Poco X3 Pro review: Power packed, but no all-rounder

Mid-range competitors within the smartphone business is hard, and it’s not simple for any handset to face out. That is a good larger problem when you’re constructing upon the legacy of one of the widespread “value flagships” ever.

The Poco X3 Professional is a non secular successor of kinds to the Pocophone F1 (or Poco F1 in India) — a smartphone that modified the worth proposition via its high-end specs at a cutthroat value. Nevertheless, the panorama has modified fairly a bit because the days of the F1, each by way of market demographics and value of elements.

So, is the Poco X3 Professional and its efficiency focus the way in which to go within the mid-range section? That’s what we goal to seek out out in Android Authority‘s Poco X3 Professional overview.

About this Poco X3 Professional overview: I used the Poco X3 Professional for six days working software program model MIUI 12.0.5.0.RJUINXM. The Poco X3 Professional overview unit was supplied to Android Authority by Poco India for the overview.

What it is advisable to know in regards to the Poco X3 Professional

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• Poco X3 Professional (6GB/128GB): £229/€269/Rs. 18,999
• Poco X3 Professional (8GB/128GB): Rs. 20,999
• Poco X3 Professional (8GB/256GB): £249/€299

The Poco X3 Professional is accessible beginning at £229, €269, and Rs. 18,999 (~$260) within the UK, Europe, and India, respectively. This places it squarely within the aggressive mid-range section in India and pushing into entry-level fare within the West. The cellphone is accessible in three coloration variants: Golden Bronze, Graphite Black, and Metal Blue.

In a sea of comparable units, the X3 Professional is laser-focused on efficiency and there’s a noticeable skew within the spec sheet in the direction of that finish. The Snapdragon 860 chipset powering the cellphone provides it a substantial leg-up over different telephones within the section.

Efficiency upgrades apart, modifications between the usual Poco X3 and Poco X3 Professional are minimal. There’s Gorilla Glass 6 on the entrance this time round, in addition to some curious modifications within the digital camera configuration that we’ll tackle beneath.

Does the Poco X3 Professional look good?

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The Poco X3 Professional is, for probably the most half, a turbo-charged model of the common Poco X3. As such, the design variations are minimal. The corporate has managed to slim down the cumbersome profile of the X3 by 1mm, however you possibly can chalk that all the way down to the smaller battery.

The boldly positioned Poco emblem on the again is certainly an acquired style. A fingerprint-prone shiny strip within the center is flanked by matte racing strips on both aspect. Up high is a somewhat massive digital camera module that harkens again to the OnePlus 7T.

You’ll discover a quantity rocker and energy button on the best aspect of the cellphone. The previous has a barely spongy really feel to it that doesn’t instill confidence. The facility button, alternatively, doubles up as a fingerprint scanner. It’s completely responsive in day-to-day use, and it makes for a significantly better resolution than a much less dependable in-display fingerprint reader.

The stereo audio system spherical off the package deal properly, whereas the fingerprint scanner is quick and fluid.

Different notable options embody an IR blaster on the high, as is the case with most Xiaomi telephones. Alongside the underside edge is a USB-C port, a 3.5mm audio jack, in addition to stereo audio system. The audio system are properly balanced however lack bass. They aren’t the loudest I’ve come throughout both however they’ll suffice in a pinch.

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Transferring onto the show, the 6.67-inch Full HD 120Hz panel is similar as on the Poco X3. Distinction ranges on the panel are incredible, although I’d advocate switching to the usual sRGB coloration profile for accuracy.

It’s summer season right here in Delhi, the right litmus take a look at for out of doors visibility. Pushed to the max, Poco X3 Professional’s display is viewable outdoor, nevertheless it definitely isn’t an optimum expertise. The Poco X3 did higher right here.

Lastly, as you’d anticipate, black ranges definitely aren’t nearly as good as on an OLED show, however except you watch a variety of video content material in your cellphone, this actually shouldn’t trouble you.

The Poco X3 Professional’s iterative design is not notably thrilling and fails to face out.

The adaptive refresh price goes all the way in which to 120Hz and scales properly throughout the interface and apps. For higher battery life, you possibly can lock it all the way down to 60Hz.

