Poco burst onto the scene with the F1 again in 2018 and since then, the corporate has had very selective launches by means of the years whereas additionally diversifying its portfolio throughout funds segments. The F sequence stays synonymous with providing a strong processor at a comparatively low value, and its the identical formulation utilized to the most recent Poco F5 5G. That is presently the one telephone bought in India with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 SoC, which shares a variety of its DNA with the flagship Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. The F5 additionally checks many different vital packing containers because it comes with an optically stabilised main digicam, very quick charging, and even an IP score.
Ought to the brand new Poco F5 5G be on the highest of your listing when you’ve got a funds of round Rs. 30,000? We discover out on this evaluate.
Poco F5 5G value in India
The Poco F5 5G is available in two RAM variants, 8GB and 12GB, and each characteristic 256GB of storage. Costs are Rs. 29,999 and Rs. 33,999 for the respective variants. The pricing just isn’t unhealthy in my view, contemplating the collective set of options on provide. You additionally get a full package of equipment within the field, together with a 67W energy adapter and a case.
Poco F5 5G design
When you’re an avid follower of worldwide smartphone launches then the Poco F5 5G may appear acquainted, and that is as a result of it bears a hanging resemblance to the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Turbo from China. All the pieces from the specs, design to even the colors seem like the identical because the F5 5G. It does not seem to be Xiaomi has any plans to launch its telephone in India, so there should not be any sibling rivalry.
The black color of the Poco F5 5G doesn’t look very premium because the plastic again panel attracts fingerprints very simply. The opposite colors seem to be they need to be capable of conceal smudges higher. Nevertheless, the texture of the plastic rear panel just isn’t nice and makes the F5 really feel like a telephone from a a lot lower cost section. It is a disgrace contemplating the Poco F4 5G (Review) had a significantly better up-market design because of its glass again panel.
The F5 5G is kind of gentle and slim although, which I like. The fingerprint sensor is within the energy button, which sits uncomfortably flush with the body. On the underside, you will discover the SIM tray for 2 SIM playing cards however no microSD storage growth slot, and the highest of the body has a headphone socket and an IR blaster. The F5 5G is IP53 rated for fundamental mud and water safety.
The Poco F5 5G has a vivid and vivid OLED show
The show on the Poco F5 5G is good and vibrant. What’s instantly noticeable are the evenly slim bezels on all 4 sides of the show. The display itself is a 12-bit pOLED panel with a full-HD+ decision, 120Hz adaptive refresh fee, and helps Dolby Imaginative and prescient and HDR10+ video playback. Poco claims it has a 1,000 nits peak brightness. The telephone comes with a display guard pre-applied however the show does have Corning Gorilla Glass 5 safety.
Poco F5 5G specs and software program
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 is a power-efficient SoC constructed on the 4nm course of. It makes use of the identical CPU clusters because the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC within the 1+3+4 configuration, solely with barely decrease frequencies. There are another variations as properly comparable to a much less highly effective GPU, decrease reminiscence bandwidth, and so on. The Poco F5 5G helps a complete of 12 5G bands in India, together with Bluetooth 5.3 and dual-band Wi-Fi ac. Poco says it has used a vapour chamber cooling system consisting of 14 graphite sheets to raised handle warmth.
The Poco F5 5G runs MIUI 14 (14.0.3) which relies on Android 13. Poco has promised to ship two years of Android updates and three years of safety updates for the F5 5G. As regular, there are a tonne of preinstalled apps and shortcuts on the homescreen by default. A number of the native apps which can’t be uninstalled are additionally infamous for cluttering the notification shade with advertisements and undesirable alerts. Fortunately, a few of the apps comparable to Music and Themes can help you disable advertisements and proposals, however this does not cease the alerts utterly.
Spammy suggestions cannot be stopped from some apps on the Poco F5 5G, regardless of disabling the toggles inside the apps
A number of the helpful bundled apps embody Sport Turbo which has a slick interface and permits you to tweak the system efficiency for video games.
Poco F5 5G efficiency and battery life
This new SoC within the Poco F5 5G has some ridiculous quantity of uncooked energy. Whereas we often do not put an excessive amount of inventory into benchmark numbers, they could be a good indicator of the form of real-world efficiency one can count on. In AnTuTu, the Poco F5 5G managed 10,94,798 factors and a rating of 13,498 in PCMark (Work 2.0). These are spectacular numbers and never too far behind Qualcomm’s present flagship, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
The 12GB variant of the Poco F5 5G that I have been testing hasn’t skipped a beat but up to now few weeks. System efficiency has been snappy, multi-tasking works like a attraction, and apps are fast to load. Warmth administration has additionally been fairly passable as far as even when gaming, the telephone solely will get heat.
