Poco M4 5G review

GSMArena Team, 15 August 2022.

MIUI 13 on top of Android 12

The Poco M4 5G runs Android 12 with MIUI 13 on top. This is a fairly new combo to have out of the box, which is appreciated.

Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review

Anyway, the new MIUI 13 promises under-the-hood improvements such as better RAM management, CPU utilization and more effective storage use. Overall, looks haven't changed, and previous MIUI users will feel right at home.

Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review

The split between a notification shade and Control Center is enabled by default this time, and that's probably a good thing. We found it to be quite convenient, and it's a way to educate users about MIUI's unique approach to the UI. And in case you are not a fan, you can always revert back to the standard notification shade with quick toggles in one place.

Home screen, notification shade, Control center - Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review Home screen, notification shade, Control center - Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review Home screen, notification shade, Control center - Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review Home screen, notification shade, Control center - Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review
Home screen, notification shade, Control center

The home screen, recent apps and the general settings menu are business as usual. The app drawer is also enabled by default, and we like that Xiaomi has placed the search bar at the bottom of the screen for easier reach. There are custom and preset app categories for faster navigation.

Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review

Unlike the standard recent apps menu, MIUI's one lists the apps in a vertical arrangement and provides several useful shortcuts.

Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review

That's where you can open up apps in floating windows. However, you can keep only one open at a time.

Recent apps, app drawer - Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review Recent apps, app drawer - Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review
Recent apps, app drawer

The Sidebar shortcut menu is absent on the Poco M4 5G. In the absence of its convenient way of spawning floating windows for apps, you have to do that through a quick toggle in the command center on the M4 5G. It's not too much of a hassle, and the floating windows themselves work in the same familiar fashion with sort of predefined zones they can go in and sizes.

Floating app windows - Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review Floating app windows - Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review
Floating app windows

Customization is, as always, a big part of MIUI. Since the Poco M4 5G lacks an OLED panel and an under-display fingerprint reader, the always-on display and fingerprint animation customization menus are absent. You can still theme the device, though. Aside from the themes pre-installed on the device, a theme store gives you a wide selection. The themes themselves change not only the general appearance but also ringtones and system icons.

Themes - Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review Themes - Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review Themes - Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review
Themes

Moving on to privacy and security, MIUI has come with a pre-installed system Security app. Aside from the additional malware protection layer it provides, the app holds many of the app settings and privacy features in one place. It can manage your blacklist, manage or restrict your data usage, configure battery behavior, and free up some RAM. It can also manage the permissions of your installed apps, define the battery behavior of selected apps, and apply restrictions only to certain apps.

Xiaomi Security app - Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review Xiaomi Security app - Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review
Xiaomi Security app

Speaking of security, we already mentioned that the side-mounted capacitive fingerprint reader on the Poco M4 5G is very snappy and reliable. Unfortunately, in the absence of an in-display fingerprint reader, the nifty quick shortcuts interface from the lock screen is missing too. You can still adjust the behavior of the reader and make it require pressing the button to work or not. A double press of the power button can also quickly launch the camera. And there is a dedicated lock screen pane with additional quick Mi device controls and a flashlight toggle to use. These appear when you swipe left on the phone's lock screen.

Fingerprint and power button options, device controls lock screen - Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review Fingerprint and power button options, device controls lock screen - Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review Fingerprint and power button options, device controls lock screen - Xiaomi Poco M4 5G review
Fingerprint and power button options, device controls lock screen

All in all, MIUI 13 changed a little over the 12th iteration, but it's just as snappy and customizable as ever. The OS is still colorful and cheerful as ever, with plenty of attention to detail in things like animations and small design elements. Everything looks crisp and flows well, even on more modest hardware like in the Poco M4 5G. MIUI 13 is one of the most refined custom Android experiences around these days, and even on the M4 5G, it feels responsive and snappy.

Synthetic performance

Speaking of snappy UX, we should take a closer look at how the Poco M4 5G performs. One of its downgrades compared to the Poco M4 Pro 5G is the switch to a Dimensity 700 chipset - essentially MediaTek's entry-level 5G offer. Despite that standing, the Dimensity 700 is still a pretty decent modern chip. It is made on a 7 nm N7 manufacturing node and packs a 2x2.2 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55 CPU setup, plus a Mali-G57 MC2 GPU - same as the Dimensity 810 and the Helio G96. The Poco M4 5G pairs that chip with either 4GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 64GB of UFS 2.2 expandable storage or 6GB of RAM and 128GB of ROM. There is also 2GB of virtual software RAM on top of that.

We have the higher-tier 6GB plus 128GB model for this review.