Total, the Poco X3 Professional isn’t notably thrilling. It’s an iterative construct on high of the usual Poco X3 with few if any quality-of-life enhancements. Positive, you get Gorilla Glass 6 over Gorilla Glass 5 on the X3, and the cellphone is slimmer, however that’s not almost sufficient to make an enduring impression.

Does the Poco X3 Professional have good cameras?

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Right here’s the place issues get attention-grabbing. Regardless of the moniker, the digital camera setup on the Poco X3 Professional is a noticeable downgrade over the Poco X3. Each the first and ultra-wide sensors have been bumped all the way down to 48MP and 8MP respectively, from the 64MP and 13MP sensors on the common X3. Whereas there is likely to be some value financial savings on Xiaomi’s finish by switching to the far more widespread 48MP shooter, it doesn’t make an enormous distinction in the long run outcomes.

Associated: The perfect finances digital camera telephones you should buy

Actually, I discovered them in step with these from the Poco X3. Outcomes nonetheless aren’t probably the most constant. The decrease decision ultra-wide sensor additionally means you gained’t have a lot headroom to crop and edit pictures.

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Calibration is skewed in the direction of oversaturation throughout the board, although photographs do look good sufficient for social media. The boosted colours are notably noticeable in blues and reds. The default processing pushes sharpness and distinction ranges a bit an excessive amount of for my style.

The 8MP ultra-wide digital camera has an analogous coloration imbalance. Moreover, the decrease decision doesn’t go away you as a lot room to crop in.

Low-light and indoor imaging are the few areas the place the Poco X3 Professional cameras do fairly properly. There’s a superb quantity of management over noise, although the sturdy digital noise discount is seen upon shut inspection. The over-sharpening seen in daylight photographs is much more evident right here.

Over on the front-facing digital camera, the 20MP sensor is succesful sufficient, however the processing is a serious letdown. Distinction ranges are boosted to unnatural ranges, and there’s very important sharpening and pores and skin retouching. Elsewhere, the macro digital camera is useful however its 2MP decision gained’t allow you to do a lot with the pictures. Video recording tops off at 4K, 30fps. The standard is respectable sufficient although the telltale indicators of oversharpening persist.

Given the sheer quantity of competitors within the section, Poco actually ought to’ve targeted a bit extra on imaging somewhat than simply diving deep into efficiency.

How’s the battery life?

Like the usual Poco X3, the Poco X3 Professional amazes with its battery life. Regardless of the extra highly effective processor and smaller battery, it shines on the subject of effectivity due to Xiaomi’s historically sturdy optimization. The 5,160mAh cell lasts a full day and extra with ease. I repeatedly clocked over six hours of screen-on time from the cellphone with near-constant music streaming, quite a few cellphone calls, textual content messages, and emails. With frugal use, you possibly can simply anticipate two days of use from the cellphone.

The Poco X3 Professional lags behind in peak charging speeds, however the lengthy battery life ensures you do not have to plug it in too usually.

When it comes time to cost the cellphone, the X3 Professional falters a bit. 33W isn’t almost greatest at school, and it takes virtually an hour to completely cost the cellphone. The Realme X7, as compared, presents 50W charging. As you’d anticipate for the worth, there’s no wi-fi charging assist.

Is the efficiency any good?

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Regardless of being positioned as a semi-successor to the Pocophone F1 in some areas, the Poco X3 Professional isn’t packing the very best processor available on the market. As a substitute, it bows to the realities of the present market by specializing in worth, whereas nonetheless delivering on the promise of energy. The Snapdragon 860 may not be the very best within the enterprise, however it’s nonetheless a really highly effective processor. A reheated model of the Snapdragon 855 Plus, the 7nm chipset has the very same core configuration and graphics chip because the 855 Plus. It stays simply as succesful at present.

It isn’t fairly a flagship, however the Snapdragon 860 provides you a variety of grunt to your cash.

