Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G Review: A Flagship Impersonator

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At the less expensive finish of the spectrum, funds telephones normally compromise on a number of key specs, however at a look, the Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G seems to have the whole thing. 

A observe as much as closing yr’s Poco M3 Pro 5G, it’s were given an enormous 5,000mAh battery which guarantees to peer you during the day, a large 6.6in FHD+ show with a 90Hz refresh charge, a digital camera with a 50Mp extensive and an 8Mp ultrawide sensor, as much as 6GB of reminiscence, and as much as 128GB of garage, and involved in an overly low value – beginning at £229.

As the Poco M4 Pro 5G’s title implies, 5G connectivity is thrown in too, that means you’ll experience a sooner surfing and streaming enjoy, equipped you’ve were given a suitable SIM and needful community protection. 

All in all, the Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G seems like an absolute funds discount however what’s it if truth be told like to make use of?

Design & Build

  • Thin and light-weight, however tall and extensive
  • Premium-looking plastic frame
  • Power key doubles as a fingerprint scanner

Build high quality of the Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G is excellent all issues thought to be. You’d be expecting it to feel and appear so much less expensive. Sure, it’s no longer as top class as, say, a Pixel 6 Pro, but it surely does a just right impact of a flagship tool more often than not.

That mentioned, whilst it’s skinny – it’s an insignificant 8.75mm thick – the Poco M4 Pro could also be lovely tall at 163mm. I had no downside preserving or the usage of it in a single hand, however I recognize that I’ve a fairly large handspan, and so folks would possibly to find the usage of the Poco M4 Pro a fumble fest. 

Poco M4 Pro

The positioning of the fingerprint scanner at the Poco M4 Pro is canny – it’s constructed into the ability key that’s fastened at the right-hand edge – and is ready at one of these top in order that whether or not you’re left or right-handed, your thumbs and palms will have to line up with it naturally for speedy unlocking.

If you don’t need to use the scanner, you’ll use facial reputation to unencumber, in addition to extra typical password and PIN choices. 

The Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G is to be had in 3 color choices – blue, yellow, and black – and I used to be despatched a ‘black’ one (if truth be told extra like darkish silver) which catches the sunshine well. The digital camera module grabs your consideration, because it’s accentuated through a big black plastic rectangular throughout which the Poco brand is stamped in giant letters. 

Poco M4 Pro

The first time you take a look at it, you’d be forgiven for pondering that the Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G’s digital camera has 4 lenses and a flash, or possibly 3 lenses, and a few more or less sensor, however glance extra intently and also you’ll see that there’s if truth be told simply two lenses and a flash.

Two of the 4 circles within the lens cluster are simply there for display, to make the Poco M4 Pro glance extra complex than it actually is. This is slightly cheeky in my view, however I guess so long as you’re conscious that this can be a design selection, then no hurt’s carried out. Perhaps it will have to had been referred to as the Poco M4 Potemkin as a substitute.

A Type-C USB port and a three.5mm headphone jack take a seat on the base of the Poco M4 Pro, subsequent to probably the most exterior audio system – a 2nd speaker sits up best. Finally, over at the left-hand aspect, there’s the SIM and micro SD card tray, which pops out and clips again in simply.

Poco M4 Pro

Screen & Speakers

  • 6.6in FHD+ show
  • 90Hz refresh charge
  • Stereo audio system

One space you’ll normally be expecting funds telephones to stint on is the show, however fortunately, as with its predecessor, the Poco M4 Pro’s show is first rate. 

It’s a 6.6in show with a 2400×1080 answer that’s simplest interrupted through the punch hollow digital camera. The show’s default refresh charge is 60Hz, however you’ll kick this as much as 90Hz, which can devour into the battery slightly, however makes for a noticeable distinction when gazing video content material, or enjoying video games.

Poco M4 Pro

The show is an LCD-type, and so brightness and distinction gained’t be as top as they’d on a phone with an OLED show, however, it’s nonetheless serviceable – just right sufficient to conveniently use and skim in all however the brightest and sunniest prerequisites, even though the moderately shiny and reflective nature of the show’s protecting doesn’t lend a hand a lot right here. 

The Poco M4 Pro’s stereo audio system aren’t dangerous, with song and audio from YouTube and Netflix content material sounding crisp however rather flat. If you’re paying attention to song at your table and also you’re no longer the usage of headphones, you’ll more than likely need to connect with a Bluetooth speaker anyway, in the event you if truth be told need to pay attention some bass.  

