Poco X5 Pro 5G review

Xiaomi’s inexpensive telephones underneath the Poco branding have been glorious through the years, offering stable specs and enticing design on the reverse of eye-watering costs.  

For 2023, the Poco X5 vary is extra of the identical and although they symbolize an incremental enchancment over the X4 fashions, stay glorious worth handsets in a crowded market.  

I’m testing the X5 Professional right here, with the latter half typically which means little greater than it being higher-spec than the common mannequin. General, these two telephones look very comparable and share loads of options, however the Professional gives issues like a greater principal digital camera, sooner charging and, oddly, newer software program. 

There are titans of the mid-range telephone house such because the Pixel 6a and OnePlus Nord 2T however Xiaomi as soon as once more undercuts its rivals for these on a decent price range. It’s superb what you may get for this a lot cash if you happen to don’t thoughts a few downsides. 

Design & Construct 

• Small visible tweaks 
• Nonetheless very plastic 
• Lighter and extra snug 

After the design overhaul of the Poco X3 Professional, issues are extra comparable this 12 months, although it has some refined tweaks from the X4 Professional. The primary one being the digital camera encompass which nonetheless takes up a big portion of the rear however now solely has a raised part to 1 facet and the massive ‘POCO’ brand rotated 90-degrees. 

Two of the digital camera lenses stick out additional nonetheless making this telephone severely wobbly when positioned on a flat floor and propping it up with a beer mat received’t assist. Nonetheless, the telephone is thinner and lighter this 12 months at a powerful 7.9mm and 181g.  

I’ve been testing the yellow mannequin, which as ordinary for Poco, I actually like together with the matching energy button which hides the fingerprint scanner. In the event you’re not so eager, although, you may get the X5 Professional in a extra sedate blue or black. 

Sadly, it’s nonetheless the case that the rear cowl of the smartphone is plastic, and never a pleasant plastic. It’s attempting to mimic frosted glass however seems to be and feels low cost with a extreme lack of grip. Fortuitously, there’s a primary clear silicone case offered within the field. 

The telephone remains to be IP53 rated so isn’t absolutely waterproof however you don’t all the time get any safety in any respect with mid-range telephones. Construct high quality is okay however nothing notably particular, you continue to get Gorilla Glass 5 on the entrance (model 3 on the common X5) however the again is flimsy as confirmed by the best way it got here with the sticker once I eliminated it. 

Display & Audio system 

• 6.67in AMOLED 
• 120Hz refresh charge 
• Some small downgrades 

On the entire, the show within the X5 Professional is unchanged from its predecessor so it’s nonetheless a flat 6.67in AMOLED panel with as much as 120Hz refresh charge and a Full HD+ (2400×1080) decision.  

That’s a big show, particularly contemplating how svelte it’s, and its panel tech mixed with DCI-P3 and 10bit color assist makes for a blinding expertise. Distinction can also be glorious, and the show is a pleasure to make use of no matter you’re doing from social media to video games. 

To nitpick on specs for a second, the height brightness has been diminished from 1300- to 900 nits. Nonetheless, the standard brightness of 500 is nice sufficient for the overwhelming majority of conditions and I measured it barely above that determine at 525 nits when set to most and computerized adjustment switched off. 

The contact sampling charge has additionally been downgraded from 360- to 240Hz, however except you’re a gaming fanatic this received’t be one thing you discover. The actual fact is, this may be thought-about a flagship-level show in an nearly price range worth telephone and it’s definitely higher than many handsets on this worth bracket. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

The audio system on the X5 Professional are among the many finest I’ve ever heard on a mid-range telephone. The gadget has stereo audio system and there’s a powerful quantity of oomph – even at 75% quantity – whereas retaining readability and a very good tone.  

Bass is a bit missing however that’s to be anticipated and I can definitely forgive that when, await it, there’s a headphone jack on the highest (sure, I nonetheless use wired headphones typically). 

Specs & Efficiency 

• Snapdragon 778G 
• 5G as customary 
• 6/128GB minimal 
• Dynamic RAM Enlargement 3.0 

Talking of gaming, the Poco X5 Professional is as soon as once more pitched as a gaming gadget with its ‘The key to win’ tagline. Nonetheless, the conclusion for the X4 Professional was that it was “a little bit of a stretch” to make these sorts of claims. 

