Poco X4 GT review

Competition

There's plenty of competition to go through in the said price range, especially since the Poco X4 GT is currently being sold for an early bird price of €300 before returning to its original €380 price tag. For a €300, the handset is definitely a steal, and only a few can challenge the rather powerful hardware the X3 GT has to offer.

Undoubtedly, the Dimensity 8100 chipset is the key selling point here, and the X4 GT seems to be utilizing it pretty well, given the benchmark and the sustained performance test results. Long battery life and fast charging are also considerable advantages.

Unfortunately, for most, the device settles for a less-than-ideal IPS LCD panel. At least compared to rivals that run on OLEDs, that is. On the other hand, It's a decent IPS panel. It has sufficient brightness, 144Hz refresh rate and supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Not the best HDR experience, though, since local dimming is inferior to the one offered by OLED panels.

Without further ado, let's dive into the deep oceans of midrangers.

Realme's 9 Pro+, which currently sells for around €330, is a nice trade-off example of how the X4 GT would have turned out if it didn't go for the powerful Dimensity 8100 SoC. Realme went for a more balanced approach with the 9 Pro+ as it has an arguably better, albeit slower, 90Hz OLED panel but also a less powerful Dimensity 920 SoC. Overall camera performance is better on the 9 Pro+ due to its optically-stabilized 50MP camera with bigger sensor. Battery life is also on the contender's side as well as charging speed. It all comes down to what you prefer - picture quality and camera performance or pure horsepower. If it's the latter, the X4 GT will most likely be more suitable for you.

Realme 9 Pro+ • Samsung Galaxy A53 5G • Xiaomi Poco F4 • OnePlus Nord 2T

The same logic applies in the case of the Poco X4 GT vs. Samsung's Galaxy A53 5G dilemma. The latter may win you over with a superior OLED panel and better photo quality, but the performance gap between the Exynos 1280 chip and the Dimensity 8100 is substantial. Battery life is comparable, but the Poco has way faster at charging. Oh, and those of you looking for expandable storage and/or proper IP67 certification, the Galaxy A53 5G is one of the few to offer them in the mid-€300.

Thinking about going for the Poco F series? Well, the Poco F4 is the closest alternative to the X4 GT as it's currently selling for around €350 - a tad cheaper than the X4 GT's regular price. But it only has the 120Hz OLED display as a strong argument. The X4 GT runs on a more powerful SoC (Dimensity 8100 vs. Snapdragon 870), it has a bigger battery, and as a result, longer endurance, clearer speakers and takes better photos overall, especially during the day.

And even though we haven't had the chance to thoroughly test the OnePlus Nord 2T, it seems like a solid alternative, despite being more expensive than the rest of the handsets on the list here. However, if you are buying it from third-party retailers, the €380 price tag matches the regular pricing of the X4 GT. The device boasts solid camera performance, long battery life and a nice OLED display. But once again, the X4 GT's Dimensity 8100 is hard to beat in this price bracket.

Verdict

It would have been great to say that the X4 GT is an excellent all-rounder and an easy-to-recommend handset. It has a long battery life, a powerful chipset on board, a decent screen, fast charging, good-sounding stereo speakers and okay camera performance. But here's the thing - decent camera performance and display quality are not enough to stand out and keep us from giving the X4 GT an excellent score. Not that there's something inherently wrong with the LCD panel; it's just not on par with the majority of competing OLED-equipped solutions.

The 2x zoom mode, the low-light performance of the main camera and the selfie shooter all need a little bit of improvement, which we believe can be achieved through software optimization. On the other hand, there are a handful of options out there with bigger and better main sensors edging out the X4 GT in case photo quality is of great concern.

Nonetheless, the early bird price of €300 makes the handset particularly enticing, especially for users looking for a long-term, future-proof solution on a budget. And judging by past Poco releases, even the regular price will eventually come down to near €300 levels. If it only had an OLED panel, it would have been one of our go-to mid-range recommendations.

Pros

• The 144Hz IPS screen is of good quality.
• Solid battery life.
• Fast charging.
• Unrivaled price/performance ratio.
• Good camera performance during the day.
• Great-sounding stereo speakers.
• Mature and customizable MIUI 13 on top of Android 12

Cons

• Gone are the Gorilla Glass Victus and IP53 rated protection of the Poco X3 GT
• The 2x zoom mode and the selfie performance leave more to be desired.
• Most rivals use OLED panels.