Poco M4 5G review

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.