Poco X5 Pro 5G Review: Well-Equipped and High-Performance

Poco, the budget-friendly gaming-focused brand of the Xiaomi empire, has launched its new Poco X5 Pro 5G, claiming to offer an elegant, powerful, and photography-capable smartphone for under $400. This is a promise we often hear from players in the smartphone market.

Here, Poco presents a solid spec sheet on paper: a Snapdragon 778G 5G processor, a 6.67-inch display with an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate, a 108MP camera, and even 67W fast charging. However, there are no miracles, and to maintain a competitive price, Poco had to make some sacrifices. Let’s now see if they don’t negatively impact the performance of this mobile device.

Technical Specification

Design

Poco offers a visually appealing smartphone here, albeit without original design lines. On the front, there is a gently rounded rectangular block. The 6.67-inch display is covered by Gorilla Glass 5 and surrounded by a thin bezel (about 2mm). Unlike many competing products under $400, its chin is minimal. A clean front with just a central punch hole at the top of the screen.

The back is both attractive and disorienting. It has a beautiful plastic surface in black, light blue, or orange, which we tested. The surface offers a silky feel, and the visual finish is equally pleasing. The colored plastic has a beautiful matte finish that becomes slightly shiny when placed against a light source.

The upper part displays a black panel that frames the camera module and the brand logo. The camera unit is relatively compact but has a thickness of about 4mm, making it unstable when placed flat. The edges are simple and straight without any roundness. It could have been too sharp, but in everyday use, it isn’t. The mobile’s corners are rounded, and the screen area protrudes slightly, providing a comfortable grip that isn’t aggressive to the skin.

It’s not the most comfortable to hold, but it’s sufficient enough not to become unpleasant during long usage sessions. Note that the plastic edges also shimmer slightly under light. On the right side, there’s a yellow power button and black volume buttons. However, while the colored button falls naturally under the thumb, you need to shift your hand upward to interact with the volume.

This is not the most ergonomic, especially with dimensions of 162.91 x 76.03 x 7.9 mm and a weight of 181g. It isn’t the most compact and lightweight smartphone under $400. If you have small hands, it may not be your best daily companion. On the bottom edge, there are speaker vents, a USB3-C port, and finally, a cover providing access to the dual SIM 5G card slot. Poco has designed an elegant, well-crafted smartphone here, but it doesn’t offer any specific protection against water and dust.

Display

The Poco X5 Pro 5G features a 6.67-inch pOLED (plastic OLED) display with a 20:9 aspect ratio. It offers a sharp display quality with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels and 394 ppi. Additionally, it has an adaptive 120 Hz refresh rate, which is impressive for a device under 400 USD.

We tested the display using our probe and Portrait Displays’ CalMAN Ultimate software. The Poco offers two display modes: Intense and Standard. The Intense mode has an average Delta E of 3.92, while the reference value is 3, indicating a shift towards blue. This is emphasized by a measured color temperature of 7281 K, compared to the reference value of 6500 K. The Standard mode isn’t more balanced, with a Delta E of 4.11 and a color temperature of 6378 K. However, it provides the most natural appearance, though not significantly different from the Intense mode.

Regarding color gamut, the Standard mode is somewhat disappointing, covering only 94% of the sRGB space, 63% of the DCI-P3, versus 142% of sRGB and 95% of DCI-P3 in Intense mode. The latter almost reaches 100% of DCI-P3, which is good for a mid-range smartphone. Often, the most accurate mode offers fewer color nuances, while the mode leaning towards blue offers more.

In terms of brightness, we measured 761 cd/m², a respectable figure, though far behind the Motorola Edge 30 Neo, which also features a pOLED display. However, it is sufficient for efficient display performance, except in direct sunlight or under intense light sources.

Software

The device runs on Android 12 and MIUI 14, offering the latest version of the interface found in Xiaomi and Poco smartphones. The Apple-inspired design is elegant, featuring skillful use of transparency. If you prefer Google Stock interfaces, don’t worry, as Poco offers extensive customization options.

