Poco X3 Pro Review: Good for Gaming

Billed because the true successor to the long-lasting Poco F1, the brand new Poco X3 Professional has some large sneakers to fill. Not everybody needs all the newest fancy options – some patrons with tight budgets like having selections in the case of telephones that prioritise the cameras, battery life, and even gaming efficiency. The Poco F1 was all about its high-end processor and made no apologies about lagging in different departments. With a brand new deal with the youth market, Poco has chosen a barely totally different method for the X3 Professional. Apparently, mother or father firm Xiaomi has additionally lately launched the Mi 11X (Review) in India, which in different markets is known as the Poco F3 and is a more in-depth match to the F1 when it comes to value. Which of those telephones must you select? We have got the solutions.

Poco X3 Professional value in India

The Poco X3 Pro has been launched starting at Rs. 18,999 with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. If you would like 8GB of RAM, there’s one other variant priced at Rs. 20,999, however storage stays unchanged. For those who contemplate your self an influence person and count on to make use of this telephone closely for a number of years, you may discover the distinction between 6GB and 8GB of RAM. There are three color choices: Graphite Black, Metal Blue, and Golden Bronze.

By way of positioning, the Poco X3 prices lower than the Poco F1 (Review) did at launch time, though that mannequin obtained a number of value cuts and was typically discounted on sale. It’ll compete with the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max (Review), Realme X7 5G (Review), Moto G60 (Review), and a number of other different well-liked current fashions.

The Poco X3 Professional is 9.4mm thick and weighs 213g

Poco X3 Professional design

The Poco model is clearly focusing on youthful patrons who like flashy designs that can stand out anyplace. We have seen daring colors, distinctive digicam module shapes, and crowd pleasing patterns on some lately launched Poco telephones. Unsurprisingly, the X3 Professional seems quite a bit just like the Poco X3 (Review), with the identical type of outsized digicam module within the centre of the rear which seems like a circle with the highest and backside flattened out.

Two-thirds of the rear panel has a frosted matte end, however there is a thick stripe proper down the centre which isn’t solely shiny and reflective, but in addition has a sample of diagonal strains that you will see at sure angles. This a part of the rear picks up fingerprints simply, and so they stand out much more as a result of the matte areas on both aspect stay comparatively clear. There’s an enormous Poco brand on this stripe as properly, nevertheless it’s outlined and never stable like on the X3, which makes it a bit much less in-your-face.

Not everybody will like how giant and heavy the Poco X3 Professional is. It weighs 213g and is 9.4mm thick, that are each above common for this section. The physique is rated IP53 and Poco refers to this as “splash-proof”, and it is at all times welcome. The entrance is made from Corning Gorilla Glass 6.

On the entrance, there is a 6.67-inch show with a digicam gap on the top-centre. There is a notification LED hidden within the speaker grille proper on the high, however whereas it is a well-liked function, it is not actually seen except you are this telephone head-on.

Poco has gone with a side-mounted fingerprint sensor which is barely recessed. The amount buttons are proper above it. On the left is the hybrid dual-SIM tray which suggests you may should sacrifice a second SIM if you wish to use a microSD card for extra storage, or vice versa. Xiaomi’s trademark IR emitter is on the highest, together with a gap for higher sound by the earpiece when used as a second speaker. On the underside, you may discover a 3.5mm audio socket, a USB Kind-C port, and the first speaker.

The fingerprint sensor is embedded in the facility button on the correct

Poco X3 Professional specs

Essentially the most fascinating factor in regards to the Poco X3 Professional is its Qualcomm Snpadragon 860 SoC. This can be a comparatively unusual processor and we’re seeing it in motion for the primary time. Qualcomm hardly ever provides a number of 800-series fashions in a yr, however now we have now not solely the flagship Snapdragon 888, but in addition an 870 and 860 within the combine. It’s a barely tweaked model of the Snapdragon 855 from a number of years in the past, however that is nonetheless fairly highly effective by at present’s requirements. It echoes the Poco F1’s use of the Snapdragon 845 which was a bit dated however nonetheless very succesful for its time.

The Snapdragon 860 has eight CPU cores with one operating at 2.96GHz, three at 2.42GHz and 4 extra at 1.8GHz, and likewise options the Adreno 640 built-in GPU. It doesn’t have an built-in 5G modem, and whereas 5G just isn’t a sensible actuality in India but, Poco may appear to be a bit behind the curve since most different producers are pushing this as an enormous promoting level on the sub-Rs. 20,000 value stage.

