The Poco X series typically delivers a high refresh rate screen, a large, fast-charging battery and a value for money chipset (leaving flagship performance to the F-phones). The X5 series checks all those boxes and while the camera is rarely the focus, the new Pro model flaunts a 108MP sensor. This time around there is a vanilla phone too, but we’ll get to it.
The Xiaomi Poco X5 Pro is a direct successor to the X4 Pro from around this time last year. The chassis has been slimmed down, in fact, at 7.9mm it is the thinnest X-phone yet (and third thinnest in the Poco family, beaten only by a couple of F-phones).
Poco X5 Pro
The main upgrade this generation is the Snapdragon 778G – the 6nm chip (TSMC) with a flagship-grade Adreno 642L GPU. The new chipset is significantly faster across the board compared to the Snapdragon 695 that powered the X4 Pro.
This year Xiaomi also equipped the Pro with double the base storage, 128GB, but kept the base RAM at 6GB. There is an 8/256GB option if you need more of both (in either case they LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.2 storage). The phone runs Android 12 with MIUI 14 for Poco out of the box.
The Poco X5 Pro upgrades to the Snapdragon 778G • up to 8GB of real plus up to 5GB of virtual RAM
The display is another upgrade. It is still a 6.67” AMOLED panel with 1,080 x 2,400px resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate. However, it now renders 10-bit color with 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space. The display is brighter to boot, reaching 900 nits peak (up from 700 nits). Dimming is handled by a high frequency 1,920Hz PWM system. Protection is still provided by Gorilla Glass 5.
The camera system is the same, as far as the cameras are concerned. This means that the main module features a 108MP 1/1.52” sensor, which is joined by an 8MP ultra wide-angle module (120°) and a 2MP macro camera, plus a 16MP camera on the front.
The 108MP main camera gains 4K video recording thanks to the faster chipset
This is not to say that the camera is without improvement – the Snapdragon 778G brings a faster ISP (2 gigapixels per second) and a more powerful NPU (12 TOPS). The most obvious upgrade is enabling 4K video recording (up from 1080p@30fps on its predecessor, embarrassing for a Pro phone). Additionally, using the camera is faster too, e.g. taking a photo is 69% faster, night mode has been sped up by 38%.
The new chipset also enables faster local connectivity with Wi-Fi 6 (ax) and Bluetooth 5.2 (up from Wi-Fi 5 and BT 5.1). Additionally, there is a 3.5mm headphone jack, an IR blaster and (in some regions, at least) NFC.
The phone also has a USB-C port that refuels the 5,000mAh battery at 67W using the included charger.
The Poco X5 Pro is available in Blue, Black and the brand’s trademark Yellow.
Here are the best Poco X5 Pro features at a glance:
The Xiaomi Poco X5 keeps the Snapdragon 695 chipset of the X4 Pro but has double the base storage at 128GB. Like the new Pro, it also has an 8/256GB version and does one better – it has a microSD slot for up to 1TB more (note this phone has a hybrid card slot). The vanilla model launches with the older MIUI 13 for Poco out of the box.
The vanilla Poco X5 keeps the Snapdragon 695, has a 6.67″ 120Hz AMOLED display
The display is 6.67” in size with the same FHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate as the Pro. However, it is an 8-bit panel and uses the older Gorilla Glass 3. That said, peak brightness is even higher, reaching a peak of 1,200 nits.
The camera and battery are more akin to what a hypothetical vanilla Poco X4 might have been (Xiaomi never released such a phone). It has a 48MP main camera (capped to 1080p video capture due to the chipset), an 8MP ultra wide (118°) and a 2MP macro, plus a 13MP selfie camera on the front.
Poco X5
The battery is the same capacity, 5,000mAh, though the charging speed is down to 33W. You still get a charger in the box, though, a 33W adapter that can do a 0-100% in 68 minutes.
5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging (0-100% in 68 minutes)
While wireless connectivity is somewhat older than the Pro (Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1), the X5 still features a 3.5mm headphone jack, an IR blaster and (in some regions) NFC.
The vanilla Poco X5 with 6/128GB memory can be yours for $250/€250, the 8/256GB model is $300/€300. However, there are early bird prices for both options, dropping the cost to $200/€200 and $250/€250, respectively.
Poco X5 pricing • Early bird discounts for the X5
The Poco X5 Pro starts at $300/€300 for the base 6/128GB model and goes up to $350/€350 for the 8/256GB one. This one also gets early bird discounts, so if you’re quick you can pick these up for $250/€250 and $300/€300, respectively.
Poco X5 Pro pricing
Early bird prices for the Poco X5 Pro
Both the X5 and X5 Pro will be available from February 7 (tomorrow), but note that prices may vary by region. Both phones will be available through a wide range of retail partners, here they are:
Retailers that will offer the Poco X5 and X5 Pro
The Poco X5 Pro is headed to India next week (the rumors were right, the vanilla X5 will not be available there). The base 6/128GB model has an MSRP of ₹23,000, the 8/256GB will be ₹25,000. The first sale will be on Flipkart starting at noon February 13 (next Monday). Note that you will be able to knock ₹2,000 off the price with an instant discount or an exchange bonus (the bonus itself is up to ₹20,000).
Author: Peter
Source: GSMArena