There’s excellent news once we raise the metaphorical lid of the gadget because the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G is discovered within the engine room, making a step up from the 695 5G within the X4 Professional. It’s nonetheless a 6nm octa-core chip however extra complicated with as much as 2.4GHz Cortex-A78 cores. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

Elsewhere you get both 6- or 8GB RAM paired with 128- or 256GB of storage respectively. There’s no microSD card slot so select your mannequin properly. Dynamic RAM Enlargement 3.0 goals to ‘assist extra apps working within the background’. 

It’s one thing we’ve seen on different telephones and primarily borrows some cupboard space but it surely’s unattainable to say how nicely it really works as we are able to’t toggle it on and off. The Snapdragon 778G means there’s 5G community assist and the telephone is dual-SIM, too. 

Though I couldn’t get GFXBench to run for some comparative graphics scores, the telephone runs very nicely on a day-to-day foundation in my testing. It’s not a correct flagship-level chipset however the X5 Professional is nippy in use and gives completely good efficiency for this worth level.

Cameras 

• 108Mp
• 8Mp ultrawide
• 2Mp macro
• 16Mp selfie

General, the digital camera system on the X5 Professional is similar as its predecessor, albeit with the next decision selfie digital camera. On the again although, is a 108Mp principal digital camera flanked by an 8Mp ultrawide and 2Mp macro.  

As is way too widespread, the macro digital camera is hidden within the settings menu somewhat than given its personal possibility within the rail of digital camera modes. It’s a bit higher than some I’ve used however stays mediocre and tough to make use of because of the mounted focus so that you’re finest off forgetting this digital camera is there except you actually need it. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

See also  Xiaomi 12T review

You’re much more doubtless to make use of the primary and ultrawide cameras, in that order. The primary sensor is a big 1/1.52in and there’s an honest f/1.9 aperture. You may shoot in full 108Mp if you happen to like however, in fact, it makes much more sense to permit the telephone to pixel bin to 12Mp for storage causes. 

There’s good ranges of element, color replica and publicity when capturing in good lighting circumstances. As a degree and shoot snapper it does a very good job, particularly whenever you keep in mind the asking worth. 

Nonetheless, there’s no optical picture stabilisation (OIS) right here which does imply there’s the chance of blur, notably in low mild, and video footage (which fits to 4K/30fps) isn’t as easy because it might be.  

You may change to the ultrawide by tapping the 0.6x zoom stage within the common digital camera mode which retains comparable color ranges however you get a noticeable drop in high quality as is typical. Nonetheless, it’s helpful to have whenever you wish to match extra within the body. 

The selfie digital camera is 16Mp and presents glorious high quality shot and has a portrait mode which did a reasonably respectable job of slicing out my hair with a plain inexperienced background to work with.  

Battery Life & Charging 

• 5000mAh battery 
• 67W charging 
• No wi-fi charging 

As per final 12 months, the X5 Professional has a considerable 5000mAh battery and impressively speedy 67W wired charging. With the plastic rear cowl there is no such thing as a wi-fi charging right here. 

Issues may be unchanged from the X4 Professional right here, however you possibly can hardly blame Xiaomi when the specs stay higher than many rivals available on the market and the charger is provided within the field which may’t be mentioned of many telephones double the value or extra. 

In typical useage the X5 Professional ought to comfortably get most customers via a day with out worrying about hitting depletion. Lighter customers on the market like me can count on a day and a half or extra. I couldn’t get the PCMark take a look at we ordinary run to finish with out failing half manner via.

Chris Martin / Foundry

When the telephone does run down, that 67W turbo charger can get you to 49% in quarter-hour and 84% in half an hour with the gadget ranging from fully lifeless. That’s spectacular stuff, albeit 10% behind the X4 Professional on each figures. 

Software program & Apps

• MIUI 14 
• Android 12
• Unknown software program updates

And so, we come to the software program part of one other telephone with MIUI and but once more need to breathe a not-so-small sigh of disdain. 

On the danger of sounding like a damaged file (learn any of our critiques of a telephone with MIUI from any author) issues are nonetheless only a manner off from the place we’d prefer it to be.  

