Poco F5 Pro in the test: mid-range cell phone with 8K camera and lots of computing power

LITTLE F5 PRO

May 28, 2023 at 7:00 p.m

On paper, the Poco F5 Pro shines with a 64-megapixel camera that can also film 8K ​​videos and a fast processor. But does the mid-range cell phone keep what it promises in the test?

The Xiaomi subsidiary caused a stir five years ago with the Pocophone F1. At the time, a mobile phone with flagship technology was available for less than 400 dollars. Since then, there has been hype about the manufacturer’s new F models every year – even if the price-performance ratio is still good, but nowhere near as outstanding as it was in 2018.

The price for the Poco F5 Pro starts at 529 dollars this year and is therefore not far removed from older top smartphones such as the Google Pixel 7, the Samsung Galaxy S22 or the Xiaomi 12T Pro. What speaks for and against buying the Poco F5 Pro is explained below. You can choose whether you want to read the text or watch our video review.

Video-Review

design and processing

With the Poco F5 Pro, Xiaomi relies on a currently typical design for smartphones. The front of the cell phone is almost entirely taken up by the 6.67-inch display. There is a punch hole in the middle of the upper edge. The front camera finds its place in this recess. The back is unadorned.

Only the massive camera module catches the eye. It sits in the top right corner and protrudes a good millimeter from the back. However, since it is also very wide, the Poco F5 Pro hardly wobbles when you operate it lying on the table.

Poco F5 Pro in pictures

This is what the Poco F5 Pro looks like.

Our test device is the white color variant, the device is also available with a black back. The back is made of an unspecified glass, the front is covered by Gorilla Glass 5. The frame is made of plastic. In the hand, the Poco F5 Pro gives a valuable impression, which is also due to the high weight of over 200 grams.

What we don’t like: The glass back turns out to be slippery. Fingerprints and dirt also stick to it quickly. We therefore recommend putting the Poco F5 Pro in a protective cover. Xiaomi includes a transparent bumper with the cell phone free of charge.

The IP53 certification is also worth mentioning. This protects the Poco F5 Pro against splashing water. At the price of over 500 dollars, however, certification according to IP67 should actually be included.

Display

The display exudes real flagship charm. The built-in OLED could also be found in the Xiaomi 13 Pro. Not only is it extremely bright, it also has a resolution of 3200×1440 pixels (WQHD+), which is untypical for this price range. The refresh rate is a maximum of 120 Hertz.

However, both the high resolution and the higher refresh rate must first be activated in the settings. From the factory, the Poco F5 Pro runs with Full HD+ and a dynamically adjusted refresh rate. This saves the battery.

processor and memory

The showpiece of the F series at Poco is always the processor. In the F5 Pro, Xiaomi relies on the Qualcomm chip Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, which was also used in the Xiaomi 12 Pro last year, for example. Depending on the model variant, it is supported by 8 or 12 gigabytes (GB) of RAM. Our test device was the 12 GB variant.

Not surprising: In the benchmark test, the Poco F5 Pro beats the competition with this configuration by far. You won’t find more computing power at a lower price at the moment. Also pleasing: The cell phone hardly throttles its performance even under load. The performance only dropped by 11 percent in the 15-minute CPU throttling test. For comparison: With the Pixel 7a, it fell by 36 percent.

The computing power of the mobile phone and its components is tested with AnTuTu and Geekbench. Higher values ​​always mean better results.

The Poco F5 Pro offers 256 or 512 gigabytes of storage for your files. You have to think about how much you need before you buy it. Because the memory cannot be expanded later. The SIM slot only offers space for two nano SIM cards. From our point of view, the 256 gigabyte variant should be completely sufficient.

Software

The Poco F5 Pro ships with Android 13 and MIUI 14. You can definitely count on an update to Android 14. It remains to be seen how many updates there will be. It should also be noted that numerous apps are preinstalled on the smartphone ex works – such as Amazon, Booking.com or various games. If you have no use for them, you can simply remove them.

Camera

The Xiaomi Poco F5 Pro offers a triple camera for photo and video recordings. This consists of a 64-megapixel main sensor. This is the OV64B from OmniVision, which even allows you to record 8K videos (!) – but only with 24 FPS. Still an absolute rarity in this price range. Thanks to the high-aperture aperture (f/1.79), optical image stabilizer and the option of pixel binning, it should still be possible to take usable pictures even in poor light conditions.

An ultra wide-angle camera is installed as the second sensor, and the third lens has a depth gauge with a resolution of 2 megapixels. The front camera, on the other hand, has a resolution of 16 megapixels and offers a maximum video resolution of Full HD.

Little F5 Pro: Camera-Samples

These pictures were taken with the Poco F5 Pro.

In daylight, the main camera delivers sharp and detailed shots – even the digital 2x zoom is convincing. We didn’t like the pictures taken with the ultra-wide-angle camera as much. Optical distortions occur here. The buildings in our sample image appear very crooked. The Google Pixel 7a delivers better pictures here. The same applies to recordings in the dark. Even in night mode, only few detailed pictures are possible here.

battery pack

With a capacity of 5,160 mAh, the Poco F5 Pro currently has one of the largest mobile phone batteries. Depending on the intensity of use, one charge should easily last for one and a half to two days. The mobile phone can be charged both at the socket (with up to 67 watts) and wirelessly (with 30 watts). However, special accessories are required for the maximum charging capacity. At least the power supply is included.

Another thing we noticed…

• Xiaomi equips the Poco F5 Pro with an infrared sensor. So it can also be used as a remote control.
• Unlike the Poco F5, it does not offer a jack connection.

These are your alternatives

If you are looking for a current cell phone as an alternative to the Poco F5 Pro, you will mainly find two models in the middle class: the Samsung Galaxy A54 and the Google Pixel 7a. Both are not quite as powerful, but come with significantly longer software support and a better camera. Both devices are eSIM-capable and certified according to IP67.

If a cell phone from last year is also an option, then the Samsung Galaxy S22 and the Google Pixel 7 are also possible due to their drop in price. Both offer the better camera and longer software support.