Good but just the right price. POCO X4 Pro 5G – review

I will not rediscover the wheel if I write that the most happening among smartphones from the so-called middle shelf. It even got to the point that the “middle class” ones can be divided into cheaper and more expensive ones. The POCO X4 Pro 5G belongs to this category, but it can be placed somewhere closer to the cheaper ones. All because the smartphone after its debut in Poland was valued at PLN 1499 in the 6/128 GB version. How is it now? And now you can find promotions and it is much cheaper. And in the case of this smartphone, it is mainly the price that determines whether it is worth having. Before I write about POCO for good, I want to refer to Xiaomi, which is clearly lost. The company releases new smartphones like crazy and it often happens that we have two or even three same smartphones only under a different name. And I refer to it for a reason, because POCO X4 Pro 5G is in terms of specifications the same as Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G. Seemingly separate brands, but you can see that we get one and the same product only in a different package. Seriously, smartphones have the same specification and differ only in the housing. It’s a bit like in school days – take a change just so that the guy doesn’t get it.

How is the performance of the POCO X4 Pro 5G?

The first POCO smartphone, i.e. Pocophone F1, was to show that you can make a cheap smartphone with the best processor known from flagships. Then it was 2018 and the Snapdragon 845 processor. Let’s say that they also practiced it in the next smartphones, but the more models appeared, the more it blurred. They put the Snapdragon 695 into such a POCO X4 Pro 5G, a processor with eight cores and 5G, but positioned lower. Well, it started, so right away, at the beginning of the review, let’s have the performance issue behind us.POCO X4 Pro 5G Why not a top chip? On the one hand, a smartphone with “Pro” in its name should have the best processor possible. As it was before, which in some way distinguished POCO smartphones and once OnePlus. Let’s agree, such smartphones were chosen mainly by younger people who wanted the best processor at the lowest possible price. You know to spend the whole day in Fortnajt and boast to your friends that they gave a little over a thousand for the phone and have a better processor than in the AIFON for 4 times that. The only problem is that not everything can be crammed into a specific price. If you can get a top processor, you have to take a little off the camera. This has been the case with almost every POCO smartphone.

On the other hand, the 695 is not such a weak processor

This is the most powerful unit before the appearance of the system with the changed nomenclature (Snapdragon 6 Gen 1) and a processor for “mid-range” supports supporting 5G connectivity. I am sure that you will not see much difference in the aforementioned Fortnaire (and maybe the phone will heat up less), but performance is not everything. We will not record POCO X4 Pro 5G more than Full HD in 30 frames, because the processor does not understand it. Honestly, I’d happily kick out 5G and add better video quality in its place.POCO X4 Pro 5G How is this performance? I would say how it is in the mid-range Xiaomi. For the Snapdragon 695 processor we have to add a satisfactorily fast UFS 2.2 memory (but not the fastest, in POCO X3 Pro it was UFS 3.1), a display with 120 Hz refresh and an overloaded MIUI 13 overlay. much better. For the smartphone to work perfectly smoothly and without the slightest stutter, these elements must, in a way, harmonize well with each other. Each of them has an impact on the comfort of using the smartphone and if one does not require it, it is not going well. POCO X4 Pro 5G hardware is fine, but when using it, I had the impression that everything is broken by the overlay. This is not the usual MIUI, but MIUI prepared for POCO, so maybe there is something wrong here. Anyway, it could be felt that there is a “faster” screen, because I can always see the difference between 60 and 120 or even 90 hertz. The processor was also doing well, because even after some playing, the case did not heat up that much. But when switching between applications faster, closing applications or even moving desktops, animations were too often torn and there were obvious jams not to write about it.

When I had POCO X4 Pro 5G at home, it sent at least two updates, including one really large, weighing 3.1 GB

MIUI 13 was marked as stable and had security updates valid for July 2022. The default desktop manager is of course POCO Launcher, which has its pluses, such as the fact that there is a pierdyliard of personalization possibilities. And these are such icons, and this is such a layout, and this is transition effects, apps in a drawer or not, font size, and so on. But what if the overlay was made a trash, because there are tons of pre-installed applications commonly considered clogging and unnecessary. Not to write more sharply. I counted 16 of them myself, and I still didn’t take into account Facebook, Netflix or TikTok. I understand that partners, but if you want to add so much? I definitely liked the system bar, where there are large and legible switches. The bar is double, which means that by lowering it more to the right we have buttons, and by doing the same on the left, notifications (if any) are shown. You can also get used to it, although I admit that when I tested the first phone with this solution, I turned my nose. In the system we also have a reading mode, manually selected refresh rate, where you can set 60 or 120 Hz (I have not seen an automatic option anywhere), clear or a dark color scheme, a few gestures (including a double tap on the fingerprint sensor) or one-handed mode.

