Xiaomi Poco F7 Review: Serious Bang For Your Buck

At a look

Skilled’s Ranking

Professionals

• Premium construct with aluminium body
• Speedy Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor
• Huge 6500mAh battery
• 90W quick charging with charger in field

Cons

• No telephoto digital camera
• No eSIM or wi-fi charging
• Some bloatware to cope with

Our Verdict

The Poco F7 delivers a flagship-level gaming expertise at a fraction of the fee. It has a beautiful display screen, premium feel and appear, huge battery and speedy charging. The cameras are good, however with out a telephoto digital camera, the system is extra restricted than a few of its competitors. Nevertheless, on the subject of pure efficiency, few telephones on this worth bracket will be capable to sustain with the speedy F7.

Value When Reviewed

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Greatest Pricing At present

Just a few months again, Poco launched the F7 Professional and the F7 Extremely. They’re each severely highly effective telephones at extremely reasonably priced worth factors, however the usual F7 was oddly lacking from the lineup.

I used to be starting to suppose the model might forego a typical mannequin this time round, nevertheless it has lastly arrived, and now that we all know what’s inside it, the delay begins to make a little bit extra sense: This is among the first telephones to function the model new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor.

In case you’re not fairly in control with Qualcomm’s naming conventions, this chip is basically one step down from the almighty 8 Elite, however a large leap forward of the 7-series processors. Crucially, it’s way more reasonably priced, so it may be present in cheaper smartphones, just like the F7.

It’s not all concerning the processor, although. This cellphone has a large battery, speedy charging, a slick design and a beautiful show. On first impressions, it looks like a little bit of a discount. I wished to see if that’s the case, so I slipped my SIM card in, and every week later, right here’s what I discovered.

Design & Construct

• Aluminium body, plastic again
• 216g, Corning Gorilla Glass 7i
• IP68 water and dirt resistance

The Poco F7 is on the market in three colourways, and considerably unusually, I’ve managed to get my mitts on all three choices to showcase on this assessment. As normal, there’s a black model and a white model, which each have two-tone designs break up with a diagonal line down the rear panel. The higher portion has a extra matt end, whereas the decrease portion is extra shiny.

Luke Baker

There’s additionally a particular restricted version silver model, which makes a bit extra of a press release. It’s black on prime, with embossed parts that give it the looks of a semi-transparent design, and shiny silver on the underside portion. It’s essentially the most gamer-looking mannequin within the lineup, which could divide opinion, however I feel it appears to be like nice.

All three variants have aluminium facet rails and plastic rear panels. Nevertheless, at a look, the rear appears to be like quite a bit like glass. The one actual giveaway is that the darker colors are a little bit extra smudge-prone than ordinary.

Total, the cellphone feels fairly premium, and I feel the aluminium facet rails are the principle motive for that. That mentioned, it needs to be pretty sturdy, with Corning Gorilla Glass 7i coating the display screen and a flagship-level IP68 certification for mud and water resistance.

It’s a reasonably large cellphone, with a 6.83-inch show, and the boxy iPhone-like design means it feels substantial within the hand. I discovered it completely comfy to make use of, however I’ve huge palms; these with smaller paws may need a harder time.

Display & Audio system

• 6.83-inch, 2772 x 1280, OLED, 120Hz
• 3200 nits peak brightness
• Stereo audio system

The Poco F7 has a big, absolutely flat show, which is opulent for watching content material and enjoying video games. It’s effectively specced, too. It’s an OLED panel with a speedy 120Hz refresh fee and an ample 2770 x 1280 decision.

Luke Baker

The display screen has a slim, even bezel on all sides, which instantly offers the handset a extra premium look than among the competitors. 

It’s a really brilliant panel, too, boosting as much as 3200 nits in sure situations. This implies you’ll by no means have bother seeing it open air, and HDR content material from Netflix and YouTube appears to be like extremely dynamic.

Luke Baker

The cellphone has twin stereo audio system. One speaker fires from the bottom, subsequent to the USB-C port, whereas the opposite doubles up because the cellphone’s earpiece. I’m all the time comfortable to see stereo audio system on mid-range handsets; it’s a simple manner for producers to chop prices, nevertheless it makes a big distinction to the listening expertise, and it’s particularly necessary once you’re gaming with out a headset.

