Poco X4 Pro 5G Review: Simply the best under Rs. 20000

Name: Poco X4 Pro 5G
Item: Poco X4 Pro 5G
Author: Amritanshu Mukherjee

The Poco X4 Pro 5G nails it as the best phone under Rs. 20,000, considering what it offers. Here is our full review.

By: AMRITANSHU MUKHERJEE
| Updated on: Aug 22 2022, 11:25 IST

The Poco X4 Pro 5G starts at a price of Rs. 18,999 for the base 6GB/64GB variant in India. (Amritanshu / HT Tech)

At this point in time, it is evident that Poco literally feeds off Xiaomi's R&D to “redesign” Redmi phones as its own. Rebranding was initially seen as a joke but Poco stuck to it, making people realise that a Poco device is actually an even lower-priced Redmi device with gaudy colour schemes. The latest Poco X4 Pro 5G is another fine example of that — it is based on the controversially priced Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G but carries a more appealing price tag and a bold design theme.

In this case though, it is the Poco X4 Pro 5G that ends up being the much better phone than its Redmi counterpart. You get the same basic set of features and specs, save for the main rear camera. The design, however, is where Poco has spent a lot of time and there's no denying that this is the best looking phone in its class by some margin. A phone costing Rs. 19,000 has no right to look this good!

Is this then the best phone you can buy at the moment? I think you know the answer but tag along as we explore the phone.

Poco X4 Pro 5G Design

Best looking phone you can buy for less than Rs. 20,000! That's it, there's no other way to put it. Even though the basic dimensions are identical to the Redmi Note 11 Pro, Poco's protruding camera island atop the tastefully designed rear look stunning. I got the stunning looking Poco Yellow colour variant and it makes the phone simply look marvellous.

image caption — Poco X4 Pro 5G (Amritanshu / HT Tech)

I am glad Poco chose a glossy finish instead of the boring matte glass design we have seen on umpteen phones these days. If you'd ask me blindly what this phone would cost, I would utter a figure north of Rs. 30,000. Yes, it is that good looking and that well-built.

Then again, design is subjective and you may not buy the looks, in which case you can put in the in-box supplied case (get it? Get the pun? Never mind). And, you also get a charger in the box, that too a 67W charger! Wow! A luxury for budget phones these days!

Poco X4 Pro 5G Display

The 6.67-inch FHD+ AMOLED display is simply the best you can see on any smartphone in this class. It goes bright and renders colours vibrantly with great contrasts. The 120Hz refresh rate makes scrolling pages and menus a lot smoother. If you watch a lot of movies on your phone, you are going to love the Poco X4 Pro's display. Note that desire Gorilla Glass 5 protection, Poco pre-applies a screen protector for scratch resistance.

Poco X4 Pro 5G Performance

Beating inside the phone is the popular Snapdragon 695 5G chip, which brands insist should have been called a Snapdragon 700 series chip. We have seen Snapdragon 695 phones perform satisfactorily on other phones with regards to gaming and daily tasks. On the Poco X4 Pro 5G, nothing changes. For the price, this is a fast and eager phone to live with on a daily basis. While playing games such as COD Mobile, BGMI, and Shadows Fight 4, it was possible to achieve High frame rates with medium-to-high graphics. There is a “but” though.

While the raw performance is good, it is the MIUI 13 experience that's buggy at the time of writing this review. MIUI 13 with Poco launcher atop keeps lagging occasionally , especially with its animations during app loading. It could be a bug but such buggy experiences are common amongst users of Poco devices, so watch out. Moreover, it still comes with Android 11, which is a shame when Vivo and iQOO are giving Android 12 as standard on cheaper phones. The update is coming but there's no given date.

MIUI 13 is a joy to use though, since there are lesser pre-loaded third-party junk apps, and no visible system ads. The system engages great haptic feedback for most interactions, which adds to the overall experience.

The stereo speaker system is class-leading, and there's also the headphone jack to take advantage of. Connectivity on Jio's 4G network has been good and I did not face call drops, or network disconnection in my time. There's support for 5G connectivity too, which is a good thing Mohave now that 5G is on the horizon in India.

Poco X4 Pro 5G Cameras

Unlike the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus, Poco uses a “lesser” 64MP main rear camera accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide camera and a 2MP macro camera. The overall photography performance is no different to the Redmi Note 11 Pro camera tuning but Poco does not oversaturate colours under daylight. The camera tries to keep natural looking colour tones and contrasts, although details aren't as good as the 108MP camera sensor. Night and low-light photography is decent although you will be mostly getting usable photos; photos are underexposed and there's always a warm tint to colours.

Check out some photo samples.

The 8MP ultra-wide camera is decent under daylight but struggles elsewhere. The 2MP macro camera is tuned badly and is rather garbage in quality.The 16MP front camera is fine although it makes the skin look reddish than usual, and the dynamic range isn't as good.

Poco X4 Pro 5G Battery

With the 5000mAh battery at the helm, the Poco X4 Pro can easily last an entire day with some juice to spare under moderate use cases. Even if there is an hour of gaming involved, you can still stretch it to the end of the day. The 67W charging is a blessing too, allowing the phone to do a 10-100 percent charge in under 40 minutes.

Verdict

There is simply no other way to put it — the Poco X4 Pro 5G is currently the best phone under Rs. 20,000 you can buy today! In terms of features and user experience, the phone has got it all covered. The display is great and so is the performance, while battery life is exceptional. And you get a fast 67W charger in the box, which is a bonus. We like the unique design as well, especially in the Poco Yellow.

Starting at Rs. 18,999, the Poco X4 Pro 5G has taken the shine away from its competition, including its own siblings from Redmi. This has got everything you can ask for in a phone at this price, and the user experience matches it too. If you are considering phones such as the Realme 9 Pro 5G and Motorola Moto G71 5G, forget them and get this one instead. Thank us later.

Rating

4 out of 5

Price

INR 18,999/-

Product Name

Poco X4 Pro 5G

Brand Name

Poco

Pros