Poco X5 Pro test: the anti-crisis smartphone?

A direct consequence of inflation and the crisis in household purchasing power, the smartphone market is not looking good. According to the research firm Counterpoint, the sector suffered a decline of 12% in volume in 2022. A fall that the sector had not seen for almost ten years. And 2023 does not look very auspicious either. According to forecasts by the Gartner firm, sales should fall further by the end of the year by around 4%.

In a complicated economic context, consumers are therefore logically postponing the renewal of their smartphones. So that to convince them, manufacturers must show pragmatism by focusing above all on versatility.

Judging by the X5 Pro’s spec sheet, Poco seems to be getting in tune with this situation. After more than a month in his company, we can precisely answer the question that many consumers are currently asking. Is putting 400 euros in a smartphone currently a good investment?

Price and availability

The Poco X5 Pro is available in two versions. The first includes 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage for a price of 349 euros. The second, our test version, offers a combo 8/256 GB at 399 euros.

First thing to notice, both versions are more expensive by 50 euros compared to the X4 Pro models. Logically, we therefore expect a significant improvement compared to last year.

Stylish design

Poco is a brand that we appreciate, because it always has the merit of offering a design that does not go unnoticed. This notably involves bright colours, here yellow. Far from being a simple detail, this bias makes it possible to distinguish the manufacturer’s smartphones from the rest of the entry and mid-range. If yellow seems too garish to you, know that this terminal is also available in blue, but also in black, for fans of sobriety.

At the back, Poco also plays its traditional recipe: a large black rectangle to accommodate the photo block, as well as the brand name. Although the two integrated modules protrude a few millimeters, the rendering is however acceptable and not very wobbly when it is on a table. On the other hand, like last year, we find that the aesthetics would gain in simplicity if the Poco name was not displayed.

Mid-range requires, the back is not glass, but made of a matte plastic which has the merit of not immortalizing fingerprints. A real pleasure! Too many smartphones, all ranges included, get dirty at lightning speed. In hand, the Poco X5 Pro is an imposing smartphone. Although its weight is contained (181 grams), its handling with one hand requires a little exercise, which is logical given its dimensions (162.1 x 76 x 7.9 mm).

From the front, it looks like many other smartphones. Its edges are rounded, its central punch rather discreet and its screen borders controlled. Almost complete, its connectivity offers a slot for two nano-SIMs and a mini-jack port. Too bad it is not possible to expand its storage capacity via a micro-SD.

Amazing screen

When unpacking, we left with a little a priori. Indeed, the screen of the X5 Pro is, on paper, identical to last year. Namely a comfortable 6.67-inch AMOLED panel with Full HD + definition (1080 x 2400 pixels) and a refresh rate of 60 Hz or 120 Hz. Which in itself is a good configuration for this price. Does Poco serve us an identical recipe? Not really.

With this X5 Pro, Poco gives us a little gem of calibration. Starting with colorimetry. In “Standard” display, the smartphone displays truly natural colors without drifts. Our impression is also confirmed by the 01Lab tests. With a delta E of 3.49, the Poco X5 Pro offers one of the most beautiful colorimetry in the mid-range. Only Google’s Pixel 6a does better at this little game.

Another improvement, the screen is more immersive than last year. Indeed, the borders have lost half a millimeter, suddenly the slab occupies nearly 87% of the front face. Which is a good ratio for the mid-range. In terms of brightness, the X5 Pro also makes us a Poulidor.

Still according to 01Lab, the average brightness of the panel is fixed at 890 cd / m2. It therefore does better than the Honor 70 and the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G. Only the Motorola Edge 30 Neo surpasses it in this area. In use, the screen of the Poco X5 Pro is a real delight. Fluid, well calibrated and luminous, it allows a comfortable and pleasant experience, whatever the situation.

Uncompromising versatility

Like many ambitious mid-range smartphones (Motorola Edge 30 and Xiaomi 12 Lite for example) this X5 Pro has a Snapdragon 778G. A SoC that has already proven itself and offers fairly solid performance. One thing we were able to check again here, since our thief of the day found himself at ease in many situations.

During versatile use, the smartphone remains fluid and knows how to keep a cool head. You can launch several applications simultaneously without it disconcerting. You can access the camera without latency, browse cloud applications without a hitch and start video streaming apps in the blink of an eye.