They sound fairly nice, too. The cellphone kicks out extra quantity than most, with numerous readability and little or no distortion. As ordinary, it’s the bass that’s missing a little bit, nevertheless it’s nonetheless decidedly above common. They’re greater than adequate for taking part in video games and watching content material round the home.

Specs & Efficiency

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4
• 12GB RAM
• 512GB storage

As talked about within the intro, the Poco F7 is among the first units to land with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 inside. Barely complicated naming apart, it needs to be a little bit slower than the 8 Elite and quicker than the previous-gen flagship, the 8 Gen 3.

Luke Baker

In most benchmarks, that’s precisely what I noticed. I bought some barely odd outcomes with GFXBench, however that has been recognized to occur on occasion. Crucially, the Poco F7 was capable of outpace the Samsung Galaxy S24 in Geekbench and 3DMark Wildlife Excessive – fairly spectacular stuff for a cellphone this low cost.

After all, the spectacular efficiency isn’t constrained to artificial benchmarks. This cellphone will run nearly any recreation you’ll be able to throw at it with the settings maxed out.

It does get sizzling after some time, however I used to be testing throughout the hottest week of the yr to this point, in order that’s to be anticipated. Slipping on the included TPU case does a great job of conserving that warmth away out of your palms.

Luke Baker

My take a look at unit got here geared up with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, which is the extra premium choice; the bottom mannequin comes geared up with 12GB + 256GB. Even with out expandable storage, each fashions supply a lot for most individuals’s wants, and the cellphone multitasks like a champ.

I received’t go into an excessive amount of element concerning the gaming choices, as they appear to be an identical to all latest Poco units, however there are many choices to tweak if you wish to push the efficiency additional.

Luke Baker

I additionally like that there’s a recreation launcher, quite a bit just like the one on Redmagic units, which may make your cellphone really feel a bit extra like a handheld gaming gadget than a cellphone, particularly when paired with a clamp-on controller just like the Gamesir X2 Professional.

Poco F7 benchmarks

Cameras

• 50Mp f/1.5 primary digital camera
• 8Mp f/2.2 ultrawide
• 20Mp f/2.2 selfie digital camera

The Poco F7 digital camera system nets you a extremely stable primary digital camera, a fairly mediocre ultrawide and a good selfie snapper.

Luke Baker

It’s not as well-rounded as a few of its rivals, nevertheless it doesn’t have to be. Whereas others put images on the forefront, the Poco F7 is all about efficiency, and as we’ve seen, it delivers that in spades.

That mentioned, the F7 cameras nonetheless outperform most gaming-centric telephones. Xiaomi is aware of what it’s doing on the subject of picture processing, and regardless of middling specs, the end result I bought from these cameras outshone something I’ve achieved with a Redmagic or Asus ROG gadget.

No matter lighting situations, you’ll wish to keep on with the principle digital camera as a lot as attainable. The standard is noticeably greater, and it resolves a lot finer particulars than the opposite two lenses. When it’s darkish out, the distinction turns into much more obvious. Nonetheless, the ultrawide has its makes use of, and I’d moderately have a mediocre huge lens than none in any respect.

The selfie digital camera does a great job in all lighting situations, and I used to be stunned by the shortage of movement blur in low-light pictures, which is a standard downside with competing units. Portrait mode cutouts are stable, too. Nevertheless, the portrait processing is a little bit heavy-handed on the rear digital camera, even with magnificence mode turned off.

For video capturing, you’ll be able to seize at as much as 4K at 60fps, however solely on the principle rear digital camera. The opposite two lenses max out at 1080p. Stabilisation is excellent, however the microphones are fairly vulnerable to wind noise, so that you’ll have to be cautious when capturing open air.

Battery Life & Charging

• 6500mAh battery
• 90W wired charging
• 22.5W reverse wired charging

One of many standout options of this cellphone is the large 6500mAh battery. That’s an astonishing capability, and considerably bigger than most flagship telephones. The truth that Xiaomi can embrace it on such an reasonably priced handset has me very enthusiastic about future units – perhaps 10,000mAh in a pocketable cellphone is nearer than we predict.

That mentioned, the precise efficiency was a little bit underwhelming. Don’t get me fallacious, it’s a really stable battery, and I might handle two days on a cost with out concern – however I’ve been capable of do the identical with 5500mAh cells, too. Maybe the OS wants longer to be taught my habits and additional optimise issues.

