Poco F4 5G Unveiled: Can It Stand Tall Against Its Rivals?

The Poco F4 5G strikes a commendable equilibrium of features for its market price, as highlighted in our initial review. Nevertheless, this smartphone contends with significant rivalry from companies like OnePlus, iQoo, and also its relative Xiaomi. It’s time to explore whether the F4 5G is a wise purchase or if alternative options from these other brands could be more advantageous at this price point.

Pricing of Poco F4 5G in India

The starting price of the Poco F4 5G is Rs. 27,999 for the model with 6GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. For Rs. 29,999, you can acquire 8GB of RAM paired with 128GB of storage. Lastly, at Rs. 33,999, you get the configuration I have been testing, which includes 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Be aware that with promotional deals and online sales, each of these variations may be available for a considerably reduced price. The F4 5G is offered in Nebula Green and Night Black shades.

Design of Poco F4 5G

The aesthetic of the Poco F4 5G gives it a sophisticated smartphone appearance, featuring a frosted glass back and a matte frame. While it weighs approximately 195g, making it a bit heftier, its 7.7mm thickness makes it manageable. Despite a flat frame, the chamfered edges ensure it doesn’t press uncomfortably into your palm while in use.

One aspect I found challenging to adapt to was the placement of its buttons. The power and volume controls are situated on the right side and are somewhat recessed and stiff, requiring more forceful presses than I would prefer. Additionally, they share a uniform texture, which can make it tricky to identify the correct button, particularly since the power button also serves as the fingerprint scanner.

The display of the Poco F4 5G supports Dolby Vision HDR content

 

This device lacks a headphone jack; however, it does feature stereo speakers enhanced with Dolby Atmos and includes an infrared emitter. The retail package contains a protective case, a 67W charger, a data cable, and a USB Type-C to 3.5mm headphone adapter, which is a considerate addition.

The display presents one of the key selling points of the Poco F4 5G and is likely to attract those who enjoy consuming media on their phones. It features a 6.67-inch E4 AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, supporting Dolby Vision HDR playback via the Netflix app, along with HDR10+ compatibility. The display boasts full-HD+ resolution with a notable pixel density of 395 ppi, and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 against scratches. Additionally, the Poco F4 5G comes with a pre-installed screen protector that tends to attract smudges and fingerprints.

Specifications and Software of Poco F4 5G

The Poco F4 5G is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 SoC, offering support for up to 10 5G bands in India. It also features dual-band Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, and an array of usual sensors and satellite navigation systems. Poco asserts that it has integrated a vapor chamber and graphite sheets within the F4 5G to maintain optimal operating temperatures under heavy workloads. Additionally, the device is equipped with an X-axis linear vibration motor to enhance haptic feedback.

Poco informed Gadgets 360 that the F4 5G carries an IP53 rating for dust and water resistance, although I could not find this information prominently featured in the brand’s promotional materials or on its website. The device comes with a 4,500mAh battery that supports rapid charging of up to 67W.

Poco F4 5G boasts a high-quality build and sleek design

 

The Poco F4 5G operates on MIUI 13 (v13.0.3), running atop Android 12. Throughout this review, the phone received several updates, the latest being the June 2022 Android security patch. MIUI is often critiqued for its bloatware, with many first-party apps generating disruptive notifications. Although the F4 5G still has considerable bloat, there are significantly fewer notification disruptions despite apps such as GetApps and Themes being pre-installed. However, Poco has not yet committed to a long-term update plan for the F4 5G.

The user interface is smooth and responsive, offering numerous customization options. The always-on display can be adjusted to your preferences, and on the F4 5G, it can be set to always on or scheduled for specific times, in contrast to some of Poco’s other models like the X4 Pro 5G (Review). All typical MIUI shortcuts and gestures remain accessible.

Poco F4 5G Performance and Battery Duration

During the review period, the Poco F4 5G functioned smoothly, and I encountered no performance issues. The fingerprint scanner proved reliable for unlocking, and I appreciated that you can choose between a touch or a press on the power button for activation. Facial recognition performed proficiently as long as there was adequate ambient light.

