Every year, the POCO brand brings us interesting smartphones at very attractive prices, which often beat the competition. This time we had the opportunity to test the novelty LITTLE M4 Pro 5G before its introduction, so we bring you the first review.
Since we also tested the previous POCO M3 Pro model, you will also find a short comparison in the review.
Where to buy POCO M4 Pro 5G?
POCO M4 Pro 5G is available for sale through an officially authorized Goboo dealer, while the smartphone is delivered from Spanish warehouse.
There is also a full-fledged 2-year warranty and the possibility return of goods within 14 days.
POCO M4 Pro 5G Global Version
Technical specifications
| LITTLE M4 Pro 5G | |
|---|---|
| dimensions | 163.56 x 75.78 x 8.75 mm |
| Weight | 195 g |
| Display | 6.6 ”IPS display with space for selfie camera |
| 2400 x 1080 px resolution | |
| refresh rate 90 Hz | |
| sampling frequency 240 Hz | |
| RAM and storage | LPDDR4x RAM + UFS 2.2 storage |
| 6 + 128 GB | |
| support for microSD cards up to 1 TB | |
| processor | MediaTek Dimensity 810 5G |
| Battery and charging | 5000 mAh + 33 W charging |
| Cameras | 50 MPx main camera with f / 1.8 aperture |
| 8 MPx ultra-wide angle camera with 119 ° angle of view and f / 2.2 aperture | |
| front selfie camera - 16 MPx with aperture f / 2.45 | |
| Connectivity | NFC; Bluetooth 5.1; Wi-Fi 5; FM radio; GPS: L1; Galileo: E1 | GLONASS: G1 | Compass: B1I |
| Audio | stereo speakers, 3.5mm jack |
Traditional yellow packaging
POCO smartphone packaging has traditionally been associated with yellow, which is a kind of brand color. The box of standard dimensions is again all yellow with black inscriptions. Inside, a thin box was waiting for us, in which there is a needle for opening SIM slot, translucent silicone case, paper documentation and a set of stickers with the POCO logo.
Below it is the smartphone itself, wrapped in a transparent matte foil with basic information about the phone. There is also a cable and a charging adapter at the very bottom of the box. The packaging is as standard as we have been used to at the POCO brand for several years.
Design and quality of workmanship
POCO M3 did not spoil the design for us, so we were curious what the new model would look like. We had POCO M4 Pro 5G available in a blue color called Cool Blue. The back cover is matte with a very fine finish and looks really attractive in blue. However, the back cover is not very good to the touch.
Overall, at first glance, the back of the smartphone is a kind of design mix of the older POCO M3 and the new Redmi Note 11. From the older POCO M3 we have a design black rectangle with rounded corners and the brand logo and the new Redmi Note 11 a camera module.
Let's take a look at the layout of the individual elements of the smartphone. On the left side we find a hybrid slot for SIM cards that can serve 2 SIM cards or 1 SIM card and microSD memory card. On the right side there are two buttons for volume control and a button for unlocking the smartphone with an integrated fingerprint reader.
The bottom edge includes a USB-C charging port, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a microphone and a speaker. At the top is a second speaker, microphone and IR sensor. Overall, the POCO M4 Pro is a very modern smartphone in terms of design, but it is not one of the thinnest and lightest smartphones. It holds well in the hand, especially thanks to the rounded edges.
The display has improved slightly
POCO M4 Pro 5G received a 6.6 ″ IPS display with space for a selfie camera in the middle of the upper part. As with other smartphones in the lower class, the shot is relatively small, but it is visually enhanced by the foil glued to the display, which has a significantly larger cutout for the selfie camera than the camera itself. The light refracts at the edges of the cut-out in the foil, thus optically enlarging the cut-out. POCO should take the example of the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE, where the cutout on the foil is just exactly as big as a selfie camera.
The older M3 Pro model had a weaker display, despite the higher refresh rate. This is the same in this case, 90 Hz, but the display seems to us to be better. Again, the default refresh rate is only 60 Hz, so if you want a smoother display, you need to go to a setting where you can change the refresh rate to 90 Hz.
You can also set the popular dark mode, sun mode, reading mode or customize the color scheme according to your preferences. The color setting from the factory suited us, so we did not change these settings.
Fingerprint reader and stereo speakers
The fingerprint reader in the smartphone unlock button is perfect in one word. The smartphone unlocks as soon as you place your finger on the reader without unnecessary animation that would prolong this process. Reliability is also excellent, as we have not seen any unsuccessful attempts to unblock.
Other options for unlocking your smartphone include unlocking with a face, pattern or PIN, as well as a Bluetooth device such as a smart watch. Face unblocking works well, but it's a bit slower than a fingerprint reader.
We really like the trend of stereo speakers, which we can find in almost every model from the Xiaomi brand and its subsidiaries. The POCO M4 Pro 5G is no exception and also has a pair of speakers. However, their quality is not the best. They completely lack bass and the maximum volume could also be a bit higher.
