Poco X3 Review
The much-awaited Poco X3 is now official in India and in the typical Poco fashion, this one brings together competitive specs for a disruptive price. Highlights include a 120fps screen, a massive 6000mAh battery, and a powerful Snapdragon 700 series chipset.
The Poco X3 has all the ingredients it takes but do they add up to a comparable experience? In our Poco X3 review, we will share our experience and give you a better view of where it stands compared to Realme 7 Pro and Galaxy M31s.
Poco X3 price and specifications
Poco X3 Box Contents include:
- Handset with a pre-applied screen protector
- Transparent protective case
- 33W charging adaptor
- USB A to C cable
- Documentation and SIM ejector
Poco X3 Review: Design and Build
Weighing 225 grams in heft and about 10mm in thickness, the Poco X3 is unapologetically big and bulky and this should take some getting used to. The metal side-frame that lends it durability also contributes to the heft, but yes Poco manages to shave off a few grams by using a polycarbonate back (glass-like).
The rear camera array still bulges out and the bundled case barely evens out the hump. The module makes the phone look distinct, and if you ask us, that’s important. Also, there is a nice gradient pattern at the back which should be appealing to young consumers.
The display has a centrally-aligned notch and the bezels surrounding it are quite slim. Apart from Gorilla Glass 5, there is also a pre-applied screen protector shielding the screen.
The fingerprint reader is on the side and it’s as snappy and reliable as we’d want it to be. The volume rocker above it isn’t as easily accessible, but we can still reach it out with fair ease.
The microSD card slot is not dedicated, so choose your storage variant accordingly. Other than that, there are no unexpected hardware surprises here – USB Type-C port, noise cancelation microphone, IR blaster, audio jack are all there.
Poco X3 Review: Display
The IPS LCD display has 120Hz smoothness and thanks to the massive 6000mAh battery users can relish the fluidity without any self-reproach. The Poco X3 dials down refresh rate and conserves battery in situations like when you wouldn’t need those extra frames – like when watching movies.
The display quality is good enough for the price. Whites are bluish by default, but MIUI has several customization options including different color profiles, an elaborate reading mode, and a color temperature wheel that you may use to tune the white point to your liking. The ‘standard’ color scheme works the best for us.
Poco X3 has slightly better overall brightness than Realme 7 Pro but outdoor visibility is comparable on both of these devices.
Poco X3 also supports Full HD content streaming on Netflix and Prime videos out of the box. It also supports HDR content on YouTube. The multimedia experience is however more enjoyable on AMOLED displays on Realme 7 Pro and Galaxy M31.
Poco X3 Review: Performance and Software
This is the first phone with 8nm process-based Snapdragon 732G octa-core chipset, which is an incremental upgrade to the Snapdragon 730G used on the Poco X2. It’s currently the most powerful Qualcomm chipset available under 20k and Poco bundles ample LPDDR4x RAM and UFS 2.1 storage to back it up.
The benchmark scores reveal that the performance you’d get from Snapdragon 732G, 730G, and 720G isn’t very different and that kind of mellows down one of the biggest Poco X3 advantage.
Poco X3 Review: Camera performance
Poco X3 is equipped with 64MP Sony IMX682 sensor in the lead. This is among the better sensors available in mid-range phones today and Poco says that the only feature missing when compared to Sony IMX686 is 4K video recording@60fps.
The primary camera is accompanied by a 13MP wide-angle camera, a 2MP portrait camera, and a 2MP macro camera. The selfie camera is a single 20MP sensor.
In proper daylight, the Poco X3 can keep the colors natural and retail details and texture fairly well. Compared to the Realme 7 Pro, there is no clear winner. At times 7 Pro manages better details in shadows and in the backdrop and at times the Poco X3 retains better texture.
Poco X3 Review: Battery and Audio
In India, the Poco X3 comes with an extra-large 6000mAh battery. We could easily manage 1.5 days of usage while keeping the screen refresh rate at 120fps. Xiaomi bundles a 33W charger in the box that can top-up the battery to around 68% in one hour. A full charge takes around 2 hours.
The stereo-speakers on the X3 can get really loud and you can feel the rumble across the back. The audio quality via speakers is better than what we have on Realme 7 Pro. Our ringtone when we receive calls, however, plays very feeble. At times we missed calls when our phone was in another room and the ringing volume wasn’t set to 100 percent.
Poco X3 Review: Should you buy it?
Poco is only starting off as a new brand and can afford to compete at razor-thin margins. The 6000mAh battery lasts long, the Snapdragon 732 chipset makes it a reliable performer, and the camera performance is comparable to the best available options in this price segment.
Yes, Poco X3 is a well-put-together phone and it comes at a very convincing price, but it’s also a tad unwieldy. It’s for users to decide if that’s the price they are willing to pay for the niceties on board.
Pros
- Powerful performance
- Decent cameras
- 120Hz display refresh rate
- IR blaster
- Long-lasting battery
Cons
- Thick and bulky
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