Xiaomi Poco M5 review

If there’s such a factor as a template for Xiaomi’s Poco sub-brand, it’s a mixture of multimedia-friendly efficiency with a temptingly low price ticket. The Poco M5 sticks firmly to that script, providing competent all-round efficiency for lower than £200.

Regardless of the lacking ‘Professional’ within the identify, that is basically a direct follow-up to the Poco M4 Professional from earlier within the yr. However has it superior sufficiently over the earlier mannequin – or in any respect, for that matter?

Design & Construct

• All-plastic design
• Authentic faux-leather end
• Huge and heavy

Xiaomi’s Poco workforce has actually leaned into the dominant digital camera module look of the Poco M4 Professional and Poco M4 Professional 5G. This element spans all the width of the Poco M5’s rear cowl, considerably just like the Pixel 6a, solely a lot taller.

One other focal point right here is Xiaomi’s selection of end. Whereas the rear panel (just like the telephone’s complete body) is comprised of plastic, it adopts a faux leather-based impact.

It’s a like it or hate it flourish, however the Poco model has by no means been shy about making daring design choices. I for one applaud it for attempting to do one thing barely totally different, and it’s definitely extra proof against fingerprints than its shiny predecessor.

Much less laudable is the sheer measurement of the telephone. It’s reasonably thick at 8.9mm, whereas 201g feels too heavy for such an inexpensive all-plastic telephone.

The choice to modify away from the opening punch notch of the Poco M4 vary in favour of a teardrop various is a reasonably regrettable one. It makes the Poco M5 seem like an older, cheaper telephone than its predecessors. Maybe that’s why it’s not deserving of the ‘Professional’ moniker, regardless of what the shared price ticket would possibly recommend.

As soon as once more there are three colors to select from: Black, Inexperienced, and that previous Poco favorite Yellow.

Display & Audio system

• 6.58in FHD+ LCD show
• 90Hz refresh fee
• No stereo audio system

Xiaomi seems to have introduced the show throughout from the Poco M4 Professional 5G reasonably than the Poco M4 Professional. That may sound like a tiny distinction, however it truly represents a sneaky downgrade.

Whereas the Poco M4 Professional was notable for having the primary AMOLED show within the M-range, the Poco M5 reverts to a daily 6.58in IPS LCD. It’s not a nasty element in any respect as sub-£200 smartphones go, with a good 2400×1080 (FHD+) decision and a 90Hz most refresh fee, although you’ll must activate the latter within the settings menu.

It will get to a claimed 500 nits in HBM (excessive brightness mode), whereas with auto brightness turned off I recorded a most brightness of round 350 nits. That’s not vastly brilliant, and the display screen can get fairly washed out in out of doors lighting.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

In the end, it’s that reversion to LCD that stands out right here. The Poco M5’s display screen merely isn’t anyplace close to as vibrant or enticing as its predecessor.

It’s fairly color correct although. Switching from the default Vivid to Commonplace mode, I recorded an sRGB gamut protection of 92.4% and a gamut quantity of 94.7, with a powerful common Delta E of 1.13.

One other downer right here is the choice to strip the Poco M5 of correct stereo audio system in favour of a weedy mono one. This might be counted on as a signature Poco function, so its absence in favour of a weedy mono speaker is keenly felt.

Specs & Efficiency

• MediaTek Helio G99
• 4GB RAM
• 64/128GB storage

The supply of a MediaTek Helio G99 chip within the Poco M5 is a delicate enchancment over the MediaTek Helio G96 of the Poco M4 Professional. Maybe the most important distinction is that the M5’s chip is constructed on a smaller, extra environment friendly 6nm course of in comparison with the 12nm M4 Professional element.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

It would run cooler and extra effectively, however there isn’t an enormous distinction in uncooked efficiency phrases. A median Geekbench 5 multi-core rating of 1895 for the Poco M5 could be very related certainly to the Poco M4 Professional earlier than it. Its GPU is barely extra spectacular than earlier than, with a lot of our common GFXBench exams yielding an additional body per second.

Gaming efficiency is stable, if not spectacular. I used to be capable of bump Genshin Influence as much as Medium graphical settings and a 60fps goal with eminently playable (if not precisely silky) outcomes. That’s not dangerous given the meagre provision of 4GB of RAM, which represents a downgrade from the Poco M4 Professional’s selection of 6- or 8GB.

Equally low is the entry-level provision of 64GB of inside storage. With numerous £200 telephones now shifting to 128GB because the minimal spec, it feels a little bit dated. Nonetheless, a minimum of you could have a microSDXC slot for enlargement functions.

Cameras

• 50Mp broad sensor
• 2Mp depth and macro sensors
• 5Mp selfie

Thus far we’ve seen indicators of regression from the Poco M4 Professional, and that continues with the Poco M5’s digital camera provision. Most notably, there’s no ultra-wide digital camera this time round.

You get a 50Mp broad digital camera, a 2Mp macro digital camera, and a 2Mp depth sensor. Suffice to say, these final two would possibly as effectively not exist for all the great that they do.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

That 50Mp primary sensor additionally seemingly represents a little bit of a step again after the Poco M4 Professional represented the collection debut of a 64Mp sensor.