Again, a processor from MediaTek
In the POCO M4 Pro 5G smartphone, we will again find a processor from the less popular manufacturer MediaTek Dimensity 810 5G. It is an 8-core processor, which consists of Arm Cortex-A55 and Arm Cortex-A76 cores and is manufactured using 6 nm technology. Its maximum frequency is 2.4 GHz.
As in our other reviews, we also installed the AnTuT benchmark application in the POCO M4 Pro 5G, in which we achieved a score of 355 points. This is a very decent score, which we also beat the Redmi Note 648 Pro with the Snapdragon 10G and we placed only a few places behind the POCO X732, which scored 3 points.
In terms of performance, the new POCO is surprisingly good. He ran very reliably throughout our testing, with no visible jams. Despite the fact that processors from MediaTek are less popular in our country, we dare to say that the concerns arising from older processors from this brand are no longer relevant.
The processor is assisted by an Arm Mali-G57 MC2 graphics chip, LPDDR4x RAM with a capacity of 6GB and also internal UFS 2.2 storage. In our case, we had a version with 128 GB of storage.
Cameras do not burn, but they are enough
The photo equipment of cheaper models is usually not very rich, and this is not the case in this case either. The main cameras are located in the rear module and there are fewer of them than it may seem at first glance. The design of the photo module on the back cover gives the impression that there are several cameras, but there are only two. Other circles that look like cameras at a glance are just design elements.
Specifically, we have the main camera, which has 50 MPx and is the dominant element of the rear camera module. Below it is an ultra-wide camera with an angle of 119 °, next to which there is also an LED flash.
Compared to the older POCO M3 Pro, we lost the macro sensor and depth-of-field sensor, but we got an ultra-wide camera. The macro sensor in the previous model was very weak, so from our point of view we did not lose much and the ultra-wide camera pleases us more than an unusable macro sensor.
We have to say at the outset that there is not much to expect from the cameras in a smartphone in this category. Of course, in good light, it's not a problem to capture nice images with the main camera.
But it has a weaker dynamiky range, which causes burnt and underexposed areas in high contrast situations such as shooting in direct sunlight during lunch. The sharpness is also not the best, but if you only view photos on the smartphone screen like most regular users, you will be satisfied.
The ultra-wide camera has a lower resolution, but has very similar color rendering to the main camera, but slightly weakernamirange. The main sensor also enables the creation of a 2x zoomed image, which is a section of a 50 MPx photo.
Interior, night photography and video
When photographing the interior, the photos are nice in good lighting, but without lighting and in poor light, the quality decreases rapidly. Lots of underexposed dark spots and noise appear in the photos.
There is no night mode, which does not turn on automatically, but you have to turn it on manually in the camera menu. Night mode gently brightens the photo, bringing warmer colors to it, but it doesn't cope so well with strong light sources. In some photos, you can't see much of a difference between a photo with and without a night mode.
For video, a maximum resolution of 1080p at 30 or 60 fps is available. However, the image quality is quite poor in the video.
Endurance and charging
The POCO M4 Pro 5G received a 5000 mAh battery, making it one of the thinnest smartphones. But the endurance is very good, so we forgive him an extra millimeter. During the testing, we used the smartphone very intensively, but nevertheless we always achieved endurance for at least 1 and a half days. In normal use, two-day endurance is also realistic.
In terms of charging, the older model supported a maximum of 22 W charging, so charging alone took about 1 hour and 48 minutes. POCO M4 Pro 5G receives a 33 W charger, thanks to which charging is significantly accelerated. You can see its course below:
- 18 to 50% - 17 minutes and 30 seconds
- 75% - 33 minutes and 37 seconds
- 90% - 43 minutes and 15 seconds
- 100% - 54 minutes and 35 seconds
With such a cheap smartphone, 33 W charging is not usual, so we are very happy that the POCO brand has also brought an improvement in charging speed.
Android 11, MIUI 12.5 and POCO launcher
We received the POCO M4 Pro 5G with Android version 11 and MIUI 12.5.1 extension in the global version. However, unlike the phones from Xiaomi and Redmi, we have a POCO launcher here, which offers a different environment compared to smartphones from the mentioned brands.
We are personally used to the standard MIUI, so it took us a while to get used to the launcher from POCO. However, the environment is very pleasant and if you do not want to use the main menu of applications offered by POCO, you can also place them on the sub-main screen, which is accessible by swiping your finger to the right. This gives you quick access to your favorite applications, similar to the classic MIUI.
In the POCO lanucher, you have all the applications available by swiping your finger from the bottom to the top to get to the application menu. Here are all the apps you have installed and the 10 most used on top. Drag the pages to switch between categories.
We also found a number of pre-installed games, the Booking application, POCO Community and POCO store.
POCO M4 Pro 5G: Final evaluation
POCO M4 Pro 5G is a complete novelty, which we had the opportunity to test before the official performance. Compared to the previous M3 Pro 5G, we have a nicer and more modern design, a more powerful processor, a slightly better main camera and faster, 33 W charging.
The smartphone tends to be in the lower class, but due to the low price, it offers a lot and this time you get a lot of music for little money. Of course, it has several shortcomings like weaker cameras and speakers, but anyone looking for a smartphone in this price range will be satisfied.