You can personalize almost every component of each screen, icon size, and widgets. You can either visually enrich the interface or simplify it to the max. A unique feature is accessing system shortcuts by swiping from the top to the center of the screen to the right of the punch-hole, while swiping left brings up notifications.

The phone supports DRM Widevine L1 for HD streaming on SVoD platforms. It will receive two Android updates and three years of security support, not going beyond Android 14. Although common in this price range, it is still an inherent limitation.

Camera

The Poco X5 Pro 5G has three camera sensors:

• A 108-megapixel f/1.52 main wide-angle sensor
• An 8-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle sensor
• A 2-megapixel f/2.4 macro sensor

We hoped that Poco would not use the high pixel count solely as a marketing gimmick. The device captures 12 MP images by default, with a 108 MP mode available. Daytime wide-angle shots are respectable, with fairly natural color reproduction, albeit slightly paler than ideal. Detail levels are acceptable and better than what Poco usually offers, which often suffers from excessive smoothing.

The ultra-wide-angle mode manages distortion well, but colors are even paler than in wide-angle mode. While the image center has decent detail, the surroundings are overly smoothed, lacking precision. This is not the case in wide-angle mode, which offers better dynamic range and more accurate details. Some smoothing is still present, but it’s mild enough not to ruin the most visible details.

The 2x optical zoom does its job, but without excelling. There is a noticeable loss of detail, not blatant, but visible upon close inspection. Again, the colors appear paler than they should be.

The 108 MP mode is quite impressive, providing a more precise and detailed image, as well as more accurate color reproduction. As seen in the stained glass window and what appears to be chewing gum, these elements are rendered with greater precision. However, there is no zoom available, and stability is essential for capturing a sharp photo. In everyday use, the 12 MP normal mode is more effective.

The night mode isn’t the most efficient we’ve seen, but it performs admirably in this price range. It won’t work miracles without supplemental light, but if present, the output is very acceptable. However, we notice a lack of precision in the stained glass window and smoothing erasing details in other parts of the photo.

In ultra-wide-angle mode, the night mode is almost unusable. It’s too dark, with excessive smoothing, digital noise, and poorly managed edge distortions. In wide-angle mode, the result is much better, offering increased brightness and vibrant colors when there’s light, and dull without. Smoothing is still present but less invasive.

If you choose to use the 2x zoom with night mode, you’ll immediately notice the digital noise. A strong light source is essential for using optical zoom at night.

Uneven portrait modes

The portrait mode on this smartphone achieves decent edge detection, but low-contrast areas can easily trick it. Furthermore, it struggles with dense and unruly hair, blurring many strands in the background. Skin tones aren’t very natural, and you’ll notice that overly bright areas, like the cloudy sky below, appear overexposed.

Selfie enthusiasts have a 16 MP front-facing camera at their disposal. Edge detection is better than that of the rear sensor, although unruly hair can still pose a challenge. Overall, the results are good, but the skin tones still lack natural appearance, and once again, bright areas are not handled as well as they should be.

Performance

Poco relies on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G processor, paired with 8 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and an Adreno 642L GPU. Additionally, there is a storage capacity of 128 or 256 GB, depending on the configuration you choose. This proven spec sheet, when optimized, can deliver excellent results. In this case, it offers enough power to run Android and most apps, even resource-intensive ones, without experiencing slowdowns or only rarely.

In terms of gaming, this smartphone performs quite well. We tested Fortnite with all graphics settings maxed out, achieving stable gameplay at 30 fps with occasional dips to 28/29 fps. On High-quality settings, Fortnite runs between 40 and 50 fps.

For Genshin Impact, we tested performance on Maximum graphics mode, achieving a relatively stable frame rate of 33/36 fps. In High graphics mode, the game runs between 39 and 42 fps, while Medium mode remains stable at 45 fps.

