The smartphone market in India has seen a lot of activity recently. The majority of the new launches have been successors to phones that were available last year in and around the Rs. 20,000 price range. The price increase of new launches can be attributed to a variety of factors, including rising component and raw material costs, a weakening rupee against the dollar, and so on. Poco, a company known for providing value-for-money hardware in the mainstream and mid-range segments, has introduced the Poco X5 Pro 5G as its new release under Rs. 25,000.
Price
In India, the Poco X5 Pro 5G is available in two storage configurations. The phone’s base model has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The price is Rs. 22,999. The 8GB RAM variant with 256GB internal storage was sent to us by the company. The price is Rs. 24,999. Customers with an ICICI Bank card can get a Rs. 2,000 instant discount on the phone as part of the launch offers.
Specifications Table
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G |
| No of cores | 8 (octa core) |
| RAM | 6 GB |
| RAM Type | LPDDR4X |
| Height-Width | 6.41in-2.99in |
| Weight | 181 grams |
| Colours | POCO Yellow, Horizon Blue, Astral Black |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| Display Type | AMOLED, 2.5D Curved Glass, Dolby Vision, HDR 10 + |
| Colour Reproduction | 16M Colours |
| TouchScreen | Yes, Capacitive, Multi-Touch |
| Rear camera setup | Triple |
| Rear Camera | 108MP(Primary), 8MP(Secondary), 2MP(Tertiary) |
| Front camera | 16 MP Resolution |
| Flash | LED Rear flash |
| Video Resolution | 3840 x 2160 @ 30 fps |
| Camera Features | Auto FlashAuto FocusFace detectionTouch to focus |
| Battery Type and capacity | Li-Polymer, 5000 mAh |
| Fast Charging | Yes, Sonic, 67W |
| Internal memory type | 128 GB, UFS 2.2 |
| Operating System | Android v12 |
| Custom UI | MIUI |
| SIM Configuration | Dual SIM |
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth v5.1 |
| GPS | Yes with A-GPS, Glonass |
| Fingerprint sensor | Yes, Side |
| Face Unlock | Yes |
| Other Sensor | Light SensorProximity SensorAccelerometerCompassGyroscope |
Design and Display
The Poco X5 Pro 5G is built similarly to the Poco X4 Pro 5G, with a flat frame and a flat back panel. Unlike the previous model, which had a rear glass back panel, the Poco X5 Pro 5G has a plastic back panel. The polycarbonate shell also contributes to the phone feeling significantly lighter than its predecessor. The Poco X5 Pro 5G weighs 181g but feels even lighter in your hand. The device is also said to be the thinnest Poco smartphone in India, with a thickness of 7.99mm.
The Poco X5 Pro 5G features a tall, 6.67-inch Xfinity AMOLED display with chip-on-panel technology to keep the panel thin. The bezels around the display are also thinner than on the previous model. The display lacks curved sides like the Realme 10 Pro+ 5G, but it does support Dolby Vision and HDR10 playback. It is used by video streaming apps such as Netflix.
The 10-bit display produces vibrant colours and deep blacks, and unlike previous Poco (and Xiaomi) phones, I did not notice any display issues like (green) tinting on my unit. The equally good stereo speakers that support multimedia enhance the multimedia experience. The display on the Poco X5 Pro 5G is also reasonably bright for outdoor use.
Connectivity
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G SoC powers the Poco X5 Pro 5G. The 6nm SoC also includes an Adreno 642L GPU, LPDDR4X RAM, and UFS 2.2 storage. In India, the X5 Pro also supports seven 5G bands. Dual-band Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.1, and a USB Type-C port are among the connectivity options.
Software
The Poco X5 Pro 5G comes with the Android 12-based MIUI 14 software. It is disappointing that a phone priced above Rs. 20,000 in 2023 does not have the most recent Android version. The new MIUI update includes features that improve overall performance, such as using less memory and using less power.
Performance and Battery Life
It is an excellent choice for those who enjoy playing games on their smartphone but do not wish to spend a lot of money. The Snapdragon 778G is a capable processor for handling resource-intensive tasks, let alone day-to-day tasks. I enjoyed playing Call of Duty: Mobile on the Poco X5 Pro 5G at the ‘Very High’ graphics as well as ‘Max’ framerate settings. While playing team deathmatch or multiplayer rounds, there was no stuttering or lag. On the X5 Pro 5G, you can also select ‘Ultra’ framerate with ‘Low’ or ‘Medium’ graphics quality. Asphalt 9 Legends performed admirably on the Poco X5 Pro 5G.
The 5,000mAh battery in the Poco X5 Pro 5G can easily last a full day on a single charge. When I played games or recorded videos with the camera, the phone provided an average of eight hours of screen-on time (SoT). The SoT was approximately nine hours on days when my use case was lighter. Your results may vary depending on how you use it. The Poco X5 Pro 5G lasted 17 hours and 32 minutes in our HD video loop test. The battery was charged from 0% to 100% in 47 minutes using the 67W fast charging adapter. While charging, the phone got a little warm near the camera module.
Camera
It has three rear cameras. A 108-megapixel Samsung HM2 main camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 2-megapixel macro camera are all included. The primary camera lacks optical image stabilisation (OIS). The phone also has a 16-megapixel front-facing camera sensor.
During the day, the primary camera captures detailed, vibrant images. When HDR was applied, however, I noticed that the reds and greens were a little more saturated than usual. The dynamic range performance is good, but it could be better. When using Night mode, the 1/1.52-inch Samsung ISOCELL HM2 sensor does a good job of retaining details in the shadows.
Verdict
The Poco X5 Pro 5G provides an excellent multimedia experience, solid performance, and satisfactory battery life. The design is subjective, and to be honest, I’m not a big fan of how it looks. However, the lightweight and slim design may appeal to a large number of buyers. The primary rear camera and front camera perform admirably, but the other two have room for improvement. What I didn’t like was the lack of Android 13 out of the box, which was a huge letdown. The software’s saving grace is that it is feature-rich and has less bloatware.