You get a reasonably large 6.67-inch full-HD+ LCD display. It does have a 120Hz most refresh price and 240Hz most contact sampling price, in addition to HDR10 assist. There is a pretty beneficiant 5,160mAh battery and 33W quick charging, with an identical charger included within the field. Poco has used UFS 128GB of three.1 storage and 6GB or 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM. In different international locations, the higher-end variant has 256GB of storage, however market segmentation was seemingly calculated in a different way for India. Different specs embrace dual-band Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5, GPS, stereo audio system, and high-res audio certification.

Being an offshoot of Xiaomi, Poco’s telephones run MIUI. We have spoken about MIUI 12 intimately in our current critiques of the Redmi Word 10 and Mi 11X, plus all their siblings. The UI is filled with options comparable to a Sport Turbo for optimisations and shortcuts, a Video Toolbox overlay, and a Second Area for privateness. You may customise the notifications shade to behave like iOS with cut up sections for fast toggles and notifications, and it’s also possible to change between on-screen buttons and gestures for navigation. There are a number of preloaded apps together with the GetApps retailer and Themes browser which do generate lots of spammy notifications, and also you additionally should disable the Look lockscreen carousel in the event you do not need to see promoted content material.

The hybrid dual-SIM tray means you may have to decide on between a second Nano-SIM and a microSD card

Poco X3 Professional efficiency

You need to now count on completely clean efficiency in informal on a regular basis use if you’re paying round Rs. 20,000 for a smartphone, and that is what the Poco X3 Professional delivers. The {hardware} is greater than sufficient to run all of your social media and communication apps, plus informal video games and productiveness instruments. I did not really feel any slowdowns when switching between a number of heavy apps.

Benchmark checks present how good the Snapdragon 860 SoC is. AnTuTu 9 reported a rating of 5,43,796 which is outstanding for a telephone at this value stage. In distinction, the Redmi Word 10 Professional Max managed 2,71,830 and the Realme X7 5G scored 3,35,698 (although scores for older variations of AnTuTu usually are not instantly comparable). In Geekbench 5’s single-core and multi-core checks, the X3 Professional managed 752 and 1,892 factors respectively. The 3DMark Wild Life graphics checks posted a rating of three,476, whereas GFXBench’s T-Rex and Automotive Chase scenes ran at 119fps and 39fps respectively.

The display on the X3 Professional is not the most effective that I’ve seen at this value stage, when it comes to color copy. It is superb for informal use however in the event you actually like your content material to pop, you is perhaps just a little underwhelmed. The excessive refresh price is sweet, and HDR kicks in when taking part in movies on YouTube. The digicam gap is on the bigger aspect by at present’s requirements and also you may discover it distracting in lighter scenes in movies. Stereo audio system are good to have, and whereas those on the Poco X3 Professional are loud and adequate for sound results in video games, they will not actually allow you to get the most effective out of high-quality music.

All these capabilities collectively make for a stable gaming workhorse. I fired up COD Cell and Asphalt 9: Legends, and each of them ran with none hitches. Gameplay was pleasing general. The higher rear of the X3 Professional did get a bit heat, and the massive digicam bump on the again did generally get in the way in which when holding the telephone horizontally. A protecting case ought to assist with each this stuff.

Utilization is usually nice. The fingerprint sensor works properly and is simple to seek out by contact alone. Face recognition can also be fast. Not everybody will discover this telephone comfy to make use of, particularly one-handed, due to its bulk. The primary irritations come within the type of adverts on the Look display and promotional content material in GetApps notifications, which might be disabled with just a little digging by the telephone’s settings.

Battery life is sort of stable. You need to simply be capable of get by a full day even with an hour or so of gaming. With reasonable use, you may even be capable of stretch to a day and a half. The Poco X3 charged to 55 % in half-hour and 93 % in an hour utilizing the bundled 33W charger, which isn’t dangerous in any respect.

