Last year Poco decided to hop on the “Ultra” train and picked up the first phone to bear that moniker. It pushed down the “Pro” model and effectively turned it into an upper midrange device.
Table of Contents:
Poco F8 Pro Specs
one step
Let’s start with the POCO F8 Pro specs review:
| Poco F8 Pro | Poco F7 Pro |
|---|---|
| Size and weight 157.5 x 75.3 x 8 mm 199 grams | Size and weight 160.3 x 75 x 8.1 mm 206 grams |
| Display 6.59″ 120Hz AMOLED 3,500 nits peak | Display 6.67″ 120Hz AMOLED 3,200 nits peak |
| The processor Snapdragon 8 Elite 3 nm | The processor Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 4nm |
| Software Xiaomi Hypers 3 Android 16 | Software Xiaomi Hypers 2 Android 15 |
| Cameras 50 MP, f/1.9, 24mm (wide), 1/1.55″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS 50 MP, f/2.2, 60 mm (telephoto), PDAF, 2.5x optical zoom 8 MP, f/2.2, 15 mm, 120˚ (Ultra Wide) 20 MP front camera | Cameras 50 MP, f/1.6, 24mm (wide), 1/1.55″, 1.0µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS 8 MP, f/2.2, (Ultra Wide), 1/4.0″, 1.12µm 20 MP front camera |
| Battery size 6,210 mh | Battery size 6,000 mh |
| Charging speed 100W wired No wireless | Charging speed 90W wired No wireless |
| Prices 79,579 for the 12/256GB version | Prices 79,579 for the 12/256GB version |
Poco F8 Pro Design and Display
All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray
The camera bump is just clear glass, while the surrounding glass surface is frosted. The end result is a pretty stylish device, and the titanium silver color option emphasizes the effect. You can also get the phone in black and blue.
The shape of the camera bump is rectangular, extending from one side to the other, as it is modern today. The screen is completely flat, as is the always-lit curved frame on the back glass.
The retail box is a bit of a disappointment, as there is no charger inside. Given that the phone supports 100W wired fast charging like its larger and more expensive sibling, it would have been nice to get a proper charging brick at retail. There’s a silicon case, a cable, and some paperwork.
The display panel inside the Poco F8 Pro is a 6.59-incher with a resolution of 2510×1156 pixels, and it uses the same HyperRGB tech as the Ultra model. This tech optimizes the use of red, green and blue sub-pixels to create a clearer image while keeping energy consumption low. The screen supports a 120Hz refresh rate, and according to Poco, it can go up to 3,500 nits of brightness. Time for the lab test.
Indeed, the Poco F8 Pro is very, very bright. It managed to output 3,420 nits of brightness at 20 fps, which is very close to the quoted 3,500. More impressively, the minimum brightness was 1 nit, on par with high-end phones from Apple and Samsung. Color reproduction was also very good out of the box with an average detail of 1.7. Overall, a great display at this price point.
In terms of biometrics, the Poco F8 Pro has an under-display ultrasonic fingerprint, just like the one used on the Ultra model. It is very fast and accurate. There’s also facial recognition, but it only relies on the selfie camera, with no fancy time-of-flight or radar tech, so it’s not as secure.
Poco F8 Pro Camera
The glass plateau?
Time for samples!
The main camera handles dark situations quite well, with a good level of detail and wide dynamic range. Color reproduction and white balance are decent as well, though in some cases the colors looked just a little off to what my eye saw during the shoot.
You can also take 2x photos. It’s not an optical zoom, but a central sensor-equipped crop. These samples look fine, but 2.5x shots are better than a dedicated telephoto camera. There is also an option for 5x zoom. The phone crops the image after 2.5x optical to double the magnification.
The ultrawide camera lacks detail, and the white balance feels a bit off. Some samples are also less visible, perhaps due to a narrow dynamic range. It ends up working, but there are much better ultrawide cameras on the market right now.
Video quality
The Poco F8 Pro can shoot videos at up to 8K resolution at 30 frames per second (thanks to the powerful chipset), but you’ll be better off using 4K. The video itself is nothing to write home about. There is noise, and exposure isn’t perfect either. The dynamic range isn’t very wide either, and the result is only mediocre video quality.
Poco F8 Pro Performance and Benchmark
Last year’s elite
CPU Performance Benchmark:
Compared to its direct competitors, and compared to last year’s model, the Poco F8 Pro is the clear winner when it comes to raw CPU performance. These scores are also backed up, but real-life experience with the phone—this flagship feels sharp.
GPU performance
The GPU scores are equally impressive. In some scenarios, the Snapdragon 8 Elite comes close to its heat-handicapped successor, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. So, in a sense, the Poco F8 Pro could be a wiser choice, as it is more stable than the Ultra and doesn’t overheat.
Poco F8 Pro Software
AI is still all the rage in smartphone software, and the Poco F8 Pro features Xiaomi’s HyperAI, which offers a number of helpful features, including speech recognition, live translation, writing assistance, and subtitles. You can also create and edit with tools like Eraser Pro, AI Frame, and more. Finally, you can use Gemini, if that’s your preferred AI agent.
In terms of appearance and customization, you can do most of the usual Android stuff – change the home screen type and layout, adjust animations, icon grids, etc. Four major OS upgrades and six years of security fixes arrive on the Poco F8 Pro, which is the best offering from Samsung, Google, and Apple, but still decent at this price.
Poco F8 Pro Battery
Subwoofer problem
There’s no power-hungry subwoofer on board, so the results should be much better than the Ultra model was able to achieve. Well, the battery widget is actually at the beginning of this paragraph, so it’s no secret that the Poco F8 Pro performs much better than its sibling, which has a 9h25m battery rating. As a result, it ranks tenth overall among phones tested in the last two years. An impressive result.
Phonerina Battery Test Results:
Looking at the battery tests in detail, it’s clear to see that the subwoofer took a lot from the Ultra, while its lack in the Pro model significantly boosted battery life in the YouTube and gaming tests (where we use maximum volume during the test procedure).
One of the biggest sacrifices Poco made to keep this phone in its price range is in the charging department. Wireless charging. The Poco F8 Pro has none. You’re stuck with the wired, and to be fair, the 100W wired will get you from zero to a full battery in 42 minutes, provided you get a suitable charger.
Poco F8 Pro Audio Quality and Haptics
Thankfully, there’s a 10-band EQ in the audio settings, and you can dial in the harshness. The same Bose speakers from the Poco F8 Ultra are also present here. There is no 3.5mm audio jack on the Poco F8 Pro.
Interestingly, haptic feedback is better on the Poco F8 Pro than on the Ultra model, probably due to the smaller size of the phone. It has a harsh and resonant vibration with medium strength.
Do you buy it?
The areas where the phone loses out to the competition are the lack of camera and wireless charging. You can get good results from the main camera and even some nice portraits using the 2.5x telephoto, but ultrawide is unreliable, and video is pretty mediocre.
If you can live with these drawbacks, the Poco F8 Pro will make you very happy as a daily driver.