And how is it with the workmanship and the screen?

POCO X4 Pro 5G has rather standard proportions and dimensions for a smartphone with a 6.67-inch display. However, it managed to slim down a bit (205 g) and slimmer (8.1 mm) compared to its predecessor. We are dealing here with a classic “sandwich” where two glass panes are joined by a plastic frame. In terms of quality, it’s not bad, but I have some reservations. First of all, you can feel that the glass on the back is not like in the more expensive models and I will not cut anything, but I have concerns if it is glass at all. Secondly, you can immediately see and feel when you pick up the phone that the frame is made of plastic. Overall, such a “plasticity” of this smartphone is strongly felt, but on such a balanced level. I mean, I had more expensive smartphones in my hands where the feeling of the housing was similar.POCO X4 Pro 5G For the first time in my life, I was not so disturbed by the island with cameras. Generally, such a thickening on the top of the smartphone is never good, but here we have at least one plus that the phone does not wobble when placed on a flat surface. All because the island is stretched across the width of the smartphone. The POCO inscription and information that the main camera has 108 Mpix could not be missing there. I got the black version (Laser Black), which is not black live. Depending on the lighting, it comes in graphite, navy blue and gray colors. An interesting pattern is also created on the casing, which you can see in the photos below. I associate it with pillars of light that appear in the sky at night during concerts or other events.POCO X4 Pro 5G
POCO X4 Pro 5G is even pleasant in the hand, has a flat screen, which also has a huge plus and a frame that does not finger, but the housing cruelly collects dust. It is especially visible near the cameras.

So-so camera

The smartphone has three cameras on the back and as I mentioned, the main one has 108 megapixels. In addition, there are two more with a wide-angle lens and for macro photos. Of course, there is no optical image stabilization in any of them. Well, the photos of madness do not do and are at best correct. During the day they are acceptable, but as soon as there is artificial light and we want to focus on something in such conditions, the camera loses. You can also see the difference in colors in photos taken with different lenses (a few examples are below) The camera should be better, the more that due to the lower positioned processor we do not have 4K or even Full HD recording with more than 30 frames per second.Wide-angle shot, normal and 2x zoom:Normal and 2x zoom photos:

The battery is a strong advantage

If I were to mention only the three most important advantages of this smartphone, the battery would certainly be among them, and not in the last place. The POCO X4 Pro 5G has a 5000 mAh battery under the housing, but the capacity is not the most important here. Yes, a lot of those milliampere hours, but the fast charging is also impressive. The adapter is included and works with a power of 67 W, while supporting Quick Charge 3.0 and Power Delivery.

The smartphone takes about 54 minutes for the battery to charge to 100%

Immediately after connecting, the wattmeter showed 64.75 W, and the closer to the end of charging, the lower the charging power. It’s normal. After 10%, the charger “gave” about 52 W, around 65% it was half as much, at 90% it was 20 W, and at the end it dropped to about 9 W. The temperature of the adapter was 43.7 ° C, and the phone housing was 37.8 ° C. There is no wireless charging at all, and you shouldn’t even dream of turning it back in this price range.

The POCO X4 Pro 5G is … tolerable

The smartphone, like the previously tested Xiaomi Band 7, came to me from the Hekka store. I added a tracking link because that’s how I got along with them. I don’t have any of this, but the store at least knows the clicks are from Galactic if you click of course. This will allow you to arrange other equipment for the test in the future. Like something with the galactic10 code you have a 9 euro discount (͡ ~ ͜ʖ ͡ °)POCO X4 Pro 5G POCO X4 Pro 5G is technically a really good and surprising smartphone. It’s doing efficiently, and it would have been even better if it hadn’t been for the software overflowing with junk. This is a bane of smartphones from this shelf, especially from Xiaomi. Fortunately, most of these advertising plugs can be uninstalled, and this will be good for the smartphone. On the strengths, you need to replace the extremely efficient fingerprint reader on the right side hidden in the power button or very pleasant vibrations that can be mistaken for more advanced, haptic ones. There is NFC, there are real stereo speakers and even a mini jack has not been abandoned. A surprise is also the infrared LED, which with the dedicated Mi Remote application turns the smartphone into a universal remote control. It’s a pity that MIUI on this smartphone is what it is, and the smartphone does not reach a bit in terms of the camera. In terms of performance, it loses to its predecessor, the POCO X3 Pro, but considering the overall design, it suits me better, mainly due to the design and some functions. POCO X4 Pro 5G, however, is too expensive at the start, so you have to hunt for it in promotions. I used to see him for PLN 1249, which was already good, but the closer we get to the thousand, the better. Both for our wallet, but also for the attractiveness of this smartphone.