The first and ultra-wide-angle cameras have decrease resolutions than these of the extra reasonably priced Poco X3

Poco X3 Professional cameras

In an fascinating twist, Poco has gone with decrease resolutions for the X3 Professional’s rear cameras than it did with the Poco X3. You get a 48-megapixel major digicam and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide one, in comparison with 64 and 13 megapixels respectively on what is meant to be a lower-end mannequin in the identical collection. In fact, sensor and lens high quality are far more vital than decision alone. Will probably be fascinating to see how the Poco X3 Professional delivers, and whether or not individuals are keen to look past the same old “greater is best” advertising and marketing message. There’s additionally a 2-megapixel macro digicam and a 2-megapixel depth sensor.

Poco X3 Professional daytime digicam samples (high: commonplace; backside: ultra-wide)(faucet to see full dimension)

The digicam app is similar that we have seen on current Xiaomi telephones. It is feature-rich, however some controls are buried, for instance switching to or from the macro digicam takes a number of faucets. The primary digicam mode switcher is a carousel above the shutter button, and there is a spillover menu with much more modes such a Quick Video, Vlog, Twin Video, AI Watermark, Clone, and Lengthy Publicity.

Poco X3 Professional daytime close-up digicam pattern (faucet to see full dimension)

Poco X3 Professional daytime macro digicam pattern (faucet to see full dimension)

In the case of picture high quality, the Poco X3 Professional is not the strongest in its section. It’ll take adequate images in the event you’re an off-the-cuff person, however colors do not pop as a lot as I’d have favored, and dynamic vary is not very robust. There is a cheap quantity of element in daylight pictures, however do not count on probably the most sensible textures. The ultra-wide-angle digicam after all captures poorer particulars and compression does appear rougher, plus there’s some perspective warping on the edges of frames.

Shut-up and portrait pictures are first rate, since telephone cameras are usually a lot better when coping with topics within the foreground. There’s some pure depth of subject which at all times makes pictures stand out properly. It is troublesome to focus precisely with the macro digicam since there is not any technique to know in the event you’re standing too shut or too removed from the topic, and on the finish of the day, the standard of output would not justify spending an excessive amount of time making an attempt to get it proper.

Poco X3 Professional low-light digicam samples (high: commonplace; backside: ultra-wide)(faucet to see full dimension)

As for low-light pictures, the Poco X3 Professional did wrestle in darkish environments at evening however did an okay job when there was adequate synthetic lighting. Textures are murky and element is weak. Night time mode would not at all times brighten pictures a lot however can enhance distinction and make factors of sunshine in opposition to darkish backgrounds look a lot much less blown-out. It really works greatest when there’s actually little or no ambient gentle, and that is particularly evident with the ultra-wide digicam which does not at all times produce usable outcomes at nighttime with out Night time mode.

Poco X3 Professional selfie digicam samples (high: daytime portrait; backside: low-light)(faucet to see full dimension)

The 20-megapixel entrance digicam would not ship probably the most natural-looking pores and skin tones, and the default smoothening is simply too aggressive for my style. Selfies taken within the day in addition to at evening are good, however not nice. Portrait mode does properly with separating the background although focus is not at all times excellent.

Video recording goes as much as 4K 30fps with the first rear digicam. There isn’t any stabilisation and I did discover fairly a little bit of jitter in video recorded whereas shifting, irrespective of the decision. Identical to with stills, the standard is okay for informal use however you may get higher at this value stage. Video shot at evening, beneath shiny streetlights, is grainy and uninteresting.

There is a 3.5mm jack, USB Kind-C port, and speaker on the underside

Verdict

Poco clearly had one aim in thoughts for the X3 Professional, and that was to ship the absolute best CPU efficiency at across the Rs. 20,000 value stage. Arguably, it has succeeded. This can be a telephone that can do very properly for gaming and can really feel snappy and responsive for the foreseeable future. If you would like a tool that feels premium however do not need to spend an excessive amount of, this may very well be a compelling possibility. There are additionally different positives – the IP53 ranking and stereo audio system are each good to have, and in the event you’re in search of daring design, you may get it.

On the draw back, the display is just a little underwhelming and the cameras are simply common. If 5G is one thing that will probably be vital to you and also you need to use all that CPU energy for the subsequent few years, the X3 Professional will not match the invoice. It is also fairly cumbersome and heavy.

It is simple to see that younger patrons will like what the X3 Professional has to supply, however this telephone is not for everybody. Do take a look at our list of the best phones priced under Rs. 20,000 in the event you’re in search of extra of an all-rounder.