While it’s not the king of gaming smartphones, it gets the job done. If you prioritize graphics quality, you’ll never be able to play beyond 30 fps. You’ll need to make some sacrifices for a higher frame rate. Game Turbo mode can give you a few extra fps, but no more than five, at the expense of reduced battery life and higher processor temperatures.

After 5 minutes of playing Genshin Impact, the temperature starts to rise, reaching 35 degrees Celsius. After 10 minutes, it climbs to 43 degrees and can peak at 50 degrees before stabilizing. Although the device feels warm in hand, the Poco has excellent heat dissipation, allowing for extended gaming sessions without the risk of burns. However, such temperatures suggest a slight performance drop during longer sessions.

Battery Life

With a 5,000 mAh battery, the Poco X5 Pro features a generous battery capacity. We used our ViSer software to simulate active smartphone usage (web browsing, texting, calling, video watching, music listening, downloading, etc.).

The phone lasts about 12 hours and 48 minutes, ranking it 34th out of the 84 smartphones tested with this protocol. It is above average and can easily last a day and a half under heavy use. If used conservatively, the Poco can last close to two days.

Fast charging is available at 67 W, and Poco includes a power adapter. Starting from 0%, the battery reaches 12% charge in 5 minutes, 23% in 10 minutes, and 56% in 20 minutes, with a full charge taking approximately 45 to 50 minutes.

Network and Communication

This smartphone supports all 5G frequency bands. With Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, and NFC included, you’re well-equipped. As for calls, there are no issues to report.

The integrated GPS works seamlessly, and we didn’t notice any geolocation problems.

Xiaomi Poco X5 Pro Price and Availability

• Poco X5 Pro 128 GB is priced at $349
• Poco X5 Pro 256 GB is priced at $399

Our Opinion

Design

Despite being a smartphone under $400, Poco offers an elegant, well-crafted product with a distinct style. If the camera module were a few millimeters thinner, it would be even better.

Photography

The photo quality is on par with other smartphones under $400. In daylight, it performs well, and even the 108 MP mode can be appealing, though somewhat inconsistent. At night, the results are decent, but without proper lighting, photos will be disappointing.

Software

MIUI is still comprehensive and proves to be more efficient and responsive than previous versions. If you enjoy customization, you’ll be pleased, and others can always remove unnecessary features for a closer-to-stock Android experience. It’s a shame that major updates stop at Android 14.

Display

The screen could have been excellent, but its calibration is imperfect, leaning too much towards blue. It’s unfortunate, as it offers great brightness and an appreciable adaptive 120 Hz refresh rate.

Performance

It delivers excellent performance, with rare slowdowns in Android and apps. In terms of gaming, it will satisfy less fortunate gamers or those who prioritize graphics over a 60 fps frame rate.

Battery Life

With an effective charge in 45 to 50 minutes and a day and a half of usage, battery life shouldn’t be a problem with this Poco.

Editor’s Verdict

Poco continues to improve in design, performance, and photography. The manufacturer has managed to create a balanced product with performance that can satisfy a vast majority of users, including gamers, as long as they don’t demand the best performance. The photography could benefit from less aggressive digital processing, although it’s much less intense than on other products from the manufacturer.

We appreciate the screen’s smoothness but are less fond of the color rendering, which leans too much towards blue. The fast charging is efficient, taking less than 50 minutes to go from 0% to 100%. When Poco first arrived in France, it made a splash, but since then, the competition has caught up, and even other Poco products can overshadow it. For example, the Poco F4, representing the brand’s high-end lineup, offers better results and a superior screen at a similar price.

If you’re looking for a stylish, balanced, autonomous product with considerable gaming capabilities, this is an excellent choice. If photo quality and screen accuracy are essential to you, you might want to look elsewhere.

Poco X5 Pro Pros:

• Design
• Minimal heating with good performance
• Fast charging
• 120 Hz OLED display

Poco X5 Pro Cons:

• Disappointing night photography
• Gaming stability
• Unnatural screen colorimetry