Titles comparable to Asphalt 9: Legends and Genshin Influence, each ran very properly with strong framerates. Quick-paced shooters comparable to Name of Obligation: Cellular ran very properly on the ‘Excessive’ graphics and ‘Max’ framerate setting. With the latter sport, the show continued to run at 120Hz which made gameplay really feel much more fluid, in contrast to most different video games the place it dropped to 60Hz.
The Poco F5 5G costs comparatively shortly because of the bundled energy adapter
HDR video playback appears good in apps comparable to Netflix which has many Dolby Imaginative and prescient TV exhibits and flicks. The show produces punchy colors and has excellent brightness ranges for out of doors use throughout the day. The side-mounted fingerprint sensor works properly and even face recognition is surprisingly fast in low gentle.
Battery life has been fairly nice to date. The Poco F5 5G lasted for a great 17 hours, 34 minutes in our HD video loop check, which is above common. The actual-world backup time was additionally fairly good, with the telephone simply lasting greater than a full day on common, even with heavy use. Charging is speedy with the bundled adapter because the F5 5G can cost as much as 46 % in half-hour and as much as 93 % in an hour.
Poco F5 5G cameras
The Poco F5 5G has three rear cameras; a 64-megapixel main with optical stabilisation (OIS), 8-megapixel ultra-wide, and a 2-megapixel macro. The telephone has a 16-megapixel selfie digicam. Poco says it has added 2X “lossless” zoom mode, which makes use of a cropped portion of the sensor to seize a magnified picture. There are additionally seven movie digicam filters if you wish to add some retro results to your photographs.
You get three digicam sensors on the again of the Poco F5 5G
The principle digicam captures first rate panorama photographs throughout the day. HDR is dealt with properly, dynamic vary is suitable and hues are pleasing. The digicam struggles a bit to resolve finer particulars in distant objects, as an illustration horizontal traces of a constructing can seem a bit jagged. These inconstancies are solely actually noticeable when you zoom into the picture and go on the lookout for them. There is no concern with close-up photographs, which have good sharpness and well-saturated colors.
Poco F5 5G fundamental digicam pattern (faucet to see full dimension)
Poco F5 5G ultra-wide digicam pattern (faucet to see full dimension)
Poco F5 5G fundamental digicam pattern (faucet to see full dimension)
Low-light photographs from the principle digicam have good publicity and particulars. I did not discover a lot of a distinction between common and Night time mode photographs, which is an efficient factor. Photos taken at 2X magnification throughout the day present no seen loss in particulars. The utmost zoom stage is 10X and pictures are fairly usable even at this stage, offered you are taking pictures in daylight.
The ultra-wide digicam expectedly does not seize as a lot particulars as the principle one even beneath good lighting. Publicity could be a little bit of a hit and miss too. In low gentle, this digicam under-exposes the scene except you utilize Night time mode, which has a visual enchancment. Macro photographs from the macro digicam are often under common, even in good gentle.
Poco F5 5G low-light digicam samples (faucet to see full dimension)
The selfie digicam on the Poco F5 5G just isn’t nice, however can seize satisfactory selfies. It tends to wrestle with backlit selfies, and the Portrait mode with this digicam is not very convincing. Low-light selfies have seen grain on facial options and particulars are a bit fuzzy.
Poco F5 5G entrance digicam samples: Daylight (left) and low gentle (proper)
The Poco F5 5G can seize movies as much as 4K 30fps utilizing the principle digicam, whereas the ultra-wide is proscribed to 1080p 30fps. Movies recorded at 4K look first rate within the day however strolling and taking pictures does introduce some jitter within the video, which is extra pronounced in low gentle. The video high quality from the ultra-wide digicam is common as footage is mostly under-exposed.
Verdict
The Poco F5 5G is an plain powerhouse at this value because it delivers uncooked efficiency that comes near Qualcomm’s flagship 8 Gen sequence SoCs. This, coupled with the nice warmth administration makes the F5 5G a wonderful possibility for anybody on the lookout for a strong smartphone for gaming. Different areas the place the F5 5G excels are its show, good battery life, and slim design. I simply wished it felt a bit extra premium like its predecessor did. The selfie and ultra-wide cameras are additionally pretty common and will have been higher.
In order for you a extra premium trying telephone, the Nothing Phone 1 checks all of the packing containers at this value, and will get you wi-fi charging. The Samsung Galaxy A34 and Motorola Edge 40 are additionally value contemplating in case you want full-fledged waterproofing. If you’re on the lookout for good digicam efficiency round this value, then the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G makes a great various because it options acquainted software program, and comes with faster charging and a greater set of cameras.