Poco M4 Pro/Redmi Note 11T 5G review

Introduction

The Poco M4 Pro is now available worldwide, and we can already see it as one of the season's bestsellers. It is a sensible upgrade over the Poco M3 Pro 5G with a larger and more colorful display, an improved rear camera setup, speedier charging, and stereo speakers. And most importantly, it's still incredibly cheap.

The Poco M4 Pro and the India-only Redmi Note 11T 5G are pretty much identical, so our review conclusions based on the Poco should pretty much apply to the Redmi.

Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11T 5G

The new Poco M4 Pro is built around a 6.6-inch IPS LCD screen with 1080p resolution and adaptive 90Hz refresh rate. Other than the slight increase in size, the new display also supports DCI-P3 colors instead of sRGB on the M3 Pro. It also has an improved touch panel with a 240Hz sensing rate vs. 180Hz on the Poco M3 Pro.

The Dimensity 810 5G chipset is at the heart of the Poco M4 Pro 5G - a trivial update over the Dimensity 700 5G in the Poco M3 Pro 5G. The new chipset offers a minor increase in the CPU clock, but it is also built on a more efficient manufacturing process. This won't make for a noticeable difference in real life, at least today, but it's still an improvement, nevertheless.

Xiaomi is done with the camera count game and is putting an end to those mostly obsolete cameras like depth sensors and underwhelming macro shooters. This new Poco M4 Pro 5G has a traditional dual-camera on the back with a 50MP primary shooter and an 8MP ultrawide snapper, which may be one camera less than on the Poco M3 Pro, yet more versatile - the M3 had no ultrawide snapper.

The Poco M4 Pro 5G has a large 5,000mAh battery, which now supports much faster 33W charging, and you bet this power adapter is part of the retail bundle. Xiaomi promises a full charge in 59 minutes, and we will put that to the test for sure.

Finally, the Poco M4 Pro 5G is what makes this device such a sweet deal - the 4/64 version retails at €230, while some early birds will be able to get it at €200 at launch. Yes, we are intrigued.

Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G specs at a glance:

• Body: 163.6x75.8x8.8mm, 195g; Gorilla Glass 3 front, plastic back, plastic frame, IP53-rated for dust and splash protection
• Display: 6.60" IPS LCD, 90Hz, 450 nits (typ), 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 399ppi.
• Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 810 5G (6 nm): Octa-core (2x2.4 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G57 MC2.
• Memory: 64GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM; UFS 2.2; microSDXC.
• OS/Software: Android 11, MIUI 12.5.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 119˚.
• Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.5, (wide).
• Video capture: Rear camera: 1080p@30/60fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 5000mAh; Fast charging 33W, 100% in 59 min (advertised).
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); Infrared port; 3.5mm jack.

The Poco M4 Pro 5G is IP53-certified for dust and splash resistance, just like many of the recent Redmi and Poco phones. This means the device will probably survive light splashes and should be fine in light rain and humid regions.

Now that there are no macro and no depth camera, we are yet to see if the Portrait mode will suffer, or the AI algorithms will make up for the lost hardware. Let's hope it's the latter case.

Unboxing the Poco M4 Pro 5G

You cannot mistake the iconic yellow box of Poco and the M4 Pro 5G, just like the previous Poco phones arrives in such a catchy carton.

Inside, you'll find a 33W power adapter, a 3A rated USB cable, and a transparent rubber case for additional protection.

The case compartment also houses some paperwork, the SIM ejection PIN, and several POCO stickers for the fans that like to declare their love for the brand publicly.