Most flagship smartphones today have similar design elements. Whether it is the notch, edge-to-edge screen or removing the headphone jack, most manufacturers are mimicking on another. As a consumer, these similarities are easy to ignore, high price tags aren’t.
The Poco F1 is a product from Xiaomi and its arrival has changed everything. It has the notch, an edge-to-edge display while still retaining the headphone jack we really find handy. The F1 comes equipped most of the flagship hardware and costs way less than any other premium device, and by far.
On paper, the Poco F1 is a flagship killer, but can it really translate this to real-world performance?
Design and display
The Poco F1 follows a slim design profile and has a polycarbonate body. It is 8mm in thickness and weighs just 182 grams. The device has a strong build quality and the plastic by any means, does not feel cheap. In fact, Xiaomi has tried to give it a metallic finish which adds to its premium feel
All the keys are placed at the right side of the phone while the left holds the slot for the hybrid SIM tray. On the top is a 3.5mm headphone jack while the bottom holds the speaker grills along with a USB Type-C charging port. The fingerprint sensor is placed at the back just below the rear cameras.
The Poco F1 has a 6.1-inch Full HD+ display with a screen resolution of 2246 x 1080. The screen has 500 nits of brightness, according to Xiaomi. The display has a notch which holds an IR camera along with the front selfie camera.
The device is available in three different colours which include Graphite Black, Rosso Red and Steel Blue. If you are someone who loves your phone to be rugged, there is also an Armoured Edition which is made up of real Kevlar.
Features
The Poco F1 is equipped with Qualcomm’s latest generation Snapdragon 845 processer. The device runs on Android 8.0 (Oreo) on top of which is MIUI 10. Xiaomi has specifically tweaked the ROM for the Poco devices by adding a Poco launcher, quick settings from the stock android among other tweaks.
The Poco F1 has dual-lens cameras which Xiaomi claims is suitable for clicking quality pictures in any lighting condition. The primary camera has a 12MP sensor while the secondary one comes with a 5MP unit. Xiaomi also has a dedicated AI mode which analyses scenes and optimises the camera settings accordingly. If you are a video blogger or just wish to have crystal-clear selfies, then the Poco F1 might be the device for you as it has a massive 20MP front-facing camera. How effective that resolution translates to quality is to be seen when we test these cameras out.
We often find smartphones heating up after extensive and prolonged usage. The Poco F1 comes equipped with liquid cool technology which is first in this range. Xiaomi claims that, no matter how intensively the device is used, it will always remain cool and optimised to deliver peak performance.
The Poco F1 is armed with a massive 4,000 mAh battery. Xiaomi says the battery can provide enough juice for 30 hours of call time and 146 hours of audio playback on a single charge. The phone also supports Quick Charge 3.0 which drastically reduces the time taken to charge the battery.
Performance
The Poco F1 runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor clocked at 2.8 GHz. The MIUI 10 is a major improvement over the previous version, and the device feels fast, optimised and lag-free. The processor manages to run most apps without any sort of flaws and the performance always feels optimal. We ran AnTuTu benchmark on the phone and it managed to achieve a score of 258,143 which is close to most of the more expensive, premium smartphones. While the number may appear high, in real-life usage you will hardly notice it.
The Poco F1 comes equipped with an Adreno 630 GPU to handle the graphic performance. We ran 3D Mark’s Sling Shot Extreme test where the device managed to get a score of 5,807 which is pretty much higher than many of the premium flagship smartphones.
To test the gaming performance, we played PUBG at the highest settings. Loading times were fast, there was hardly any lag and no frame drops while playing. You can definitely throw some good gaming tittles at the Poco F1. We were quite sceptical about the liquid cooling technology at first, but as we were playing continuously, the Poco F1 hardly got any warmer.
The camera on the Poco F1 is a dual-lens unit, which is really capable of clicking good pictures. We tried clicking multiple photos, and most of them appeared good. This undoubtedly is an improved camera than any other Xiaomi phone, but when you compare it to premium devices, it does not feel up to the mark. Images do inherit a natural tone to them, but they simply just can’t match the sharpness and detailing of premium handsets. If you are a regular user who uploads images on Instagram or other social media, these shortcomings shouldn’t bother you the most.
The 6.1-inch display on the Poco F1 is an IPS-LCD panel. The quality is pretty good and has a natural tone to it. If you are watching videos or playing games on it, it is a truly fun experience. However, if you look at it objectively like we did while doing some picture quality tests, the screen does not appear as bright as the ones on more expensive smartphones. Reading and watching content under direct sunlight is a bit more difficult, and the display looks ideal when under shade or indoors.
The Poco F1 also gives a strong battery performance. We started our day with 100 percent of charge, and even after continuous phone calls, video playbacks, checking e-mails and WhatsApp messages, we still were left with 40 percent of battery by evening. You may need to charge your phone after playing games, but it does not bother you much. The Quick Charge 3.0 feature lets you easily top-up to 70 percent battery in just under 45 minutes.
Verdict
The Poco F1 is a great device considering its price range. With the prices starting at Rs. 20,999 for the base variant, you really get a high-end performing device which can outperform even some of the highly priced flagships. There are few compromises like the screen brightness, the fat chin at the bottom of the screen but they are definitely not deal-breakers. The camera is also a decent performer, but you really cannot compare its quality with premium handsets. If you are looking for a smartphone with flagship hardware in a budget, and can compromise on these few shortcomings, then the Poco F1 is the perfect phone for you.
Can’t wait to have hands on the latest Poco F1? Well, now you don’t need to wait as they are also available offline at your nearest Reliance Digital store.
