera: 20 MP, (wide), 1/2.0", 0.8µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240/960fps, gyro-EIS, HDR10+; Front camera: 1080p@30/60fps.
• Battery: 6210mAh; 100W wired, PD3.0, QC3+, 100W PPS, 100% in 37 min, 22.5W reverse wired.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.4, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, LHDC 5.0, ASHA, Auracast; NFC; Infrared port.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); stereo speakers (with Dolby Atmos).

The camera system is also seeing a significant change, at least the one on the back. The familiar 50MP main camera is now joined by a dedicated zoom camera with 2.5x optical magnification, alongside the 8MP ultrawide unit from before.

Unlike most Android phone upgrades in the second half of this year, the Poco F8 Pro introduces a rather modest upgrade in the battery department. It's now 6,210 mAh, up from the 6,000 mAh cell before. However, the charging speed has been bumped up to 100W using Xiaomi's proprietary HyperCharge charger.

As you can see, the upgrades are somewhat small, but still notable, making the Poco F8 Pro even more competitive. So, let's take a closer look and see how it stacks against the competition.

Unboxing the Poco F8 Pro

The Poco F8 Pro comes in a standard retail box containing the usual quick start guide, a USB-C to USB-A cable for charging and data transfer along with a soft silicone case.

The 100W HyperCharge charger isn't included in the EU retail package so you will have to buy one separately.