Let's kick things off without further ado with some CPU tests and GeekBench. Unsurprisingly, the Dimensity 700 does well within the budget price range. It manages to outpace competing Qualcomm solutions like the Snapdragon 678 and 680, as well as most G-series MediaTek Helio chips.

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

  • Realme 8i
    1886
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
    1873
  • Poco M4 Pro
    1836
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
    1820
  • Poco M4 Pro 5G
    1797
  • Realme 8 5G
    1784
  • Realme Narzo 30 5G
    1783
  • Tecno Camon 19 Pro
    1734
  • Poco M4 5G
    1730
  • Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
    1719
  • Realme 8
    1690
  • Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
    1673
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
    1662
  • Samsung Galaxy A23
    1632
  • Motorola Moto G50
    1620
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
    1599
  • Poco M3
    1398
  • Samsung Galaxy A22
    1372
  • Xiaomi Redmi 10
    1294
  • Samsung Galaxy A32
    1277
  • Motorola Moto G30
    1265
  • Nokia G21
    1193
  • Samsung Galaxy A03s
    889
  • Samsung Galaxy A13
    588

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

  • Poco M4 Pro 5G
    597
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
    588
  • Realme Narzo 30 5G
    572
  • Realme 8 5G
    569
  • Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
    560
  • Poco M4 5G
    552
  • Realme 8i
    539
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
    534
  • Realme 8
    533
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
    526
  • Poco M4 Pro
    523
  • Tecno Camon 19 Pro
    512
  • Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
    505
  • Motorola Moto G50
    505
  • Samsung Galaxy A23
    380
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
    376
  • Samsung Galaxy A22
    376
  • Xiaomi Redmi 10
    361
  • Samsung Galaxy A32
    361
  • Nokia G21
    311
  • Poco M3
    308
  • Motorola Moto G30
    306
  • Samsung Galaxy A03s
    179
  • Samsung Galaxy A13
    153

The Helio G96 manages to be competitive with the Dimensity 700 and the Poco M4 5G and even slightly outpace it in some multi-core loads, but the latter is still better in single-threaded loads thanks to the higher 2.2GHz clock speed of its two Cortex-A76 CPU cores.

AnTuTu is a much more compound benchmark with GPU tests that also considers things like memory and storage. The Poco M4 5G holds up well in this category as well, though not the best out of its Dimensity 700 peers.

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

  • Realme 8 5G
    361505
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
    360255
  • Realme 8
    357488
  • Poco M4 Pro 5G
    353663
  • Tecno Camon 19 Pro
    348546
  • Poco M4 5G
    336380
  • Poco M4 Pro
    318444
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
    308741
  • Realme 8i
    308544
  • Motorola Moto G50
    286916
  • Samsung Galaxy A23
    273554
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
    244526
  • Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
    223188
  • Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
    222125
  • Nokia G21
    171299
  • Samsung Galaxy A22
    165959
  • Samsung Galaxy A13
    136286
  • Samsung Galaxy A03s
    101299

As we move on to GFXBench and graphics benchmarks, we should talk about the MediaTek Helio G95. It is an older chip at this point in time but one that has a distinct GPU advantage over most of the competition since it has four Mali-G76 GPU cores. It is a clear neck above the crowd when it comes to gaming performance.

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • Motorola Moto G50
    19
  • Realme 8
    12
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
    9.2
  • Samsung Galaxy A22
    9.2
  • Motorola Moto G30
    9.1
  • Poco M4 5G
    8.5
  • Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
    8.4
  • Poco M4 Pro
    8.3
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
    8.3
  • Tecno Camon 19 Pro
    8.1
  • Nokia G21
    6
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
    5.6
  • Samsung Galaxy A32
    5
  • Samsung Galaxy A23
    4.7
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
    4.6
  • Samsung Galaxy A13
    3.3
  • Poco M3
    2.8

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

  • Realme 8
    7.7
  • Motorola Moto G50
    6.4
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
    6.1
  • Poco M4 5G
    5.7
  • Tecno Camon 19 Pro
    5.7
  • Poco M4 Pro
    5.5
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
    5.5
  • Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
    5.5
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
    3.7
  • Samsung Galaxy A22
    3.3
  • Samsung Galaxy A32
    3.3
  • Samsung Galaxy A23
    3.2
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
    3.1
  • Poco M3
    2.8
  • Motorola Moto G30
    2.8
  • Samsung Galaxy A13
    2.2
  • Nokia G21
    1.9

