Introduced in early November 2021, the Poco M4 Pro 5G raised the performance bar of the Poco budget line to a new level – in addition to a quite powerful processor, a smartphone for the first time in the M-series received a wide-angle lens, stereo sound and splash protection. The Poco M4 Pro raises that bar a little more with a bright AMOLED display, which is a rarity in the budget segment. What else can surprise the new smartphone?
Characteristics
- System: MIUI 13 based on Android 11;
- Chipset: MediaTek Helio G96, 12nm;
- Processor: 2 Cortex-A76 cores at 2050 MHz and 6 Cortex-A55 cores at 2000 MHz;
- Graphics: Mali-G57 MC2;
- RAM: 6/8 GB, LPDDR4X;
- Built-in memory: 128/256 GB, UFS 2.2;
- Display: 6.43″, AMOLED, 1080×2400, 409 ppi, 90 Hz;
- Main camera: 64 MP, f/1.8;
- Wide-angle camera: 8 MP, f/2.2, 118 degrees;
- Macro Camera: 2 MP, f/2.4;
- Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.4;
- Battery: 5000 mAh, Li-pol, fast charging 33W, no wireless charging;
- SIM card: Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + microSD;
- Wi-Fi: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (Wi-Fi 5); Bluetooth: 5.0;
- Sensors: IR port, NFC, light sensor, accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, fingerprint scanner;
- USB: Type-C;
- Navigation: GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo;
- Dimensions: 73.87 x 159.87 x 8.09mm;
- Weight: 179.5 g;
Equipment
There are no surprises with the kit – in addition to the smartphone, the bright yellow box contains a 33-watt charger, a USB cable, a SIM eject tool, a small manual, a warranty card and a transparent silicone case. We didn’t forget about screen protection either – a film with a good oleophobic coating was glued on it from the factory.
Appearance
The design of the smartphone has not undergone any significant changes. The slightly protruding camera block stretches almost the entire width of the back, which is why the device does not wobble while typing, being placed on a table or other surface. The Poco M4 Pro is available in three traditional M-series colors – black, blue and yellow. The frame is made of matte plastic, the cover is made of glossy, quickly collecting fingerprints.
On the left side of the block there are 3 lenses, a flash and a circle with the inscription “AI”, which makes this whole composition symmetrical. To the right of the cameras, in addition to the name of the company itself, it is written how many megapixels the main camera has – and the owner will not forget, and advertising to strangers. It is strange that other chips of the device are not indicated on the back – there is still so much space left …
On the top side there is a mini-jack, additional holes for the speaker, an infrared port for controlling home appliances and an additional microphone, on the bottom – the main microphone, a USB-C connector and a multimedia speaker, on the right – a volume rocker and a power button with a built-in fingerprint sensor , on the left – only a combined slot for SIM-cards and a memory card. Moreover, this slot does not tolerate compromises – it is triple, you can install 2 SIM cards and a memory card in it.
Almost the entire front surface is occupied by the display, the front camera is located in the hole in the center. The frames on the sides are 3 mm wide, on the top – 4 mm, on the bottom – 7 mm.
The build quality is excellent, I did not notice any backlashes or gaps. Please note that the manufacturer indicated the degree of protection IP53, the phone cannot be submerged under water – it is only splashproof. It is also worth noting the minimum mass among all Poco smartphones (only 179.5 g) and the minimum thickness among the M-series (8.09 mm). The smartphone lies comfortably in the hand, all buttons are located at the right height.
Display
The screen is exactly what distinguishes the Poco M4 Pro from its predecessors – for the first time in the line, it received an AMOLED matrix. The screen resolution is Full HD +, the image refresh rate is 90 Hz. The screen is bright (1000 nits is claimed) and does not fade in the sun, viewing angles are good, color reproduction can be customized. Unfortunately, there is no DC Dimming mode to reduce screen flicker, which may not appeal to users who are sensitive to PWM.