Luke Baker

Our ordinary PCMark battery drain take a look at gave a rating of 14 hours and 44 minutes, which is sort of precisely the identical because the Poco F7 Extremely (which solely has a 5300mAh battery). So it’s not simply my creativeness – Xiaomi clearly must do some tweaking to get essentially the most from this enormous battery.

When it’s time to cost, the cellphone helps wired charging at as much as 90W, and that speedy charger comes included within the field. It’s sufficient to take you from absolutely drained to nearly 80% charged in simply half an hour, so it’s tremendous handy.

There’s no wi-fi charging, however given the worth, that shouldn’t come as an excessive amount of of a shock.

Software program & Apps

• Hyper OS 2, based mostly on Android 15
• HyperAI options
• Some bloatware to cope with

The Poco F7 runs Hyper OS 2, the identical software program you’ll discover on all latest Xiaomi and Poco units. It’s a closely customised model of Android 15, which some love, and others discover onerous to adapt to. It’s not my favorite OS by default, nevertheless it’s very customisable, and with some tweaking, you may get it to look and behave nevertheless you want.

Luke Baker

You get the entire ordinary Google options like Gemini and Circle to Search, however Xiaomi has its personal suite of AI options, too. It’s largely the form of stuff we’ve come to anticipate, like translation instruments, a writing assistant and AI summarisation, however there are additionally some nifty picture enhancing instruments, like an AI object eraser, picture expander and a picture enhancer. 

The OS feels very fast and snappy, which is partially because of the horsepower below the hood, however the animation fashion makes it really feel faster nonetheless. You’re by no means left ready lengthy, and also you’ll not often see stutters, it’s a easy, speedy expertise.

Luke Baker

The most important draw back is the quantity of bloatware that comes pre-installed. Sure, that is an reasonably priced gadget, and bloat typically comes with the territory, however there’s a substantial quantity right here, together with all types of random video games. Most of it may be uninstalled, nevertheless it detracts from the expertise of establishing your new gadget.

Value & Availability

The Poco F7 is on the market to order now within the UK and Europe, however as ordinary, it received’t be launching within the States. The bottom mannequin, with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, will price you £389, whereas the 512GB model will set you again £429

That mentioned, if you happen to get in early, you’ll be able to nab this cellphone for simply £319 or £359 within the UK for a restricted time from the Xiaomi web site. So, if you happen to’re eager on this handset, it’s price performing quick.

The pricing places the Poco F7 up in opposition to units just like the Google Pixel 9a, Nothing Cellphone (3a) Professional and the Honor 400. A few of these mid-range rivals have the higher hand on the subject of images, however on the subject of efficiency and gaming, the F7 is clearly a giant step forward.

Must you purchase the Poco F7?

In case you’re searching for a sub-£400 cellphone that may deal with some severe gaming, the Poco F7 is difficult to beat. It performs on par with among the strongest flagships from final yr, whereas delivering a shocking display screen, huge battery, fast charging and a standout design.

It’s solely the digital camera system that falls barely behind a few of its equally priced competitors. That’s to not say the cameras are unhealthy – they’re truly very succesful – however with out a devoted telephoto, the system is much less versatile than among the competitors.

After all, at this worth, you’ll be able to’t have every thing, and Poco has clearly prioritised efficiency. Nevertheless, not like devoted gaming handsets, the spec sheet is properly balanced, and also you don’t should make many concessions elsewhere.

The Poco F7 has been a pleasure to dwell with, and if you happen to’re looking for prime efficiency at an reasonably priced worth, you received’t be disenchanted with this one.

Specs

• Hyper OS 2, based mostly on Android 15
• 6.83-inch, 2772 x 1280, OLED, 120Hz
• Optical in-display fingerprint sensor
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4
• 12GB RAM
• 256GB / 512GB storage
• Digicam:
  • 50Mp primary sensor
  • 8Mp ultrawide
  • 20Mp selfie digital camera
• As much as 4K @ 60fps rear video
• Stereo audio system
• Twin-SIM
• Wi-Fi 7/6/5/4
• Bluetooth 6
• 6500mAh battery
• 90W wired charging 
• 163.1 x 77.9 x 8.2 mm
• IP68 licensed
• 216g
• Colors: Black / Silver / White