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • Motorola Moto G50
    20
  • Realme 8
    11
  • Samsung Galaxy A22
    9.4
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
    8.7
  • Motorola Moto G30
    8.7
  • Poco M4 5G
    7.8
  • Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
    7.8
  • Poco M4 Pro
    7.7
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
    7.7
  • Tecno Camon 19 Pro
    7.5
  • Nokia G21
    5.6
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
    5.3
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
    4.8
  • Samsung Galaxy A23
    4.6
  • Samsung Galaxy A32
    4.4
  • Poco M3
    4.1
  • Samsung Galaxy A13
    3.4

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

  • Realme 8
    7.5
  • Motorola Moto G50
    6.7
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
    5.6
  • Tecno Camon 19 Pro
    5.3
  • Poco M4 5G
    5.1
  • Poco M4 Pro
    5.1
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
    5.1
  • Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
    5.1
  • Poco M3
    4.2
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
    3.5
  • Samsung Galaxy A23
    3.2
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
    3.1
  • Samsung Galaxy A22
    2.9
  • Samsung Galaxy A32
    2.9
  • Motorola Moto G30
    2.8
  • Samsung Galaxy A13
    2.3
  • Nokia G21
    1.8

Setting aside the Helio G95 for a bit on the other side of the spectrum, we find the Dimensity 700, Dimensity 810 and the Helio G96 all perform basically identically in GPU tests, scoring within margin of error from one another. Another expected development since all three chips share the same dual-core Mali-G57 GPU setup.

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • Realme 8
    18
  • Samsung Galaxy A22
    16
  • Motorola Moto G50
    15
  • Poco M4 Pro 5G
    13
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
    13
  • Realme 8 5G
    13
  • Motorola Moto G30
    13
  • Realme Narzo 30 5G
    13
  • Poco M4 5G
    12
  • Poco M4 Pro
    12
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
    12
  • Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
    12
  • Tecno Camon 19 Pro
    11
  • Realme 8i
    11
  • Nokia G21
    8.9
  • Samsung Galaxy A32
    8.1
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
    7.9
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
    6.8
  • Samsung Galaxy A23
    6.7
  • Poco M3
    5.9
  • Samsung Galaxy A03s
    5.5
  • Samsung Galaxy A13
    5.2

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

  • Realme 8
    20
  • Poco M4 Pro 5G
    16
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
    16
  • Motorola Moto G50
    16
  • Poco M4 5G
    15
  • Tecno Camon 19 Pro
    15
  • Realme 8 5G
    15
  • Realme Narzo 30 5G
    15
  • Poco M4 Pro
    14
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
    14
  • Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
    14
  • Realme 8i
    14
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
    9.3
  • Samsung Galaxy A22
    9.3
  • Samsung Galaxy A32
    9.3
  • Samsung Galaxy A23
    8.3
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
    8
  • Motorola Moto G30
    7.3
  • Poco M3
    7.2
  • Samsung Galaxy A13
    6.2
  • Nokia G21
    5.2
  • Samsung Galaxy A03s
    3.5

Having twice as many GPU cores is an advantage for the G95 that trickles down the entire GPU test stack as well, with fps number deltas remaining similar or, in some cases, even increasing as the tests go down in difficulty.

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • Motorola Moto G50
    53
  • Samsung Galaxy A22
    30
  • Realme 8
    29
  • Motorola Moto G30
    26
  • Poco M4 Pro 5G
    23
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
    23
  • Realme 8i
    22
  • Realme 8 5G
    22
  • Realme Narzo 30 5G
    22
  • Poco M4 5G
    21
  • Poco M4 Pro
    21
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
    21
  • Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
    21
  • Tecno Camon 19 Pro
    20
  • Nokia G21
    17
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
    15
  • Samsung Galaxy A03s
    14
  • Samsung Galaxy A32
    13
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
    12
  • Samsung Galaxy A23
    12
  • Poco M3
    11
  • Samsung Galaxy A13
    8.3

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

  • Realme 8
    33
  • Motorola Moto G50
    29
  • Poco M4 Pro 5G
    26
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
    26
  • Poco M4 5G
    25
  • Tecno Camon 19 Pro
    25
  • Realme 8 5G
    25
  • Realme Narzo 30 5G
    25
  • Poco M4 Pro
    24
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
    24
  • Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
    24
  • Realme 8i
    24
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
    17
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
    15
  • Samsung Galaxy A23
    15
  • Samsung Galaxy A22
    15
  • Samsung Galaxy A32
    15
  • Motorola Moto G30
    14
  • Poco M3
    13
  • Samsung Galaxy A13
    9.4
  • Nokia G21
    8.5
  • Samsung Galaxy A03s
    7.9