In sensible phrases, the Poco M5 achieves about as a lot as you possibly can hope from cheaper telephones – to seize first rate photographs in good lighting. Feed it loads of gentle and also you’ll get fairly sharp, natural-looking photographs, if a little bit flat advert affected by a contact of overexposure within the highlights.

As quickly as the sunshine drops, issues descend into a loud mush. Even the devoted Evening mode fails to do rather more than brighten that noise up reasonably than sharpen issues.

There’s a 5Mp selfie digital camera round entrance, which shows numerous noise and struggles with highlights.

Battery Life & Charging

• 5000mAh battery
• Potential two-day utilization
• Solely an 18W charger

The Poco M5 runs on a 5000mAh battery, which is just about desk stakes for a contemporary inexpensive telephone, however reassuringly capacious all the identical.

Mixed with that extra environment friendly 6nm MediaTek Helio G99 chip and different undemanding parts, it is a real two day performer. A full 16-hour day of sunshine utilization would have a tendency to go away me with greater than 70% left within the tank.

Sadly, I used to be unable to run the same old PC Mark Work 3.0 battery take a look at that we use on this situation. For no matter purpose, the Poco M5 repeatedly crashed out of this benchmark, and lots of others for that matter. Given the robust efficiency of the telephone generally utilization, this isn’t an enormous concern.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Xiaomi has packed in an 18W charger with the Poco M5, which is a stable inclusion. Once more, although, this marks a step again from the Poco M4 Professional, which got here with a 33W charger.

It ends in some reasonably gradual charging speeds. In quarter-hour of charging from empty, the Poco M5 solely reached 6%, whereas half-hour took it as much as 21%.

Software program

Whereas the Poco M4 collection ran on Android 11 at launch, the Poco M5 ships with Android 12. Not that this issues all that a lot – Xiaomi’s customized MIUI 13 continues to take a seat closely on prime like an enormous, gaudy quilt.

It’s an interface rife with niggling annoyances. You continue to get annoying full-screen (however largely empty of data) notifications each time you put in an app. It’s nonetheless not possible to see how a lot screen-on time you’re getting out of a single cost, in contrast to nearly each different Android UI.

Additionally like earlier than, nonetheless, MIUI continues to be extraordinarily customisable. Don’t just like the convoluted break up notification system? You’re solely a settings menu journey away from combining the 2 halves into one thing extra commonplace. In the meantime, Xiaomi’s Themes provides one of the crucial in depth wallpaper store fronts, usually with matching icons.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

I may nonetheless do with out all the wearisome bloatware that blights each Xiaomi and Xiaomi-adjacent telephones. Do we actually want the Open net browser and Xiaomi’s personal Mi Browser on prime of Google Chrome? Or the throwaway Tile Enjoyable and Mud Settle video games? No. We don’t.

Value & Availability

Pinning Poco telephones all the way down to a selected value or launch schedule may be an train in futility. Nonetheless, the Poco M5 has arrived with a beginning value of £179 for 4GB of RAM and 64GB of inside storage.

Alternatively, you possibly can bump the storage as much as 128GB for £199. That is barely cheaper pricing to the Poco M4 Professional from earlier in 2022. It’s additionally just like the Redmi Notice 11 and the Realme 9i.

You must be capable to buy the Poco M5 by means of the official Poco web site however the purchase now button hyperlinks to AliExpress the place the telephone prices a ridiculous £629 on the time of writing. So, you’re a lot better off getting it from the Mi store the place costs are right.

It’s not formally obtainable within the US, however you should purchase a worldwide unlocked model for $189 from Amazon when you like.

Try our greatest funds telephones chart for all the present prime handsets.

Verdict

The Poco M5 provides a reasonably competent all-round smartphone expertise for a sub-£200 value. Nonetheless, we’re merely not getting that well-known Poco sense of generosity right here, and also you solely want to have a look at the Poco M4 Professional to see why.

That early–2022 mannequin provides related efficiency, a extra versatile digital camera system, a superior show, stereo audio system, quicker charging, and extra reminiscence, all for a barely larger value. You may say related issues in regards to the Redmi Notice 11, too.

Shopping for the Poco M5 isn’t a nasty concept by any means, and its distinctive design and wonderful battery life are stand-out options. Nonetheless, it merely doesn’t symbolize the worth that we’re used to seeing from this extremely regarded funds model.

Specs

• Android 12, MIUI 13
• 6.59in, FHD+, IPS LCD, 90Hz, flat show
• Aspect-mounted fingerprint sensor
• MediaTek MT8781 Helio G99
• 4GB LPDDR4 RAM
• 64GB/128GB storage
• 50Mp, f/1.8 primary digital camera
• 2Mp depth sensor
• 2Mp macro digital camera
• As much as 1080p @ 30fps rear video
• 5Mp front-facing digital camera
• Mono speaker
• Twin-SIM
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
• Bluetooth 5.3
• 5000mAh battery
• 18W charging
• 164 x 76.1 x 8.9 mm
• 201g
• Launch colors: Black, Inexperienced, Yellow