The Poco F8 Pro Review: Flagship Thrills Without the Premium

Value When Reviewed

Not but obtainable within the US

Finest Costs At present: Xiaomi Poco F8 Professional

The Poco F8 Extremely is the sub-brand’s new flagship-class entry, sporting Qualcomm’s finest and brightest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, an enormous 6.9-inch show, and a couple of.1-channel Bose-tuned audio, with a in-built subwoofer – nevertheless it didn’t launch alone.

Arriving alongside it, the Poco F8 Professional additionally embodies the mark’s penchant for inexpensive energy, however in a extra compact kind and with a good lower cost tag.

It’s solely been eight months for the reason that Poco F7 collection dropped, so that you’d hope this subsequent era had some noteworthy upgrades to shout about. Whereas it’s clear that the Extremely takes the cake – with Poco framing the cellphone as its first true all-round flagship – the F8 Professional builds extra instantly on the inspiration of the Poco F7 Extremely. It options the identical chip, however matches it with new show tech, higher audio, improved cameras, quicker charging and Xiaomi’s newest HyperOS consumer expertise.

Design & Construct

• Glass-backed design
• 199 grams
• IP68 rated

Given how usually copycats crop up within the cellular area, you’d be forgiven for considering that Poco noticed the iPhone 17 Professional‘s broad new digital camera plateau and figured that was the ingredient to crib to outline the look of the F8 collection. However wind the clock again additional and also you’ll see that it’s basically the opposite manner round.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

Each the iPhone and the F8 Professional comply with within the footsteps of final yr’s Poco F6 Professional. Though this mannequin has a extra squared-off kind, it in any other case seems to be loads like its 2025 successor.

The F8 Professional options extra curves than the F6 Professional, particularly the corners of its body and digital camera island, all of which sport matching radii for a balanced, premium look. The perimeters of that straight-sided aluminium body additionally function some beneficiant rounding, that means it’s lots snug within the hand, even when that makes it look thick (it’s nonetheless solely 8mm) on this yr of super-slim smartphones.

Whereas it isn’t as thrilling to have a look at as some earlier Poco entries, it’s some of the grown-up wanting and refined of the model’s telephones I’ve dealt with. For as soon as, there’s no signature vivid yellow colourway, however as a substitute three muted tones, in black, Titanium Silver (pictured) and (pale) blue.

What additionally helps give the cellphone a premium really feel is its milled glass again which, regardless of a delightful floor distinction of diffuse and reflective finishes, is a single piece, giving it a cleaner look. It’s a primary for the model.

The mirror-like portion surrounding the digital camera has the potential to assist body up rear-sensor selfies too, nevertheless it smudges simply. It’s additionally the one part of the cellphone’s again that’s uncovered if you slap on the included darkish gray TPU case.

Tactile metallic buttons are simply accessible alongside the cellphone’s proper facet, and beneath lies the SIM slot. However this mannequin and the F8 Extremely each embrace a long-requested Poco function within the type of eSIM help. IP68 water and dirt resistance carries over from the F7 collection as properly.

Display screen & Audio system

• 6.59in 120Hz Poco HyperRGB Show
• Protected by Gorilla Glass 7i
• Stereo audio system w/ Bose-tuned audio

At 6.9-inches, the Poco F7 Extremely boasts one of many largest-ever shows on a Xiaomi cellphone. By comparability, the F8 Professional’s 6.59-inch panel is way extra compact and pocketable, even when that’s on the expense of immersion.

Not solely is it set inside one of many the thinnest bezels we’ve ever seen on a Poco cellphone (once more, aiding the cellphone’s premium really feel), however the F8 collection debuts the corporate’s new HyperRGB Show tech.

It apparently makes use of an unconventional sub-pixel construction, paired to a brand new M10 materials (which the corporate states has 11.4% improved luminance effectivity), to supply higher readability than a traditional PenTile show, whereas utilizing 22.3% much less energy than the screens discovered on the F7 line.

In real-world phrases, the corporate claims that its tech delivers the readability of a 2K OLED display, regardless of solely utilizing a 1.5K panel, and in side-by-side comparisons with the sharpest cellphone I needed to hand – the Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely (498ppi versus the Professional’s 419ppi) – I’d need to agree.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

Except for a visual distinction in pixel construction beneath magnification, the readability and sharpness of the Poco F7 Extremely’s display and that of the the Galaxy S25 Extremely have been comparable. Below scrutiny, font serifs look simply as sharp, with the panel’s wider distinction, color and brightness proving glorious as properly.