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • Realme 8
    48
  • Samsung Galaxy A22
    42
  • Motorola Moto G50
    40
  • Poco M4 Pro 5G
    37
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
    36
  • Realme 8 5G
    35
  • Realme Narzo 30 5G
    35
  • Poco M4 5G
    34
  • Motorola Moto G30
    34
  • Poco M4 Pro
    33
  • Tecno Camon 19 Pro
    33
  • Realme 8i
    33
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
    32
  • Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
    31
  • Nokia G21
    24
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
    21
  • Samsung Galaxy A32
    21
  • Samsung Galaxy A03s
    19
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
    18
  • Samsung Galaxy A23
    18
  • Poco M3
    17
  • Samsung Galaxy A13
    14

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

  • Motorola Moto G50
    65
  • Realme 8
    53
  • Poco M4 Pro 5G
    40
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
    40
  • Poco M4 5G
    39
  • Tecno Camon 19 Pro
    39
  • Realme 8 5G
    38
  • Realme Narzo 30 5G
    38
  • Poco M4 Pro
    37
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
    37
  • Realme 8i
    37
  • Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
    32
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
    24
  • Samsung Galaxy A22
    24
  • Samsung Galaxy A32
    24
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
    21
  • Samsung Galaxy A23
    20
  • Motorola Moto G30
    20
  • Poco M3
    19
  • Samsung Galaxy A13
    16
  • Nokia G21
    14
  • Samsung Galaxy A03s
    11

Even so, the Poco M4 5G and its Dimensity 700 chipset maintain a strong presence.

3DMark has historically offered a more clean and clear-cut graphics performance comparison across devices with its suit of off-screen rendering tests that don't take display resolution into account. The picture 3DMark paints is impressively consistent with all of the observations we've made thus far. Namely that the Dimensity 700 inside the Poco M4 5G is not as potent as the Helio G95 and is about equal to the Helio G96 and Dimensity 810. Looking at the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G, however, and its Dimensity 720 chipset shows that just one more additional Mali-G57 GPU core is enough to essentially catch up to G95 levels of performance. The deltas we are dealing with here are really not that big or substantial.

3DMark SSE ES 3.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

  • Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
    2638
  • Realme 8
    2610
  • Poco M4 5G
    2514
  • Tecno Camon 19 Pro
    2444
  • Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
    2391
  • Realme Narzo 30 5G
    2357
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
    1471
  • Samsung Galaxy A22
    1361
  • Samsung Galaxy A32
    1323
  • Samsung Galaxy A23
    1320
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
    1316
  • Motorola Moto G30
    1185
  • Poco M3
    1175
  • Nokia G21
    962
  • Samsung Galaxy A13
    886

3DMark SSE Vulkan 1.0 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

  • Realme 8
    2639
  • Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
    2509
  • Poco M4 5G
    2419
  • Tecno Camon 19 Pro
    2399
  • Realme Narzo 30 5G
    2260
  • Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
    2257
  • Samsung Galaxy A22
    1383
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
    1372
  • Samsung Galaxy A32
    1371
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
    1267
  • Samsung Galaxy A23
    1261
  • Motorola Moto G30
    1142
  • Poco M3
    1106
  • Samsung Galaxy A13
    931
  • Nokia G21
    930

3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

  • Realme 8
    1486
  • Poco M4 Pro 5G
    1232
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
    1231
  • Tecno Camon 19 Pro
    1187
  • Poco M4 5G
    1186
  • Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
    1185
  • Realme Narzo 30 5G
    1105
  • Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
    1104
  • Realme 8 5G
    1104
  • Realme 8i
    1102
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
    1101
  • Poco M4 Pro
    1099
  • Samsung Galaxy A22
    691
  • Samsung Galaxy A32
    686
  • Samsung Galaxy A13
    510
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
    482
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
    439
  • Samsung Galaxy A23
    429
  • Nokia G21
    403
  • Motorola Moto G30
    389
  • Poco M3
    368

Overall, the Poco M4 5G offers solid performance. The Dimensity 700 is a solid choice for the price. It is well equipped and pretty comparable to chips like the Dimensity 810 and Helio G96. MIUI 13 runs smoothly and is very snappy. We never felt strapped for performance while using the phone.

Reader comments

  • Varma Chowdary
  • 10 Nov 2023
  • CbI

very very bad software 😭😭😭

  • B
  • 27 Oct 2022
  • gNR

Lie, my battery life is low compare to xiami other phone worth 9thousand.. I wasted 4,5thousand..disapointed

  • AnonD-454049
  • 12 Sep 2022
  • X%B

I agree with that but the reality is that manufacturers do not care, especially xiaomi because of their razor thin profit margins so they cut more corners compared to apple or samsung.