In terms of gaming, Poco has never hidden its ambitions. He proves it once again by perfectly mastering his copy. The RAM in LPDDR4x format and the Adreno 642 GPU work wonderfully, which makes it possible to play many resource-intensive games. Whether on Dragon Trail, Fortnite or Geshin Impactthe gaming experience is enjoyable even with high graphics.

However, for the most demanding 3D games, we had to settle for a framerate of 30 FPS. Beyond, and even with its “Turbo” mode, the fluidity will sometimes mark the blow and the autonomy will tend to drop more quickly. However, this game configuration is more than enough for the majority of users.

Especially since this X5 Pro knows how to keep a cool head even after a long gaming session. The thermal amplitude calculated by 01Lab confirms our feelings, since the variation between the lowest and highest point never exceeds 16.8°C.

A chameleon main photo sensor

Here again, Poco is playing the continuity card. On paper, we are entitled to the same configuration as last year’s X4 Pro. Namely, a main sensor of 108 Mpx with an aperture of f / 1.9, an ultra wide-angle of 8 Mpx opening at f / 2.2 and macro module, still as anecdotal, of 2 Mpx.

Once again, do not expect the same results as the previous year. For the simple and good reason that this X5 Pro sports, as we have seen, a new SoC. On the latter, Qualcomm insists on a specified, a triple IPS (Image Signal Processor) supposed to better manage digital processing. So what about it?

In addition to doing well during the day, the X5 Pro has the merit of assuming a rather unusual rendering in this price segment. In good weather, the algorithmic processing accentuates the primary colors to flatter the retina. However, there is still an effort of nuance, especially on blue and green.

With more gloomy weather, the X5 Pro slightly contrasts the whites, instead of overexposing them, in order to offer more detail and a more homogeneous sharpness. It is frankly successful when you zoom in on the clouds and the vegetation. This management, on a case-by-case basis, of the light dynamics offers real versatility and characterful photos, as can be seen in twilight scenes. This also gives the smartphone good indoor photo quality.

Unsurprisingly, the ultra-wide-angle sensor is less consistent in its proposals. The colorimetry is more bland and the contrasts have more difficulty coming out coherently. With gray weather, the result is too dark at the edges and some parts of the scene lack detail. This is not catastrophic, especially since the distortion is rather absent. To get the most out of this lens, it will be necessary to take care to take care of its development.

In the dark, the X5 Pro struggles to collect light. This results in unconvincing shots with quite a bit of digital noise. The “Night” mode slightly fixes the situation, but at the cost of software smoothing which distorts the colors quite a bit. In this series of photos, only the one taken in front of the Louvre is of decent quality. For this, we had to be careful not to move one iota, while taking care of our development.

The “Portrait” mode does well. It is easy to use and the clipping is pretty much clean.

Finally, the 16 Mpx sensor on the front takes good selfies, the level of detail is present and the smoothing is not too noticeable. Once again, it will be necessary to position yourself well to avoid situations of overexposure.

Autonomy: a big YES

Like many smartphones at this price, the X5 Pro offers a substantial 5000 mAh battery. Like few smartphones at this price, Poco takes great care of the optimization of the latter. According to figures from 01Lab, the latest offspring of Poco has a versatile autonomy of 20:20 and a video autonomy of more than 16 hours. At this little game, it literally outclasses the Pixel 6a and the Galaxy A53. In use, what a pleasure! It can be used intensively without problem for 1 day and a half.

Load level, it does not escape our praise either. According to our calculations, it takes an average of 15 minutes to recover 50% battery and 45 minutes to regain full strength. Excellent performance.

Our opinion on the Poco X5 Pro 5G

It’s a nice surprise that Poco has given us for the spring with this X5 Pro. The manufacturer significantly improves its copy compared to last year and offers us a balanced smartphone with almost no major flaws. When it comes to screen, performance, and battery life (and charging), it’s simply one of the best. It even comes out on top against brands like Google and Samsung in this price range.

On the photo part, it provides the essentials with a good main sensor, its audio part is convincing and its design stands out from the crowd. It could have claimed the top step of the anti-crisis smartphone podium if its software part was up to its hardware proposal. Anyway, it is currently one of the best value for money in this segment.