POCO X5 Pro Review
POCO has expanded its well-known X series by launching POCO X5 Pro. The phone brings many updates over its predecessor like a better chipset, better camera and much more. While the phone looks very much similar to last year, the specs sheet has been upgraded.
It features a big 6.67 inches AMOLED display and a powerful Snapdragon 778G SoC to handle intensive tasks. There’s a big 5000mAh battery packed inside which is paired with 67W fast charging support.
The lightweight design with the stylish look makes up for a good-looking all-rounder phone. So is this upgrade worth the upgraded price tag? I am going to answer that and more of your questions in this POCO X5 Pro review.
POCO X5 Pro Price in India and Variants
The POCO X5 Pro has been launched in India in two storage variants. The phone costs Rs. 22,999 for 6GB RAM and 128GB storage and Rs. 24,999 for 8GB RAM and 256GB storage.
The phone is available in three different colour options: Astral Black, Horizon Blue and Yellow. You can buy the phone online at Flipkart and offline at select retail stores.
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POCO X5 Pro Box Contents
The POCO X5 Pro packs the following items inside the box:
- Handset
- 67W Charger
- USB Type-C Cable
- Sim Eject Tool
- Protective Case
- Quick Start Guide
- Warranty Card
POCO X5 Pro Specs at a glance
Before we talk in detail about the POCO X5 Pro, let’s see what the on-paper specs look like:
- Display: 6.67 inches AMOLED
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G
- RAM & ROM: 6GB 128GB, 8GB 256GB
- Software: Android v12
- Rear camera: 108MP + 8MP + 2MP
- Selfie camera: 16MP
- Battery: 5000 mAh
- Weight: 181 grams
- Dimensions: 162.9 x 76 x 7.9 mm
POCO X5 Pro Design and Build
POCO phones have a very distinct design factor that any POCO fan can identify. The POCO X5 Pro follows a very similar design approach, especially the yellow colour variant. It also comes in black and blue colour options. However, the yellow variant is the one which will catch your eyes.
You get a boxy-looking phone with flat edges and curved corners. The whole frame is black in colour but the power button has a yellow accent on it which makes it look even better.
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The Poco X5 Pro 5G comes with a plastic back which is a downgrade if we consider that the X4 Pro came with a glass back. However, it does not feel cheap in hands and has a textured finish rather than the glossy look you find on cheaper phones.
One benefit of it is that it doesn’t attract fingerprints and offers a better grip on hands. POCO X5 Pro is also the slimmest POCO phone till date with a 7.99mm thickness and weighs just 181g making it super light.
There’s a rectangular camera unit on the back which protrudes a bit and the other side has the POCO branding. Coming over to buttons, the right side has the power button along with volume rockers while the left side is clean. The top has a 3.5mm audio jack, secondary speaker, secondary mic and IR blaster. Lastly, the bottom side holds the type-C port, primary speaker, primary mic and SIM card slot.
POCO X5 Pro Camera
The POCO X5 Pro features a triple camera setup on the back and brings a big upgrade to the main camera. It becomes the first POCO phone to feature a 108MP primary camera. The other two lenses include an 8MP ultra-wide lens and a 2MP macro sensor. The front side has a 16MP selfie camera.
The main camera takes some really good shots in daylight conditions. The images were crisp and the colours looked very accurate. The dynamic range was wide and the overall shots were detailed.
The shots taken in 108MP mode were not very different unless you zoomed in and then you would realise the level of detail. Otherwise, the default 12MP shots were good enough. The low-light shots were average. Since there is no OIS, even a little shake of hands would blur the images.
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The 8MP ultra-wide lens was just ok. The images were not as detailed and sharp as the main camera shots. Also, the dynamic range was lacking and the colours were not so punchy. The 2MP macro lens was just trash I believe. They lack in details and the colours look washed out.
Coming over to the front, the 16MP camera takes some nice selfies in proper lighting conditions. The selfies were sharp and full of details. The skin tones looked very natural to me and the overall colours were also looking nice. Portrait selfies were also pretty good.
The phone can record 4K videos at 30fps and 1080p videos at 30/60fps using the main camera. The 4K footage came out to be really good. It was packed with details and the dynamic range was wide. Even the colours looked very pleasing to the eye.