The F8 Professional’s panel helps 12-bit color depth and a peak brightness output of 3500nits (with a panel-wide peak of 2000nits), that means it’s an amazing selection for having fun with HDR content material. The flexibility to drop down to simply 1-nit and ‘all-day’ DC dimming assist with eye consolation in low mild eventualities, paired with some assistive viewing options within the cellphone’s settings, resembling Studying Mode.

As for contact response (how briskly the display reacts to your contact inputs), the cellphone defaults to 480Hz more often than not, however has a devoted 2560Hz boosted choice for lightning-fast, precision response when gaming (through the OS’s Sport Turbo overlay).

Virtually talking, I by no means bumped into tangible enter lag or body drops swiping across the basic UI, whereas Poco’s gaming optimisations right here led to a uncommon profitable streak after I settled into successive rounds of Name of Responsibility: Cellular.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

The one actual tell-tale signal that the F8 Professional isn’t utilizing a real flagship-class show is in its refresh charge. Whereas the cellphone’s panel tops out at a ProMotion-rivalling 120Hz, Poco hasn’t used an LTPO panel, that means the cellphone lacks a real dynamic refresh charge, and isn’t as energy environment friendly as an in any other case equal panel.

Swiping across the F8 Professional is splendidly clean and responsive (the vast majority of the native UI runs at a peak 120Hz), however when cutting down in sure eventualities, the refresh charge was solely capable of soar in massive increments, bottoming out at 30Hz for experiences just like the At all times-On Show. Examine that to telephones with LTPO panels, which may drop proper right down to 1Hz and scale energy drain much more dynamically consequently.

On the flip facet, the transfer from an optical to an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is one other high-end inclusion, and pleasantly immediate when pressed, even when the show is off.

As for Poco’s Moist Contact 2.0 algorithm, the Professional dealt with typing with static droplets on the display and moist fingers properly, however after I tilted the cellphone extra upright and tried to kind whereas a number of drops ran down the show, the error charge did improve; suggesting dependable typing and contact enter in rain continues to be past the tech.

As for the audio expertise, not solely does it boast Bose-tuned audio nevertheless it helps 2.1-channel output because of an built-in subwoofer. That’s one thing I’ve solely beforehand encountered on a cellphone by the use of an exterior accent, with the ROG Telephone 7 collection’ AeroActive Cooler 7. With the F8 Extremely, the subwoofer is built-in subsequent to the rear digital camera array. On the F8 Professional, it isn’t there in any respect.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

You do nonetheless get correct stereo audio system on the Professional, tuned by the audio specialists at Bose, however the cellphone delivers a pedestrian audio expertise in comparison with its Extremely-branded sibling.

The OnePlus 15 is one other current launch that’s touted its stereo speaker skills, and in facet by facet comparisons, I’d finest describe the output from the Poco as ‘loud and clear’. There’s a level of management with a Dynamic and a Balanced sound profile to decide on between, in addition to scene-specific tuning for various eventualities: music, video games, films and clips (eg.TikToks, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts).

Solely on the peak of its loudspeaker output does readability genuinely break down, however – as with virtually each cellphone – lacklustre bass is the obvious shortcoming.

Specs & Efficiency

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset
• 12GB RAM and as much as 512GB storage
• Helps Xiaomi Offline Communication

A market-defying worth/efficiency stability has at all times been on the coronary heart of Poco’s technique.

Whereas the F8 Extremely is among the most inexpensive telephones operating Qualcomm’s newest and best Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, the F8 Professional – particularly with Poco’s early-bird pricing in impact (on the time of writing), is a strong worth proposition for a cellphone with the identical chip that powers the vast majority of 2025’s Android flagships.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

Because it’s such a tried and true piece of silicon at this level, and Poco has paired it with an honest ‘3D triple-layer’ passive cooling system (promising 40% higher thermal conductivity than its predecessor), each benchmarking and real-world outcomes are – as anticipated – glorious. The cellphone proves itself greater than geared up to ship on demanding apps, multitasking and high-end video games for at the least the subsequent yr or so.