But there is an Always On Display (AOD) mode – here it is called the “Active Screen”. Unfortunately, its functionality is limited – information is displayed only 10 seconds from the moment the screen is turned off, which goes against the very concept of “always on display”. Perhaps these restrictions help save battery power, but, in my opinion, it would be possible for the user to decide for himself what is more important to him – a long time of work or the constant display of important information on the display
Performance
The “heart” of the smartphone is the MediaTek Helio G96 chipset, introduced in the summer of 2021. Based on it, for example, Tecno Camon 18P, Infinix Note 11 Pro and 11S, Redmi Note 11 Pro and Oppo Realme 8i. In ANTUTU, Poco M4 Pro is gaining almost 312 thousand points, on a par with the co-platform, but the situation with throttling is worse – after 10 minutes of the test, performance dropped to 80%, after 20 minutes – to 50-70%. At the same time, significant heating was not observed, the device became only slightly warm in the area of the camera block.
The smartphone is available in versions with 6 or 8 GB of RAM and 64 or 128 GB of internal. The RAM can be expanded up to 2GB if needed.
cameras
Another major improvement was the set of cameras. The resolution of the main module has risen from 50 to 64 megapixels, the wide-angle module has returned, which was present on the third generation of the M-line, but removed from the Poco M4 Pro 5G.
The main camera produces good pictures, especially in good lighting.
Due to binning, the standard resolution is 16 megapixels, however, in the “More” tab, you can turn on the “honest” 64 megapixel mode, with which the detail of the photos increases. Unfortunately, there is no optical stabilization, as well as optical zoom – the zoom is exclusively digital.
The quality of the ultra-wide-angle module at 8 megapixels is quite enough when viewing photos from the smartphone screen and for publishing on social networks; when viewed on a large screen, you can already see the lack of detail and some watercolor pictures, especially those taken in low light.
The 2 megapixel macro camera should be treated more like a nice addition, it can take interesting, but not the highest quality pictures.
The resolution of the front camera is 16 megapixels, the photo quality is good. The photo capabilities of the device are at the “above basic” level, good lighting is the key to success.
Sound
Despite the presence of the same holes on the upper edge of the smartphone as on the bottom, there is no second multimedia speaker here – the sound from the speaker goes both through the mesh above the display and from the holes on top. When watching movies and playing music, this is a plus, but when talking, it’s rather a minus – at high volume, the interlocutor’s speech is clearly audible to others. At the same time, the sound does not reach stereo, it is rather one and a half – the multimedia speaker is 2 times louder than its colloquial brother.
Battery
Poco M4 Pro is equipped with a rather capacious 5000 mAh battery, which gives 7-8 hours of screen time and allows you to charge your phone every 2 days. A 33 W fast charging unit is included, but charging can hardly be called really fast – from 1% to 100%, the smartphone charges in more than 2 hours, the schedule is as follows:
- 10% – 12 min;
- 25% – 32 min;
- 50% – 65 min;
- 75% – 118 min;
- 100% – 134 min.
The Treshbox.ru test will be inserted later.
Connection
There are no questions about the quality of communication and signal reception, however, the problem familiar to us from other Xiaomi smartphones has not gone away – we are talking about the screen not fading during a call. There is no proximity sensor, its work is performed by an algorithm based on a gyroscope, and if the smartphone deviates from the vertical position during a conversation, the display may turn on. Part of the problem can be solved by calibrating the sensor.
Impressions and conclusions
The fingerprint scanner works quite quickly, for the entire time of use there were only a couple of errors. NFC is available, payment by phone is possible. Of the interesting features worth noting is the presence of FM-radio.
The Poco M4 Pro is a true workhorse. A high-quality screen, excellent autonomy, good performance in everyday tasks, good cameras, and all this in the budget segment.
pros
- bright and clear AMOLED display;
- good camera for this segment.
Minuses
- throttling and a rapid drop in chipset performance;
- The screen may turn on during a call.
Might not like it
- the sound from the conversational speaker goes out.
Source: Trash Box
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