And this can be a new model, MIUI 14, however incorporates principally small (and foolish) tweaks resembling Tremendous Icons, new widgets and, bizarrely, digital pets or crops – though I can’t discover the latter on my pattern as proven off on Xiaomiui. 

After an unusually lengthy setup course of, you’re offered with a garish homescreen with extra colors than a child’s smooth play. An eyesore that’s partly on account of how all the pieces clashes with the default wallpaper.

Chris Martin / Foundry

I’m undecided why a mid-range telephone like this has to come back out the field with icons trying like they’ve been stolen from a devoted child’s pill.  

The excellent news, as all the time, is that a lot of this may be customised and subsequently rectified. However nonetheless, MIUI stays lagging behind nearly each rival by way of how intuitive and simple to make use of it’s. 

It’s irritating which is the very last thing you need from software program and Xiaomi doesn’t add many helpful touches like, for instance, Motorola does. As an alternative, you simply get an inordinate quantity of pre-installed apps. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

Some may be helpful to you however there are just too many for my liking. I counted 17 not together with the Mi and Poco branded ones, that are largely duplicates of the Google ones you’re much more doubtless to make use of. Examples embrace Netflix, Opera, Amazon Buying, Spotify and Genshin Affect. 

Players may benefit from the Sport Turbo bar which you’ll summon by swiping in from the facet. It has shortcuts for apps in addition to a plethora of instruments resembling efficiency increase, display recorder and a voice changer.

So far as I’m conscious, Xiaomi doesn’t decide to a sure variety of OS updates which is one other mark towards the telephone in comparison with rivals. 

Value 

With the Poco X4 Professional coming in at simply £259/€299 for a 6/128GB mannequin, I had excessive hopes for this 12 months’s model.  

Going cheaper than the likes of Google and OnePlus is a surefire option to stand out and tempt patrons who don’t bend the knee to only one model.  

Certain sufficient, the Poco X5 Professional prices simply $299/€299 and that once more will get you a stable 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, however you possibly can bounce to eight/256GB if you happen to like for $349/£369/€349.

Early chicken costs can be found till 13 February from $249 and also you’ll discover that the one UK worth there’s for the upper spec mannequin, which is one thing of an issue for these merely wanting a less expensive gadget. You should purchase it from AliExpress.

If you would like one thing cheaper, the common Poco X5 is extra of a steal at $249/£279 and there’s a alternative of mannequin within the UK. Simply keep in mind that you just get slower charging and a decrease megapixel principal digital camera, together with another extra minor tweaks. 

Nonetheless undecided which telephone to purchase? Try our charts of the perfect price range telephones and finest mid-range telephones. 

Verdict 

These in search of a super-value smartphone could be right to look to Xiaomi’s Poco vary and the X5 Professional is one other good instance.

Not a lot has modified because the X4 Professional however meaning there are many issues to love right here together with a big 120Hz AMOLED show, speedy 67W charging and a stable 108Mp principal digital camera.

Upgrades embrace a brand new Snapdragon 778G chipset and a greater 16Mp selfie digital camera, together with a extra svelte design. It’s nonetheless plasticky although and within the west, MIUI nonetheless lags behind rivals for cleanliness and usefulness.

In the event you can look previous these issues, then the X5 Professional has rather a lot to supply for not a lot cash but it surely’s a disgrace that Xiaomi is simply providing the costlier 8/256GB mannequin within the UK, stopping the telephone from being an actual steal. For £30 extra, I’d somewhat take the Pixel 6a with its assurances, regardless of some technically decrease specs.

Specs

• Android 12, MIUI 14
• 6.67in AMOLED show (120Hz, FHD+)
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G
• 6GB/8GB RAM
• 128/256GB storage
• 108Mp 1/1.52in f/1.9 principal rear digital camera
• 8Mp 118-degree f/2.2 ultra-wide digital camera
• 2Mp f/2.4 macro lens
• 16Mp f2.4 selfie digital camera
• 5G
• Bluetooth 5.2
• Wi-Fi 6
• NFC
• Twin audio system
• Fingerprint reader in Energy button
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• 5000mAh battery
• 67W quick cost tech
• 162.9 x 76 x 7.9mm
• 181g
• Obtainable in Black, Blue and Yellow