Poco is a rebel among Xiaomi’s subsidiaries — the company caters specifically to young people with its purely online shopping concept and aggressive pricing policies. The new models of the Poco F4 and Poco X4 GT look tame, but in return it offers a performance update in terms of processors.
- SoC: Snapdragon 870 and Dimensity 8100 for X4 GT screen
- Price: Poco F4 from € 399.90 | Poco X4 GT from € 379.90
Xiaomi today (23 June 2022) launched two new smartphones in an attempt to cement its leadership in the mid-range segment. To this end, the manufacturer highlighted its Poco sub-brand, which showcased the Poco F4 and Poco X4 GT models in the livestream. The manufacturer is pricing both phones at just under 400 euros, so it’s attacking Samsung’s Galaxy A53 series and its own Redmi-Notes series.
We reveal what you can expect from these new smartphones. You should know that Poco smartphones can only be purchased on the internet, and from experience, the update strategy is pretty bad. Since Poco didn’t give specifics in its press release, it must be assumed that the current minimum requirement is two years of Android updates and three years of security patches.
Poco F4 under 2019 Snapdragon
Poco launched the base version of the Poco F4 GT alongside the F4, which really convinced Antoine in his tests. Unfortunately, these phones don’t have much in common, as the Poco F4 is powered by the Snapdragon 870, an already very old Qualcomm processor. This one supports 5G. In the F4, it’s paired with 6 or 8 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128 or 256 GB of internal storage.
Visually, the F4 is fairly understated in a grey, black and green colour scheme, with the rear triple camera dominating. Fortunately, the main focal length uses an image stabilizer, and the resolution is 64 megapixels. You can also upgrade to an 8-megapixel ultra-wide and a 2-megapixel macro. The front is equipped with a particularly thin 6.67-inch AMOLED screen capable of reproducing images at 120 Hz. The thinness of the screen helps Poco launch its thinnest smartphone yet. In fact, the F4 is only 7.7mm thick.
The Poco F4 is the thinnest smartphone from the manufacturer. /©Poco
When it comes to fast charging, Poco takes inspiration from current trends and integrates Xiaomi’s 67-watt turbo into its new smartphone. This feature should make it particularly efficient and fast. According to the press release, the phone is fully charged in 38 minutes and has a battery capacity of 4,500 mAh.
Starting June 27th at 1pm, you’ll pay 399.90 euros for the variant with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage – for more memory, you’ll have to pay 449.90 euros. You can also take advantage of the “early bird” price until July 2 at 1pm, which will bring the price of these smartphones down to €349.90 or €399.90.
The Poco X4 GT and its 20.5:9 cinematic screen
The cheaper Poco X4 GT comes with a newer SoC, the MediaTek Dimensity 8100. Like the F4, we can choose its 128 or 256 GB version (internal memory), but luckily the RAM is fixed at 8 GB.
With the X4 GT, Poco presents a new mid-range smartphone with the latest processor / © Poco
The first peculiarity is at the screen level: admittedly, it’s just a 6.6-inch LCD screen, but you can watch content in 144 Hz and 20.5:9 movie format. At present, the main one who trusts the narrow and high screen is Sony.
While the X4 GT’s camera appears to be identical to the F4’s at first glance, with a 64 MP main sensor, 8 MP for the ultra-wide, and 2 MP for the macro, it lacks optical stabilization.
However, the X4 GT offers a larger battery with a capacity of 5,080mAh with the same charging power. Here, the charge time from 0 to 100 is 46 minutes, thanks to its larger battery.
If you want to buy the X4 GT, the 128 GB version will be priced at 379.90 euros and the 256 GB memory version at 429.90 euros starting July 4 at 1pm. Until July 9th at 1:00 pm, you will receive an introductory offer for € 299.90 or € 349.90 respectively.
Will Poco’s new smartphone impress or leave you indifferent?