The Poco M3 Pro 5G is the latest budget-friendly smartphone from Xiaomi’s sub-brand, promising a powerful experience at an affordable price. With a 90Hz refresh rate display, ample battery life, and 5G connectivity, the Poco M3 Pro 5G positions itself as a formidable contender in the already competitive budget smartphone market. But, does it deliver on its promises? This comprehensive review delves into the device’s strengths and weaknesses, examining its design, performance, camera capabilities, and overall value proposition, so you can decide if it truly lives up to the hype.
Design and Build
The Poco M3 Pro 5G’s design is a departure from the Poco M3’s more rugged aesthetic. While it retains the recognizable yellow color option, it also introduces a sleek Cool Blue color variant, which is the one we’ve been reviewing. Sporting a premium feel with its textured back panel and a sleek, modern design, the Poco M3 Pro 5G tries to mask its thickness with rounded edges on the frame and back panel. The flattened top and bottom of the frame add an intriguing element to the aesthetics.
The phone features a headphone jack and IR emitter on the top, and a USB Type-C port and speaker at the bottom. Despite its size, the Poco M3 Pro 5G is surprisingly lightweight, feeling comfortable in hand.
The power button, which also houses the fingerprint sensor, is located on the right side. This button offers quick and responsive fingerprint scanning, responding equally well to a press or a tap, depending on your preference.
Display and Performance
The Poco M3 Pro 5G boasts a spacious 6.5-inch full-HD+ LCD panel, offering sharp visuals, impressive brightness, and vibrant, true-to-life colors. Though the default refresh rate is set to 60Hz, users can manually switch it to 90Hz, which noticeably enhances the smoothness of animations and scrolling. This increased refresh rate contributes to a more fluid and responsive user experience.
Underneath the hood, the Poco M3 Pro 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC, similar to the Realme 8 5G. This 7nm chipset is quite capable for a phone in this price segment. Early testing suggests that this phone can handle demanding tasks like gaming and multitasking without any noticeable lag. The real-world performance of this SoC will be tested further during our review.
While the inclusion of 5G connectivity is a welcome addition for future-proofing, it’s currently of limited practical use in many regions due to the lack of readily available 5G networks.
Software and Battery
The Poco M3 Pro 5G runs on MIUI 12.0.2 based on Android 11. While MIUI has often been criticized for its bloatware and aggressive notifications, our initial observations have been more positive. The notoriously spammy apps like GetApps seem to be behaving themselves, which is a promising sign.
Poco has opted for a slightly smaller 5,000mAh battery compared to the 6,000mAh one in the Poco M3. However, even with this reduction, the battery capacity is still sufficient to provide more than a full day’s worth of usage on a single charge. The phone comes bundled with an 18W fast charger, which helps in quick top-ups.
Camera Performance
This is where the Poco M3 Pro 5G falls short. While the 48-megapixel primary camera appears to be capable enough, the lack of an ultra-wide camera is a glaring omission, especially considering the phone’s price point.
Instead of a wide-angle lens, the phone features two 2-megapixel sensors for macro shots and depth effects, which have proven to be less useful in many cases. Given the popularity and utility of ultra-wide cameras in devices at this price point, this omission is disappointing.
The front camera features an 8-megapixel sensor, which is adequate for casual selfies and video calls.
Detailed camera performance and a comprehensive set of sample photos will be included in our full review.
Overall Value and Verdict
The Poco M3 Pro 5G is a solid offering in the budget segment, with notable features like a 90Hz refresh rate display, a powerful processor, and 5G connectivity. However, the absence of an ultra-wide camera could be a deal breaker for many users, especially considering the presence of other excellent value-for-money options in the same price range.
Phones like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10S and Redmi Note 10 Pro, both priced in the same range as the Poco M3 Pro 5G, offer a better value proposition with their superior camera systems.
While the Poco M3 Pro 5G has some attractive features, its lack of a wide-angle camera makes it a tougher sell. Our final verdict will depend on how the phone performs in comprehensive testing and whether its overall strengths outweigh the drawbacks.
Stay tuned for the full review and detailed camera performance evaluation for a more comprehensive assessment of the Poco M3 Pro 5G.