Specs & Performance

  • MediaTek Dimensity 810 octa-core CPU
  • ARM Mali-G57
  • Up to 6GB RAM
  • Up to 128GB garage

The Poco M4 Pro is the cheap phone pitched at individuals who simply desire a phone to do the fundamentals, and do them neatly. In phrases of efficiency, that’s just about what you get. The fashion I used to be despatched for trying out was once the highest-specced 6GB RAM, 128GB garage model.  

Poco M4 Pro

Browsing the internet, checking e-mail and social media feeds feels slick, or even taking pictures is snappy, near-instantaneous in some instances. When doing the fundamentals, the Poco M4 Pro looks like a flagship tool as a substitute of the funds phone it’s.

But attempt to run some heavy-duty video games, and that’s whilst you run into issues – Asphalt 9: Legends was once playable, however noticeably jerky, and regardless of this phone having a large number of reminiscence, later levels of Civilization Revolution 2 video games was gradual. Low polygon turn-based technique sport Polytopia, then again, performed very well, as just right because it does on any flagship phone. 

Benchmark ratings have been in keeping with expectancies, and have been pleasingly a minimize above the Poco M3 Pro, which couldn’t even run GFXBench all through trying out – the Poco M4 Pro had no downside. 

Scores aren’t rather as just right as that of the Xiaomi Poco X3 NFC, closing yr’s best possible funds phone, and so they’re more or less on par with the likes of the Moto G9 Power, which boasts a larger battery. 

Cameras

  • 50Mp primary and 8Mp ultrawide sensors
  • 16Mp entrance sensor
  • Fun timelapse, slow-mo, and night time modes
  • Sometimes has hassle focussing

The Poco M4 Pro’s cameras are a combined bag as a result of whilst they are able to produce some just right stills, you’re going to want persistence and a gentle hand. It frequently struggles to concentrate on topics, whether or not they’re shut up or some distance away and this isn’t one thing that’s helped through the rudimentary device, both. 

On the plus aspect, color copy is usually just right, with colors and tones shopping herbal, if slightly washed out, at the Poco M4 Pro’s show. 

There are a large number of choices to be had to you, too. In the usual photograph mode, you’ll zoom as much as 10x magnification, and the zoom motion is pleasingly easy and strong. 

The usual answer of pictures taken at the Poco M4 Pro is 4080×3072 (necessarily 12Mp), however if you wish to take greater pictures, you’ll transfer to 50Mp mode, which shoots at 8160×6144. Here, simplest 2x magnification is obtainable. Ultrawide pictures, the usage of the 8Mp sensor, seize 3280×2464 stills, and you’ll additionally zoom in through as much as 2x.

Whichever means you slice it you’re the usage of virtual zoom, which simply enlarges no matter’s within the body, and as you’ll see from the samples right here, specifically in close-ups of the long-haired cat’s face, the nearer in you move, the noisier and no more detailed issues transform. 

It feels churlish to moan, taking into account the Poco M4 Pro’s value, however in all honesty, the consequences are actually variable. 

As there’s no macro lens, and the autofocus isn’t nice, the Poco M4 Pro isn’t that to hand even supposing you’ll rise up on the subject of your topics, even though in the event you’re affected person sufficient, you’ll take some OK snaps of items a couple of inches away, like that of the red rose. 

The Poco M4 Pro is usually just right at dealing with various lights prerequisites, even though actually darkish spaces, as chances are you’ll be expecting, glance grainy. Night mode produces higher leads to those situations, but it surely tends to magnify colors. Look on the bricks of the Goldsmiths development within the samples – they don’t glance that orange in actual existence.

Poco M4 Pro camera test

Other choices at your disposal are amusing such things as panoramic mode, time-lapse, slow-motion video. Standard video can also be shot in 720p at 30fps, 1080p at 30fps, and 1080p at 60fps. Results in both answer and at any body charge gained’t glance improbable except you’re the usage of a tripod, or you’ve a gentle hand. 

Selfies considering the 16Mp entrance digital camera glance sensible and are well detailed, even though, as with a large number of telephones, the Poco M4 Pro has a pores and skin smoother clear out became on through default. You can flip this off in the event you don’t need to appear to be a Madame Tussauds show off, or, in the event you do, you’ll flip the softener up even upper, in addition to make your eyes glance large and your face smaller.