POCO X5 Pro Battery and Charging
The POCO X5 Pro packs a big 5000mAh battery which is paired with 67W fast charging support. The phone offers a fantastic battery backup of about two days on light usage. If you are a heavy user, you can still get one full day of battery backup from it.
I got about 6-7 hours of screen on time which is really nice. My usage involved some gaming, taking pictures, making calls and watching videos on YouTube. All in all, it offers a great battery life unless you choose to deplete it by having long gaming sessions.
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But worry not, even if you are a heavy gamer, POCO has taken care of you very well. The phone comes with 67W fast charging support and the adapter is included in the box. The 67W fast charger takes almost 50 minutes to fully charge the phone from 0 to 100 per cent.
A quick charge of just 15 minutes will get you about a 50 per cent battery mark. Not the fastest I know but still more than enough for casual users. There is no support for wireless charging here. Well, it was not expected as well at this price.
POCO X5 Pro Display
The POCO X5 Pro has a stunning FHD+ 6.67 inches AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It’s a 10-bit colour panel and has a peak brightness of 900 nits. You can choose between 120/60Hz refresh rate or set it to Default which automatically switches the refresh rate according to the app.
The specs are damn good for a phone at this price. It’s not the brightest display but gets pretty bright and I faced no issues while using the phone outdoors. The AMOLED panel offers awesome sharpness and punchy colours while content consumption.
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With 10-bit technology and deep blacks, it’s a great display for watching videos and playing games. The thin bezels around the display offers an immersive viewing experience. I watched a couple of episodes of Rick and Morty and the animation looked really good on the screen.
It also features Widevine L1 with HDR10 support so you can stream high-quality content on OTT platforms like Netflix and Prime. Lastly, the display comes with Gorilla Glass 5 protection.
POCO X5 Pro Performance and Software
The POCO phones mainly focus on performance and the all-new X5 Pro also aims to do the same. The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G chipset which is paired with up to 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB of UFS 2.2 internal storage.
It’s not the latest RAM and storage technology but is good enough for a mid-range phone. The phone easily glides through everyday tasks without facing any lags. The animations looked very smooth and switching between apps was seamless.
You can also do some multitasking and use two apps simultaneously using the split screen feature without any problem. Even intensive apps like Instagram run very smoothly and I scrolled for hours, thanks to the 120Hz refresh rate which offers an amazing scrolling experience.
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If we talk about gaming, you can play all the demanding games on it in medium-high settings. I tried Call of Duty Mobile and Asphalt 9. COD ran smoothly on medium settings while Asphalt 9 offered a playable experience even at high settings.
It could even run the COD at Low graphics and Ultra frame rates which offered the smoothest gameplay experience. I did not notice any major frame drops or lags while playing.
The POCO X5 Pro runs on MIUI 14 which is based on Android 12. Not very happy to see that it still runs on the Android 12 out of the box when the latest Android 13 is out for a while. As usual, the MIUI offers a great deal of customisation options and tones of features.
At the same time, there is some pre-installed bloatware on the phone, most of which can be uninstalled from the app settings. Overall, the UI is very similar to the previous version and is fluid and simple.
POCO X5 Pro Audio, Connectivity, Biometrics
The POCO X5 Pro comes with a stereo speaker setup, one located at the bottom while the other at the top. They come with Dolby Atmos support and offer good sound quality. You can use wired earphones as well since the phone comes with a 3.5mm audio jack.
The phone comes with 5G connectivity and support for seven 5G bands. It includes N1, N3, N5, N8, N28, N40, and N78. Other connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS, NFC and an IR blaster.
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Talking about biometrics, the phone comes with a side-mounted fingerprint scanner which is fast and reliable. Or you can use the face unlock feature which works just fine.
The POCO X5 Pro sounds like a solid upgrade over the X4 Pro and is definitely a great phone. It brings improvements in almost every department. It offers a great display experience and solid performance for your everyday use.
The main camera is a huge upgrade with a 108MP lens. Full-day battery life paired with 67W fast charging is more than enough for a casual user. It’s also sleek and lighter than last year. While the upgrades are really nice to see, all of it comes at a bigger price tag than last year.
It’s no longer a budget option and has moved over to the mid-range segment. However, there are some letdowns like a poor macro lens, bloatware in the UI and the fact that it still runs on Android 12.