My time testing the show’s body and response charges additionally helped consider the F8 Professional’s real-world gaming efficiency. I loved strong, constant 60fps output with the likes of Zenless Zone Zero and Name of Responsibility: Cellular, even over prolonged intervals of time.

This was helped by the system’s WildBoost efficiency mode (additionally known as Final mode), which helps body stability, scaling and restoration beneath heavy gameplay hundreds. The F8 Professional did get heat when gaming, however by no means to a regarding diploma.

Wider system efficiency can be supported by 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB or 512GB of quick UFS 4.1 storage, as much as 12GB of which may be reallocated as extra RAM utilizing the cellphone’s Reminiscence Extension function (6GB is allotted out of the field).

Poco F8 Professional benchmarks

Whereas there’s a transparent efficiency hole with the brand new wave of 8 Elite Gen 5-powered flagships now coming in, the F8 Professional is in any other case simply as succesful as any current Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered cellphone. Benchmarks place it proper in step with the likes of the OnePlus 13 (producing barely weaker single-core CPU scores, however marginally stronger multi-core and graphical scores).

Regardless of my real-world experiences displaying minimal tangible efficiency degradation throughout prolonged gameplay, 3DMark’s Wild Life Excessive stress check logged a efficiency drop of about 45% throughout 20 minutes of successive runs. As compared the Galaxy S25 Extremely that’s presently my day by day driver scored equally, with a drop of 43%.

Xiaomi usually helps predominant chips from different producers in its gadgets with its personal silicon, which is the case within the Poco F8 Professional. Contained in the F8 Professional, the corporate’s Surge T1+ Tuner guarantees 42% higher mobile power, and as much as 31% higher Bluetooth and Wi-Fi efficiency.

Each members of the F8 collection additionally be a part of Xiaomi’s Offline Communication community (which internationally solely contains the Xiaomi 15T and 15T Professional, on the time of writing). The F8 Professional is rated to work at a spread of as much as one kilometre (though the corporate says it managed to get it working at nearer to 1.5km).

Cameras

• 50Mp predominant, 8Mp ultrawide and 50Mp 2.5x telephoto sensors
• 20Mp selfie digital camera
• First Professional entry in Poco F collection w/ optical telephoto zoom

The F8 Professional sports activities the same array to the Poco F7 Professional: 50Mp Mild Fusion 800 predominant, 8Mp 120º ultrawide, and 20Mp front-facing sensors. For the primary time on a Poco F Professional, these are supplemented with a telephoto sensor with optical zoom: a modest 2.5x 50Mp snapper (with a 5x lossless crop) on this case.

Digital camera efficiency is usually missing with Poco’s telephones and right here, it’s most likely essentially the most tangible set of downgrades from the F8 Extremely. Poco’s prime canine incorporates a 32Mp entrance facer (as on the F7 Extremely), together with a trio of 50Mp rear snappers. The lead of those boasts a bigger 1/1.31in sensor, in comparison with the F8 Professional’s 1/1.55in predominant.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

In pure mild, the cellphone’s predominant snapper is greater than ample for sharing to social media, nevertheless it appears to rely too closely on post-processing, particularly by way of pushing color vibrancy for the punchier parts in a scene. I discovered myself utilizing the 2x crop on the primary sensor greater than I normally would with different telephones, on account of the evident softness in the direction of the sting of body when taking pictures at 1x.

I like that Xiaomi’s digital camera science tends to let shadows be shadows (not like, say, Google’s), however on extra inexpensive telephones like this, that’s additionally the place you see the bounds of the cellphone’s dynamic vary. Low mild efficiency solely exacerbates present shortcomings, with post-processing working time beyond regulation to retain element and correct colors when there isn’t sufficient ambient mild, with the cellphone additionally resorting to extending the shutter in brighter circumstances.

There’s additionally an apparent inconsistency in distinction, color and dynamic vary between the cellphone’s three rear sensors. The ultrawide is the weakest of the three, and discrepancies grow to be extra obvious when taking pictures video (the soar when switching between lenses whereas recording can be significantly jarring on this cellphone).

