POCO F5 Review: Impressive Value for Mid-range Gamers

Poco made headlines with its groundbreaking Poco F1 back in 2018, but since then, it has failed to recreate that success. However, this year, Poco is back with a bang with the launch of its newest offering, the Poco F5. Boasting an impressive spec sheet, including the powerful Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 processor, a stunning 12-bit AMOLED display, and a long-lasting 5000mAh battery, this phone aims to catch the eye of performance-focused users. But will the Poco F5 live up to its hype as the ultimate daily driver for mid-range gamers and performance enthusiasts? Find out in our comprehensive review.

Poco F5 review: Design

The Poco F5 boasts an attractive and unique Ice Feather White color with a texture resembling frost condensation. This effect is reminiscent of magical frost skills in popular games, adding a cool and distinctive visual touch to the phone. The rear panel is crafted from plastic, while the frame is made of lightweight aluminum, reducing the phone’s weight to 182 grams.

The phone’s curved edges on the left and right sides provide a better grip while holding it. The Poco F5 features a 6.67-inch frame screen with a 93.4% screen-to-body ratio, resulting in extremely narrow borders and a chin of just 2.22 millimeters. The punch-hole front camera is housed on the top, while the forehead’s border is also very narrow. The phone also includes a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack, speaker, and microphone at the top, with a SIM card slot, microphone, USB Type-C interface, and speaker at the bottom.

On the left side, you’ll find the power and volume buttons, while the right side is button-free, emphasizing the sleek design of the phone.

Despite having a glossy finish, the Poco F5 boasts impressive durability, as evidenced by its ability to resist major scratches during our review. While it only offers a basic IP53-rating for dust and water resistance, the phone’s Corning Gorilla Glass 5 provides reliable protection for its display. Overall, the Poco F5’s unique color and design, combined with its lightweight construction and sleek, borderless screen, make it an attractive and compelling choice for smartphone users.

Poco F5 review: Audio and Visual

The Poco F5 boasts an impressive display with ultra-slim bezels surrounding its 6.67-inch POLED screen, creating a stunning visual experience. The 12-bit panel boasts a variable refresh rate of up to 120Hz, with support for Dolby Vision on Netflix and a peak brightness of 1000 minutes. Additionally, the panel features adaptive HDR technology, which adjusts highlights and shadows based on ambient light conditions to ensure optimal viewing.

The display’s smooth color gradation and 100 DC ip3 color gamut support make for a truly immersive experience, while Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection provides added durability. One standout feature is the 1920Hz PW dimming, which reduces eye strain and headaches for those with sensitive eyes. The Poco F5 also offers stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, delivering an excellent multimedia experience, and a 3.5mm headphone jack with high-res support, a rare find in today’s smartphone market.

Poco F5 review: Performance and Software

The Poco F5’s performance is reminiscent of the F1, thanks to its Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2 chip. Despite being a 7 Series chip, it is based on the same fabrication process as the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1. The SD 7 series chipset has Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 like 1+3 +4 core architecture featuring the Cortex X2 Prime core, the Cortex A510, and the Cortex A710. The Adreno 725 GPU inside doesn’t support Ray tracing. Furthermore, it the SD7+ Gen 2 chipset is complemented by 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. Users get an option to choose between 8GB and 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM. To ensure optimal performance, POCO claims to have incorporated 14 layers of graphite sheets and 3725mm2 vapor chamber for better cooling.

The Poco F5 powerful hardware ensures it handles daily tasks effortlessly. We manage to do heavy multitasking without any trouble and play graphics-intensive games with ease. The device’s impressive performance is also reflected in its synthetic benchmark scores, with an impressive score of 9.3 lakhs on the AnTuTu v9 test, outperforming other smartphones in this price range. Furthermore, the CPU throttle test results in a stability rating of approximately 75 after running 40 cores for 30 minutes in performance mode.

Gaming on the Poco F5 is also a delightful experience, with real-life gameplay performance standing out. We ran Call of Duty Mobile at low graphics and 120 frames per second for 40 minutes to an hour, and the phone didn’t experience any frame drops. Even during intense battles in Fallout 84, there were only a few frame drops, and the device didn’t heat up excessively. In summary, the Poco F5 is easily the best-performing phone under Rs. 30,000, making it a top choice for gamers.

However, the device’s software leaves a lot to be desired. The Poco F5 runs Android 13 with POCO Launcher based on MIUI 13. The software comes pre-installed with bloatware and a variety of pre-loaded apps, including games and an app store. You’ll have to spend some time disabling these apps to optimize your experience. Nonetheless, the software offers numerous customization options, from adjusting your notification settings to revamping your launcher’s look and feel.

Poco F5 review: Camera

The POCO F5 retains the same camera hardware as its predecessor, and while it doesn’t introduce any new features, it maintains all the essential components. The phone features a triple camera setup, including a 64-megapixel Omnivision OB64B primary camera, an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens, and a 2-megapixel macro lens. The camera system is practical and efficient, with only the primary lens being optically stabilized.

In comparison to the POCO F4, the photos taken by the POCO F5 were nearly identical, but with a few software tweaks that improved the dynamic range in backlit situations. The new film mode with endless filters is also available, but we found it to be uninteresting after a few minutes of use. The primary camera performs well in low-light conditions, capturing images with natural-looking saturation, although the output may require minor adjustments.

Despite the lower resolution, the ultrawide camera comes in handy in various situations. It produces slightly dull photos, with slightly inferior results at night, but it still gets the job done. Overall, the POCO F5’s camera system is practical and reliable but certainly not the best you can get at this price.

Poco F5 review: Battery life

The POCO F5 comes equipped with a 5,000mAh battery and a 67W Turbo Charger that promises to charge the phone from 0-100% in about 45 minutes. Phone’s battery life is impressive, with the ability to last a full day with heavy usage. With our regular usage, we manage to get more than six hours of screen on time. As for charging, the Poco F5 charging speeds don’t live up to the promises made by POCO. The bundled charger refills the empty battery to 100 percent in about 55 minutes which is ten minutes more than the official claim.

Review verdict: Should you buy Poco F5?

The POCO F5 boasts several key strengths that will undoubtedly appeal to gaming enthusiasts, including exceptional performance, a high-quality display, and impressive battery life. Return of the headphone jack also works in its favour. What’s truly impressive is how the phone manages to hide its flaws without drawing too much attention to them. Despite the presence of bloatware and average cameras, Poco F5 is a sensible option as it offers unbeatable value for your money.