HDR content streamed online displayed very well on the Poco F4 5G’s screen. Colors appeared lively, and brightness levels were more than sufficient. Dolby Vision content on Netflix was impressive, and overall HDR videos were quite enjoyable. The stereo speakers can reach high volume levels and produce good sound quality. Games also operated seamlessly on the F4 5G, with popular titles like Asphalt 9: Legends and Call of Duty: Mobile running smoothly.

The Poco F4 5G delivers solid performance, particularly in gaming

 

The Poco F4 5G effectively remains cool even after 20 minutes of gaming. Benchmark results were impressive, with AnTuTu scoring 684,474 points and achieving 50fps in GFXbench’s ‘Car Chase’ test.

Battery life on the Poco F4 5G was commendable. Typically, with moderate to light usage—including some gaming, video watching, and web surfing—the device lasted a bit over a day. Thanks to the high-wattage charger included in the package, charging is quite fast. In our battery loop test, the Poco F4 5G functioned for 18 hours and 14 minutes, which is commendable.

Camera System of Poco F4 5G

The Poco F4 5G is equipped with a primary 64-megapixel Omnivision sensor featuring an f/1.8 aperture and optical image stabilization (OIS). Accompanying this are an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera on the rear. For selfies, there’s a 20-megapixel front camera. The camera application is familiar to anyone acquainted with recent Xiaomi devices, offering a variety of shooting modes for photos and videos. The main rear camera supports video recording up to 4K at 60fps, while the ultra-wide and selfie cameras are limited to 1080p at 30fps.

Sample from the Poco F4 5G’s main camera (tap to view full size)

Sample from the Poco F4 5G’s ultra-wide camera (tap to view full size)

Sample from the Poco F4 5G’s main camera (tap to view full size)

 

Daylight landscape photos were visually appealing, featuring vibrant colors and reasonable detail, although I noted that textures on objects appeared smoothed and less distinct upon closer inspection. The ultra-wide camera displayed a more authentic color tone, but the detail quality was noticeably poorer, with evident chromatic aberration at the edges of certain subjects. Close-up shots were satisfactory, but I often needed to ensure focus was locked by tapping the screen. Again, images looked pleasant, though sharpness could be improved. Macro shots taken in good lighting conditions turned out better than anticipated.

Samples from the Poco F4 5G’s main and ultra-wide cameras (tap to view full size)

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Sample from the Poco F4 5G’s selfie camera (tap to view full size)

 

In low-light landscape conditions, the rear camera struggled with exposure, showing minimal detail with poor texture quality, and darker areas appeared as black blobs. Night mode offered little improvement in terms of exposure or detail capture. The ultra-wide camera performed even worse in low light, and while Night mode provided some assistance, it fell short of producing usable photographs.

Selfies taken in bright light produced favorable results with adequate skin tones, details, and exposure. Portrait mode functioned acceptably well, effectively blurring background elements.

Videos recorded at 4K 60fps appeared solid, although stabilization was absent; the autofocus was reliable, with good detail and vivid colors. Footage shot at 4K 30fps included stabilization, but walking while recording—even slowly—resulted in shaky visuals. There is a ‘Steady video’ option that restricts recording to 1080p when enabled, but the output still appeared unstable and heavily cropped. Low-light videos exhibited notable noise and jitter due to the stabilization.

Conclusion

The Poco F4 5G is a well-crafted smartphone that emanates a feeling of luxury. It delivers excellent gaming performance, satisfactory battery life, fast charging capabilities, and an impressive display that supports Dolby Vision HDR content. The IP53 rating is also a beneficial feature. This device offers greater value than the Xiaomi Mi 11X (Review), which is primarily similar but charges slower. If available for under Rs. 30,000, the 12GB RAM variant is worth considering; however, at Rs. 33,999, you might be better served opting for the Nothing Phone 1 (Review). 

For those prioritizing camera quality, alternatives like the Realme 9 Pro+ (Review) and OnePlus Nord 2T (Review) may serve as better choices. The newly released Oppo Reno 8 (Review) also seems to promise good camera performance, similar to the Nord 2T, but we will reserve a final assessment until we complete our review of it.

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