Poco M4 Pro First Impressions: It grabs your attention!

The Poco M4 Pro is priced in India starting Rs. 14,999. Here are our first impressions of the smartphone

Poco M4 Pro First Impressions: The smartphone comes in a flashy avatar and based on its specifications, it appears to be a well-rounded budget smartphone. (Amritanshu / HT Tech)

The Poco M4 Pro lets its presence known. From the bright yellow box it comes in, to the large stylish camera panel, whether you like it or not, you cannot ignore this smartphone. But curiosity was never going to be a challenge for Poco as it always goes for the reliable formula of stylish smartphones. But with curiosity, also comes confusion. For example, why was this 4G smartphone launched less than a month after the launch of Poco M4 Pro 5G? Or why is it so similar on paper to the Redmi Note 11S?

This smartphone clearly targets the small niche between the Poco M4 Pro 5G and Redmi Note 11S. These are the users who don't care about 5G but would prefer more features at a price range less than Redmi Note 11S. It is a smart strategy, if executed properly. So how does Poco M4 Pro fare in our first impressions? Read on to find out.

Poco M4 Pro price and specifications

The Poco M4 Pro features a 6.43-inch AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 90Hz. This is the first M-series smartphone to feature an AMOLED display and 90Hz refresh rate, something even the Poco M4 Pro 5G lacks. Under the hood, the smartphone is equipped with MediaTek Helio G96 chipset, which was also seen in Redmi Note 11S and Realme 8i and Infinix Note 11S. The smartphone has a maximum clock speed of 2.05Ghz which is sufficient for everyday smartphone usage and playing games.

It sports a triple rear camera setup with a 64 MP primary camera, an 8 MP ultrawide camera and a 2 MP macro camera. In terms of versatility, Poco M4 Pro does check all the boxes in this price range. On the front, it comes with a 16MP selfie camera. The smartphone is backed by a 5,000 mAh battery and supports 33W fast charging. The smartphone comes in three colors - Poco Yellow, Power Black, and Cool Blue.

The smartphone is available in three variants. The 6GB RAM + 64GB internal storage variant is priced at Rs. 14,999. The 6GB+128GB variant will be available at Rs. 16,499, and the 8GB+128GB variant can be purchased for Rs. 17,999.

The Poco M4 Pro First impressions

The Poco M4 Pro First impressions (Amritanshu / HT Tech)

The Poco M4 Pro First impressions (Amritanshu / HT Tech)

The Poco M4 Pro takes its design elements from Poco M4 Pro 5G with a large camera panel and matte finish, although personally I much prefer the camera panel arrangement in the latest model. The body has a matte finish on a plastic shell, but the texture is nice to hold and does not leave smudge marks. The large camera panel also balances out the smartphone nicely, eliminating any chances of a wobble when kept on a flat surface. Also, the smartphone is surprisingly light. It weighs about 175g, and it is very comfortable to hold.

Although the smartphone is slightly shorter compared to the standard size at 6.43-inches, it is almost as wide as a larger smartphone. The wider size makes it slightly uncomfortable for single hand usage, but then again, watching videos on landscape mode feels quite nice. The stereo on the smartphone is also quite nice in the price range. Recently I had the chance to review Infinix Zero 5G, which was a Rs. 20,000 smartphone and Poco offers a richer sound profile and a louder volume without any distortions.

In the limited time of me using the smartphone, I have not been able to extensively test out the phone, but so far the AMOLED display feels a little lackluster, which could be due to its low brightness. Also, experiencing the pre-installed apps of MIUI is never a nice experience. However, the notifications are minimal and you can always manually disable the apps you don't want to use. I was able to take a few shots on the Poco M4 Pro and the camera is generally average and color reproduction is a bit on the saturated side.

It is still early days to give out a verdict, but so far my experience with the Poco M4 Pro has been quite decent. The smartphone tries its best to come off as an all-rounder in the price segment, but it does have some limitations as well, which you likely will not notice unless you are a very heavy smartphone user. So, if you care about appearances and want a jack-of-all-trade sort of budget phone, Poco M4 Pro is definitely a good choice. But don't make your mind up yet. Watch this space for a full review and to know the ins-and-outs of this smartphone.