can Poco continue its success?

About a year ago we were allowed to review the Poco X3 Pro. We were very pleased with this device. It got a 9.2 from us. A very nice figure, but at the same time a figure that is not easy to match or even surpass. That’s why we put its successor, the Poco X4 Pro, through its paces.

Poco X4 Pro review

With a price of just under €300, the Poco X4 Pro is slightly more expensive than the Poco M4 Pro, but on paper the X4 Pro has slightly better specifications that justify the price difference. You can read in our review whether this budget device is also a worthy successor to the X3 Pro.

Sales package

As we are used to from Poco, their devices are delivered in a black and yellow, rectangular box. So is the Poco X4 Pro. In the box we find, how could it be otherwise, the device, the user manual, a sim needle and a transparent cover. At the very bottom of the box is the 67-watt fast charger. A nice complete package, so you can get started right away.

Design and interface

Compared to the Poco X3 Pro, the X4 Pro has been given a different design. With this new design, the device looks a bit better. Just a bit more refined, except for the camera module on the back. This one has turned out quite large. At the front is the 6.67-inch OLED screen. Thanks to the high refresh rate of 120Hz, the screen runs smoothly. The brightness is perfectly fine, even on sunny days the screen is easy to read. The screen can be dimmed sufficiently, so that it is also pleasant to look at in the dark.

The selfie camera is placed at the top, in the middle of the screen. A speaker is placed at the top and Poco has placed a 3.5 millimeter connection next to this speaker. The left side is left blank. The right side offers space for the power button, which also doubles as a fingerprint scanner. Above this button are the volume buttons. Then we have the bottom. In addition to the USB-C connection, there is a speaker and the SIM tray here. You can store two SIM cards or one SIM card and an SD card in the SIM tray.

Interface

Like its predecessor, the Poco X4 Pro comes with MIUI. MIUI takes some getting used to, but once you get used to it, it works very nicely with lots of options, so that you can adjust the device to your own taste. This way you have the option to choose a dark theme and you can completely customize the home screen. You even have the option to install a custom icon pack.

Communication and multimedia

A smartphone is for communicating. Whether this is calling, texting or something else, it’s all possible with the Poco X4 Pro. You can call and text with the standard Google apps.

The full name of this device is Poco X4 Pro 5G. You guessed it, the device has 5G. In addition to 5G, WiFi, GPS, NFC and Bluetooth are supported. The FM radio is also present again, as is the infrared port.

multimedia

The Poco X4 Pro is equipped with a beautiful OLED screen and stereo speakers. These two ingredients make the device excellent for multimedia. The sound coming from the stereo speakers is good. Although we sometimes find the sound that comes from the speaker at the top a bit on the shrill side.

Poco has given the X4 Pro a 3.5 millimeter connection, something we rarely encounter with other brands. We think this is a plus. If you want to use the FM radio, you will have to connect a headset to the 3.5 millimeter connection. This acts as an antenna.

Camera: photo and video

The X4 Pro has received no fewer than four lenses, if you also include the selfie camera. In addition to the 108 megapixel main lens, we find an 8 megapixel wide-angle lens and a 2 megapixel macro lens. The manufacturer has not tinkered much with the camera app lately, and we think that’s fine. The app is equipped with just about all options and functions that you can think of. And that without becoming obscure. You have all the useful functions at your fingertips and the options that you don’t need with every photo or video are neatly arranged in an easy-to-reach menu.

We can generally call the quality of the photos excellent. Occasionally the colors in the photo are just a bit too exaggerated. Zooming in too far, and then we are talking about zooming in 10 times, is not recommended. If you zoom in too far, the photos don’t get any better. We are pleased with photos taken in the dark. These photos show quite a bit of detail in low light.

Like its predecessor, the Poco X4 Pro also received a gallery from the manufacturer. This app is quite simple in design. You can choose between photos and albums. When you open a photo, you can share and edit it from within the app. You can view the photos we took with the device via this link in the digital photo album.

selfie camera

The selfie camera has a 16 megapixel lens. Compared to the Poco X3 Pro, you sacrifice something in terms of pixels, the selfie camera on the X3 Pro has 20 megapixels. In terms of quality, you will not notice this, we are pleased with the quality of the photos.

Video camera

While testing the video camera, we looked for the option to shoot videos in 4K. It turns out that the option is not available. Not that we think this is a very big drawback, but it does surprise us a bit, because this option was present with the predecessor. So you shoot videos in 720p or in 1080p, or Full-HD. The quality of the videos is good. Colors and details are beautifully displayed.

Other options

In this section we will discuss some features that we have not yet discussed, but which we believe are important to discuss.

bloatware

We don’t like bloatware, that’s for sure. Unfortunately, some bloatware is included on the Poco X4 Pro. For example, an AliExpress app has been installed, just like PUBG Mobile, TikTok and WPS Office. We don’t need this. We can understand that manufacturers provide their own apps. This is also the case on this device. For example, a music app is preinstalled and an app that serves as a remote control, so that you can use the infrared port.

fingerprint scanner

We can be brief about the fingerprint scanner, it is excellent. Fast, accurate, easy to find and neatly finished.

Update Policy

The Poco X4 Pro comes with Android 11 with MIUI 13 on top. It is not entirely clear how long the device will be supported, but based on previous reports, the device will probably receive two OS updates (to Android 12 and 13) and the device will receive a quarterly security update for three years.

Performance: battery, speed and memory

The Poco X4 Pro has an excellent processor. Not the fastest or the best, but it doesn’t have to be. The Snapdragon 695 is fast enough for all daily tasks. Add to that the 6GB of RAM and you have the ingredients for a great all-round smartphone. The working memory can be virtually expanded by 2GB, so that you have 8GB of working memory. This is taken from the 128GB storage memory.

The battery is 5000 mAh. This is more than enough to get through a day with intensive work. At the end of such a day you are left with about 25 percent, with a screen time of somewhere between 4 and 5 hours. Very neat. Thanks to the included 67 Watt fast charger, you can also charge the battery very quickly.

Rating

As we are used to, Poco devices have an excellent price-quality ratio. So is the Poco X4 Pro. For less than €300 you get a fast device with an excellent battery life and a good camera. The screen also gets a big enough, just like the speakers. Apart from a few minor flaws, we are very satisfied with this smartphone.

The Poco X4 Pro is available at: Bol.com, Belsimpel, Coolblue, Amazon, MediaMarkt and Mobiel.