Officially launched this week, the POCO X5 Pro 5G is the Chinese manufacturer’s new bet on the mid-range smartphone market. It arrives with the premise of maintaining the title of “good and cheap device” and delivers a “worthy” set.
That’s because it has an AMOLED screen with a rate of 120 Hz, Snapdragon 778G processor, 108 MP main camera and also a 5,000 mAh battery that supports 67W charging.
That is, an attractive technical sheet at first glance, but is it really a good smartphone? It is this question that we will try to answer in this hands-on held in partnership with HdBlog.
Without further ado, scroll down and find out more!
economy and market
06 Feb
Software
06 Feb
design and accessories
The POCO X5 Pro 5G maintains the Chinese manufacturer’s well-known design language and this is evident when observing the black band that accompanies the camera module.
On the front, the POCO X5 Pro’s AMOLED panel has few edges, but it’s clear that it still doesn’t surpass Samsung’s Galaxy S23. It is clear that we are talking about smartphones from completely different categories.
In any case, it is interesting to see that the POCO device “is getting there”, since even the hole in its display is small and worthy of a top of the line.
In addition, we have a light smartphone here, since the POCO X5 Pro weighs only 181 grams. The sides of the POCO X5 Pro are flattened and we have a smartphone made entirely of plastic.
In terms of connections, the intermediary has a USB-C port and, for the general joy of the nation, P2 connection for wired headphones. Finally, the POCO X5 Pro is a dual-SIM smartphone that operates on 5G technology, has Bluetooth 5.2 and dual-band Wi-Fi.
In the POCO X5 Pro box comes the smartphone, manuals, TPU case, SIM chip key, USB cable and also the 67 Watt fast charger.
Screen and Hardware
With a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen that has Full HD Plus resolution and supports a refresh rate of 120 Hz, the POCO X5 Pro does not deviate from the standard of its category. When it comes to brightness, the display delivers 500 nits and can reach 900 nits in very bright places.
The device also has a touch sampling rate of 240 Hz and this is very important for gamers. And speaking of games, the POCO X5 Pro’s Snapdragon 778G manages to deliver good performance in the most diverse day-to-day tasks and also in games.
In the version we had access to, we have 8 GB of RAM with 256 GB of internal storage. If necessary, you can expand the RAM virtually to gain an extra 3 GB.
A detail worth mentioning here is that the POCO X5 Pro is a smartphone that doesn’t get too hot, even if you spend long hours playing a heavy game.
Apparently, POCO knew how to make a good adjustment to the device’s cooling system and this is an important highlight.
Now, when it comes to autonomy, the 5,000 mAh makes the difference. The company certainly must have adjusted the software well so that it delivers two full days away from the outlet.
And if you do heavy use, the 67-watt charger in the box is something that can help you spend less time tethered to an outlet.
POCO X5 Pro
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76.03 x 162.91 x 7.9mm |
- 6.67-inch AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution
- Display with hole and rate of 120 Hz
- Snapdragon 778G Platform
- 6 GB or 8 GB of RAM
- 128 GB or 256 GB of internal storage
- 16 MP front camera
- Three rear cameras:
- Main lens with 108 MP sensor
- Ultrawide lens with 8 MP sensor
- Macro lens with 2 MP sensor
- 5G connection, Bluetooth 5.2, dual-band Wi-Fi, NFC, P2 and stereo sound
- 5,000 mAh battery with 67W charging
- Android 13 with MIUI 14 for POCO
Software
In terms of software, POCO X5 Pro has MIUI 14 for POCO and it’s basically the MIUI you already know, but with a new launcher. The system is fluid, has quick animations and that draws attention around here.
However, unfortunately we have here the already outdated Android 12. In a market where companies have finally started to pay attention to software support, buying a device with Android 12 at launch and, at this point in the championship, is something complicated to say the least .
That’s because the device can receive up to two major updates ahead, but one of them is Android 13. That is, it can theoretically die on Android 14, when it could go up to 15 if it had been announced with 13.
In any case, as usual, the system has a series of pre-installed applications and resources developed by the manufacturer, in addition to a series of themes for customization.
The game Turbo feature is, shall we say, an interesting application that allows you to customize your gaming experience. In addition, you can maximize the CPU and GPU, in addition to cleaning the RAM memory to have the maximum possible performance.
The feature also frees the user from seeing annoying notifications during the game. Finally, an honorable mention for the Always on Display mode because it works well and is very customizable.
cameras
The POCO X5 Pro has a 108-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens and another 2 megapixels for macro photos in its rear photographic assembly.
The front camera is 16 megapixels and is located inside that small hole in the display. Overall, the 108-megapixel camera does well in environments where any smartphone performs well. That is, on sunny days, open places, with good natural lighting or even in well-lit indoor environments.
The default photos are 12 megapixels and if you want to use the full power of 108 megapixels you will need to activate a specific mode in the camera software.
In this case, I can say that the recording quality is higher, since the sensor is able to capture different details with little chromatic aberration. If you zoom in, you can see these little details in the photos.
Another important highlight is that the manufacturer managed to make the colors captured by the wide camera very close to what is obtained by the main sensor, even in 108 megapixel mode.
This coherence is also obtained when using the zoom up to three times and this is something commendable in a low-cost smartphone. As for recording videos, the POCO X5 Pro does not have optical stabilization, but electronic image stabilization. This does not guarantee that smoothness that we see in high-end smartphones.
But it’s enough for you to have ok videos to post on social networks, even more so when we take into account that the audio capture is also of good quality.
And if you’re going to take selfies with the POCO X5 Pro, it’s very likely that you’ll get good records even in portrait mode. Fortunately, the smartphone doesn’t overdo the beautifying effect too much and that’s a plus point.
First impressions and prices
The POCO X5 Pro is an intermediate smartphone that manages to stand out positively at the beginning of 2023.
It has a good processor, cameras that are as expected, it delivers everything you need for daily use and even for a few moments in casual or heavier games.
Autonomy shouldn’t disappoint either, fast charging is very good for emergencies and the software – despite being outdated – is at least well optimized.
That is, in short, I can say that the POCO X5 Pro is indeed a great smartphone for those on a tight budget and in need of a worthy device.
Note that the only negative points mentioned in this hands-on can be easily corrected via software and this is something that may even happen soon.
Costing the equivalent of BRL 1,540 for the version with 128 GB and 6 GB of RAM or BRL 1,800 for the option with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of memory, the POCO X5 Pro is a smartphone that deserves to be highlighted.
It is certainly a good option in the intermediary market.