The interface is properly optimized for the {hardware}, and the cellphone remained silky easy all through my time with it. The cellphone additionally excels at gaming with high titles like Name of Responsibility: Cellular working simply fantastic with settings cranked as much as the max. Genshin Affect runs properly too, although you’ll have to show down the decision and a number of the results to get a stable 60fps. The cellphone didn’t warmth up excessively in my expertise.

Anything?

• MIUI: The Poco X3 Professional ships with MIUI 12.0.4 onboard with Poco Launcher slapped on high. Whereas the cellphone eschews advertisements in India (your mileage might range in different areas), that doesn’t imply there’s no bloat. I can excuse some additions like Fb and Amazon, however additions like GetApps with its full-screen takeovers are problematic.
• Updates: Poco has a blended report with updates. The corporate has a slower cadence for updates, despite the fact that it delivers on its promise of two main replace cycles.
• 5G assist: The Poco X3 Professional ships with out 5G assist which is a somewhat massive miss. Whereas networks are but to roll out in India, it’s notably necessary for world markets the place 5G rollouts are properly on the way in which.
• IP53 ranking: Not many reasonably priced smartphones embody an IP ranking, so it’s good to see right here. It’s not a full-blown IP67 ranking for full safety from mud and water, however the cellphone ought to survive dusty environments or a light drizzle.

Poco X3 Professional specs

Worth and competitors

Poco X3 Professional

The Poco X3 Professional mixes high-end efficiency with a value-positioned value.

The Poco X3 Professional is competing in a crowded class with many high-quality choices. Whereas most alternate options will miss out on the sheer energy of the Poco X3 Professional, they provide well-rounded packages that is likely to be value . Geared toward a particular area of interest that’s targeted fully on efficiency, the Poco X3 Professional is an interesting possibility. However in case you’re not an avid smartphone gamer, there’s higher worth available in telephones that take a extra multi-faceted strategy.

Maybe the obvious alternate options come from stablemate Xiaomi. The Redmi Word 10 Professional (or Redmi Word 10 Professional Max in India) (£249/Rs 18,999) doesn’t provide as a lot uncooked energy, nevertheless it has a extra balanced spec sheet targeted on day-to-day necessities like design and good cameras.

There’s additionally the Mi 10i, one other glorious cellphone from Xiaomi for patrons in India. This one, just like the Redmi Word 10 Professional Max, brings a superb 108MP digital camera, in addition to a Snapdragon 750G chipset for a bit extra grunt below the hood. The Mi 10i is priced beginning at Rs. 20,999 (~$288).

Associated: The perfect telephones below £300 within the UK | The perfect telephones below 20,000 rupees in India

Poco itself presents a real Pocophone F1 successor in Europe: the Poco F3. Whereas we encountered some lamentable software program points in our testing, there’s no denying that the Poco F3 is an reasonably priced powerhouse due to its Snapdragon 870 chipset and £329/€349 price ticket.

Look a bit additional and also you’ll see competitors from Realme. The Realme 8 Professional‘s Snapdragon 720G chipset may not impress, however the 108MP digital camera will. The design can be fetching, and the cellphone consists of 50W charging assist. The Realme 8 Professional is priced beginning at £279/Rs. 17,999 (~$247).

Western patrons with a watch for nice photographs must also think about stretching to the Google Pixel 4a which now sits at slightly below the £300 mark within the UK, or €329 throughout the remainder of Europe.

Poco X3 Professional overview: The decision

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The Poco X3 Professional is a variety of issues, nevertheless it’s not an all-rounder. The main target right here was clearly on efficiency, at the price of all the things else. In case you want a variety of grunt in your each day use, the Poco X3 Professional is probably the most suitable choice within the class. Nevertheless, for a extra customary workload — assume music streaming, taking images, or texting — a extra well-rounded possibility just like the Redmi Word 10 Professional can be a greater wager for many.

The Poco X3 Professional’s laser deal with efficiency comes at a value.

For that big-league chipset, Poco has sacrificed necessities like a superlative digital camera, a high-quality AMOLED show, and to a level, the design. It’s not a foul cellphone, however somewhat a distinct segment cellphone that’ll enchantment to frugal players, or those that need to pack processing warmth on a finances.