Tremendous Macro is seemingly damaged, requiring a 50cm minimal focus distance meaning you’re successfully taking a large shot. The primary sensor really helps you to get a lot nearer with out switching out of the default Picture mode, serving up much better outcomes.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

Nevertheless, for all its faults, the F8 Professional digital camera system is okay for on a regular basis snapping. I like the standard of the substitute bokeh in Portrait Mode, and the actual fact you possibly can dial it up and down each earlier than and after seize. There’s additionally a delightful quantity of centre-frame element in most photographs; even from that 20Mp front-facer, which is in any other case middling at finest.

Video seize and as much as 4K 60fps (or 8K 30fps) isn’t too dangerous both, with good stability and even the choice of guide management.

Battery Life & Charging

• 6210mAh battery
• 100W wired charging
• No energy adapter within the field

There’s a touch bigger battery with this era of Professional, boasting a sizeable 6210mAh cell (up from 6000mAh on the F7 Professional), paired with quicker 100W ‘HyperCharge’ wired charging (up from 90W). Each are welcome upgrades that lead to the identical promised fast-charge to 100% in 37 minutes.

Poco doesn’t embody a charger in-box, however as I had an official 120W Xiaomi charger at hand, I put its claims to the check. After flipping on Prime Pace charging within the battery settings menu, the quickest I used to be capable of recharge the F8 Professional was 45 minutes which, whereas wanting Poco’s promised determine, continues to be blisteringly quick. That’s particularly so when in comparison with loads of pricier telephones with smaller batteries.

Quick charging generates a good quantity of warmth and I assume that’s what precipitated my unit to sluggish slightly. Nonetheless, three-quarters full after simply half-hour imply that is the form of cellphone you don’t want to fret about plugging in at evening – supplied you’re keen to pay additional for a top-speed energy adapter (Xiaomi’s 120W charger prices £59.99 from Amazon within the UK).

A cellphone with a battery breaking 6000mAh was the protect of gaming telephones, however over the past twelve months, we’ve seen extra basic high-profile telephones with comparatively massive cells. Whereas the most recent silicon-carbon tech appears solely to be discovered on the F8 Extremely, the Professional’s longevity continues to be respectable.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

A rating of 16 hours 24 minutes in our PC Mark Battery 3.0 check is on the higher finish of the dimensions, primarily based on different benchmarked outcomes, however as with virtually each Xiaomi cellphone we evaluate, real-world efficiency is extra pedestrian, with display time of round 9.75 hours. That also means the Poco F8 Professional is usually a two-day cellphone with cautious use, nevertheless it doesn’t final so long as similarly-specced telephones with equally sized batteries.

Take a look at our rundown of the very best battery life telephones for alternate options.

Software program & AI

• HyperOS 3 atop Android 16 at launch
• Some bloat and in-app adverts
• 4 years OS + 6 years safety replace help

Whereas numerous producers’ flavours of Android poach options from iOS on a reasonably common foundation (and Apple generally poaches again), Poco’s HyperOS does little to cover the “inspiration” behind a few of its aesthetic and purposeful UI selections. The F8 Professional is among the many first of the corporate’s telephones to run the most recent HyperOS 3.0 out the field (on prime of Android 16).

Past behind-the-scenes enhancements and extra cinematic lock screens, the obvious addition to model 3.0 is slightly one thing known as ‘HyperIsland’. Simply as OnePlus and Oppo added the Reside Alerts capsule to OxygenOS 15, Honor has the Magic Capsule and Samsung’s newest ‘Now’-branded additions embody a familiar-looking Reside Notifications capsule, HyperIsland is Xiaomi’s/Poco’s variation on iOS’ Dynamic Island.

Whether or not enjoying music, operating a timer or recording a voice memo, HyperIsland serves up an lively notification across the F8 Professional’s entrance digital camera that expands with a faucet, providing fast entry to key controls or data, in addition to a shortcut to the complete app expertise with an extra faucet if desired.

HyperIsland’s implementation does rating factors for additionally letting you swipe between these lively notifications, if a number of actions are operating concurrently. This makes interacting with all of them fast and simple, with out pulling you out of no matter you’re doing.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

Past this, those that’ve used any MIUI or HyperOS-powered cellphone from the previous few years will seemingly discover the remainder of the expertise acquainted. There’s plenty of management over the feel and appear of the consumer expertise, which makes it each highly effective and tough to grasp. There’s additionally an inclination to inexplicably obscure the odd native Android function, with choices like Further Dim needlessly hidden, requiring third-party apps to grow to be simply accessible once more.

