Poco M5s review

Introduction

The Poco M5s we have with us today premiered side by side with the Poco M5 - a sub-€250 duo aimed at the EU market. The standard Poco M5 was also launched in India, but this Poco M5s did not make it there.

If we were to simplify this comparison, we'd say that the Poco M5 has a 90Hz LCD screen, while the Poco M5s uses a 60Hz OLED and a better camera setup all-round. This is why we decided to focus our attention on the more feature-rich Poco M5s.

And yes, Xiaomi has done it again, unsurprisingly. The Poco M5s is, in fact, a rebranded Redmi Note 10S, which was released more than a year ago across EU and Asia. And while India is not getting the M5s, it got the Redmi Note 11 SE device in August, which is another twin device. You can see all three compared here or check out the specs links below.

Xiaomi Poco M5s • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10S • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 SE (India)

Now that we cleared the latest Xiaomi branding nonsense, let's explore this Poco M5s.

The M5s offers a 6.43-inch 1080p OLED with premium brightness capabilities. The refresh rate is limited to 60Hz, though, despite the M5s having a more powerful chipset and a better panel than the M5 with its 90Hz LCD.

Speaking of hardware, the M5s is based on the Helio G95, a platform that offers a 2+6 CPU and a quad-core Mali-G76 MC4 GPU that should do pretty well for gaming on the go. You can choose between 4GB and 6GB of RAM and 64GB and 128GB of expandable storage.

In addition to the brighter OLED, the M5s also beats the cheaper M5 in the camera department. The Poco M5s offers four cameras on its back - a 64MP primary, an 8MP ultrawide, a 2MP macro and a 2MP depth sensor. There is no UW camera on the M5, and the primary resolution is 50MP.

The selfies cam is better on the M5s, too, a 13MP eye vs. a 5MP selfie on the M5.

The Poco M5s offers a pretty rich connectivity package sans 5G - it's got dual-SIM with two dedicated SIM beds, 4G LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi, NFC, FM radio, a 3.5mm jack, IR port. The phone runs on Android 12 with MIUI 13.

The Poco M5s supports 33W fast wired charging for its large 5,000mAh battery, and the maker advertises 64% charge in 30 minutes. We will see about that in a bit.

Finally, the Poco M5s is a splash-resistant device with an IP53 rating, and it sure is better than nothing.

Xiaomi Poco M5s specs at a glance:

• Body: 160.5x74.5x8.3mm, 179g; glass front, plastic frame, plastic back; IP53, dust and splash resistant.
• Display: 6.43" AMOLED, 450 nits (typ), 700 nits (HBM), 1100 nits (peak), 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 409ppi.
• Chipset: Mediatek Helio G95 (12 nm): Octa-core (2x2.05 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G76 MC4.
• Memory: 64GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM; UFS 2.2; microSDXC (dedicated slot).
• OS/Software: Android 12, MIUI 13.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/1.97", 0.7µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 118˚, 1/4.0", 1.12µm; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4; Depth: 2 MP, f/2.4.
• Front camera: 13 MP, f/2.4, (wide), 1/3.06", 1.12µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, 720p@960fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 5000mAh; Fast charging 33W, 64% in 30 min (advertised).
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); NFC; FM radio; Infrared port; 3.5mm jack; stereo speakers; Virtual proximity sensing.

Okay, for a phone that's available for €210, we cannot think of any missing essential feature. The M5s seems like a great bang-for-the-buck device, so without further ado, let's get this thing out of its box.

Unboxing the Poco M5s

The Poco M5s arrives in a large box painted with Poco's signature yellow color. There are plenty of accessories inside.

The M5s is bundled with a 33W charger and a 3A-rated USB-A-to-C cable. Then there is a soft transparent case for some extra protection and a SIM ejection tool.

Finally, there is a thin protective film inside the box, which you have to apply by yourself. Other Xiaomi-made phones usually have this pre-applied in the factory.