Battery

  • 5000mAh battery
  • 33W rapid charging 
  • Easily will give you an afternoon of energy, fees in simply over an hour

Xiaomi says that you simply’ll get sufficient energy “from morning to nighttime, no matter you are doing” with the Poco M4 Pro and that’s a gorgeous honest overview. After maximum days at paintings, 9 hours on the table streaming Spotify playlists to a Bluetooth speaker, I’d finish the day with round 50-60% left within the tank, which is lovely just right going. 

Xiaomi additionally says that you’ll payment the Poco M4 Pro absolutely in 59 mins. In my assessments, I wasn’t rather in a position to copy that, getting the battery 96% charged from flat after an hour. That’s nonetheless superb going, clearly no longer as fast because the absurdly fast-to-charge Oppo Find X3 Pro, or the Vivo X70 Pro, however alternatively, the Poco M4 Pro is a significantly less expensive phone. 

After quarter-hour, I were given 32% from flat, and 55% after half-hour, to provide you with an concept of the way a lot you’ll get off shorter fees. 

Software & Apps

  • Android 11
  • MIUI customized consumer interface
  • Some bloatware, however maximum can also be got rid of

Running Android 11, with Xiaomi’s MIUI 12.5 buyer consumer interface on best, the Poco M4 Pro is fairly simple to familiarize yourself with, even though it’s no longer rather as sublime or intuitive as inventory Android. 

There’s a large number of products and services and video games pre-installed, however thankfully, you’ll take away maximum of them. Some issues, like ShareMe, an AirDrop-esque document switch provider, and Themes, a customized wallpaper instrument, can’t be uninstalled, which is a tad disturbing, in the event you don’t have any use for them. As bloatware is going, the Poco M4 Pro is rarely the worst wrongdoer, however any uninstallable device on any phone all the time sticks within the craw. 

That apart, the device is, for probably the most phase, strong, and the menus are simple to navigate. When you pull down the notifications bar, there’s slightly cog within the best appropriate nook which takes you to the Settings menu, which is a pleasing contact. The menu layouts are simple to get conversant in, and not anything this is actually that perplexing.

Price & Availability

The Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G is because of move on sale from 20 December 2021 and will likely be in the stores without delay from Poco.

The 4GB + 64GB model will likely be priced at £229, whilst the 6GB + 128GB will price £249.

Poco says will likely be working an ‘early hen’ promo from release, knocking £20 off of the RRP for each telephones from middle of the night at the twentieth till 23:59 at the twenty second.

It seems to be as regardless that Amazon has jumped the gun, as you’ll select up a 6GB + 128GB model now for £239.

As neatly as having the ability to purchase from Poco, the Poco M4 Pro 5G will have to even be in the stores from Xiaomi and different outlets together with AliExpress.

No value or release dates for the United States and Australia have been to be had on the time of writing.

Check our chart of the most efficient funds telephones to peer what different choices you’ve for the highest telephones below £250.

Verdict

The Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G is a brilliant funds Android phone. It seems to be just right, is simple to make use of, the battery existence is excellent certainly, and it’s neatly priced. 

It’ll serve you neatly as a backup phone, or in the event you’re the type of purchaser who simply desires an affordable phone which does the fundamentals. That mentioned, if Herculean battery efficiency is extra of what you are after, believe the Moto G9 Power.

Whatever your purchasing wishes are, there’s no getting clear of the truth that the cameras are reasonable at best possible, and in the event you’re no longer fussed about aesthetics, chances are you’ll favor closing yr’s Poco X3 NFC, which, whilst heavy and ponderous, nonetheless gives nice worth for cash relating to energy and function. 

The Poco M4 Pro is an growth at the Poco M3 Pro, however simplest moderately, and so budget-conscious consumers would possibly need to save slightly of money and clutch a kind of as a substitute.

Specs

Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G: Specs

  • Android 11 with MIUI 12.5
  • 6.6in FHD+ (2400×1080), 90Hz
  • MediaTek Dimensity 810
  • 4GB/6GB RAM
  • 64GB/128GB inside garage
  • microSD as much as 1TB
  • 50Mp primary, f/1.8
  • 8Mp ultrawide, f/2.2
  • 16Mp selfie digital camera, f/2.45
  • Fingerprint scanner (on energy key)
  • Bluetooth 5.1
  • GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, Compass
  • NFC
  • 5G
  • Dual SIM
  • 5000mAh battery
  • 33W charging
  • Cool Blue, Power Black, Poco Yellow
  • 163.56 x 75.78 x 8.75mm
  • 215g



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