I used to be rightly nervous about Xiaomi’s/Poco’s penchant for baking adverts into its software program expertise. Not like its extra premium sibling, past the assorted bits of first- and third-party bloat that comes preloaded on the F8 Professional (OneDrive, Reserving.com, Temu and a litany of ad-addled puzzle video games), the corporate’s App Mall app retailer can be consistently serving notifications, pushing you to obtain apps you didn’t search or ask for.

Fortunately, there’s nothing stopping you disabling App Mall’s notifications, however the prevalence of baked-in adverts on a tool that Poco markets as one among its newest premium entries sours the expertise.

The newest flavour of Google’s Gemini Reside with Digital camera Share comes as a part of the expertise on the Professional.

Poco’s promise of 4 generations of OS and 6 years of safety updates throughout the F8 Professional’s lifespan is ample, however lags behind market leaders like Apple, Google and Samsung – all of which promise 6 to 7 years of each for many of their gadgets – upping the value-for-money think about each occasion.

Value & Availability

Each the Poco F8 Professional and Poco F8 Extremely made their debut at a particular occasion in Bali on November 26, and went on sale proper afterwards.

For the package deal on supply, Poco’s well-established Early Chook pricing renders the Poco F8 Professional one thing of a steal in the event you purchased on or earlier than December 9, 2025, with the cellphone ranging from simply £399 / €519. After that preliminary discount, costs rise to £549 / €649 / $579 for the bottom 256GB mannequin, and £599 / €699 / $629 for the 512GB variant. It’s nonetheless respectable, contemplating what else is on the market at those self same worth factors.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

Xiaomi (and by extension Poco) have been very beneficiant with their buy provides of late, that means these choosing up an F8 Professional proper now don’t simply get the cellphone, however can profit from a set of bonuses.

These embody an extra money-off voucher (price £50), a trade-in low cost of an additional £50 (when shopping for a Professional within the UK), double Mi Factors, three months of Spotify Premium, six months of a Google One plan (with 100GB of cloud storage), three months of YouTube Premium, and one free display substitute throughout the first six months after buy. Like I stated, beneficiant.

It’s a strong foil to the likes of the iPhone 16e and the Google Pixel 10, with extra energy, performance, and higher battery and charging chops. The Pixel wins out on digital camera efficiency, whereas each serve up longer software program help than the Poco, nevertheless it’s in any other case a well-priced different to such premium mid-rangers.

If you wish to purchase the cellphone outright, you possibly can decide it up instantly from Mi.com in addition to retailers like Amazon from £549, and you could possibly additionally pair it with a brand new SIM-only deal.

Must you purchase the Poco F8 Professional?

A clear, grown-up design, a strong audiovisual expertise, respectable battery life and a few of the quickest charging in the marketplace, all in a comparatively compact package deal. The place the Extremely surpasses the expectations the model has created, the Poco F8 Professional merely meets them and, for the value, that’s OK.

In case you’re the form of one that upgrades your cellphone each two to a few years, and also you’re after a succesful all-rounder that doesn’t excel in anyone key space, the F8 Professional is an inoffensive choice that’ll serve you properly. That’s supplied you will get to grips with the corporate’s software program, and aren’t going to be bothered by the baked-in adverts you’ll run into now and again.

Specs

• HyperOS 3.0 atop Android 16
• 6.59-inch 120Hz, 19.5:9, 1156 x 2510, HyperRGB LTPS OLED
• Ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset
• 12GB RAM (LPDDR5X)
• 256GB or 512GB storage (UFS 4.1)
• Cameras:
  • 50Mp 1/1.55-inch ƒ/1.88 Mild Fusion 800 predominant sensor w/ OIS
  • 8Mp ƒ/2.2 15mm 120º ultra-wide
  • 50Mp ƒ/2.2 60mm 2.5x telephoto
  • 20Mp selfie digital camera
• As much as 8K @ 30fps video recording
• Stereo audio system w/ Bose-tuned audio
• Twin-SIM (together with eSIM)
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6/7
• Bluetooth 5.4
• 6210mAh battery
• 100W HyperCharge wired charging
• 157.47 x 75.25 x 8mm
• IP68 licensed
• 199 grams
• Colors: Titanium Silver, black, blue