POCO X5 Pro 5G Review: Some hits, some misses

POCO X5 Pro 5G Review: The POCO X5 Pro 5G is the successor of the X4 Pro, launched in March 2022. It has several upgrades when compared to its predecessor but the shape and size remain almost identical to X4 Pro - with the only visible change being the placement of badging alongside the rear camera setup. There are some worthwhile changes but are they significant enough of unleashing the X factor? Let's find out!

The POCO X5 Pro 5G is available in two RAM and storage variants  - 6GB + 128GB and 8GB + 256GB. They are priced at Rs 22,999 and Rs 24,999 respectively. 

POCO X5 Pro 5G Review: Design

The POCO X5 Pro comes with almost the same design as its predecessor. It has flat edges and the placement of a volume rocker, power switch, dual speakers and SIM tray is exactly like the POCO X4 Pro. The power button doubles as the fingerprint scanner, which is quite responsive.

The body frame and back cover use polycarbonate and do not attract fingerprints. However, the camera setup does attract smudge as it has a glossy finish. 

On the front, there are very minimal bezels which provide a good body-to-frame ratio.  The good thing is that you get a 3.5mm audio jack.

POCO X5 Pro 5G Review: Display

The POCO X5 Pro 5G comes with a 6.67-inch full HD+ Xfinity AMOLED display. It also has Dolby Vision. The POCO X5 Pro 5G has an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz and a touch sampling ratio of 240Hz. The peak brightness of the screen is 900nits, sufficient for devices in this price range. I watched some videos and found the visual audio quality to be satisfactory. It has  Dolby Atmos-backed stereo speakers which give a clear voice even at higher volumes. 

POCO X5 Pro 5G Review: Performance

The POCO X5 Pro 5G is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G chipset, an upgrade from Snapdragon 695. I was able to perform all my day-to-day tasks easily and didn't notice any significant lag. 

The POCO X5 Pro 5G boots on Android 12-based MIUI 14. While the Android skin provides you with enough customisation for users, it should have come with Android 13 as we have already started discussing the release date of Android 14.  

POCO X5 Pro 5G Review: Battery and charging

The POCO X5 Pro 5G has a 5,000mAh battery that performed well during my over three weeks of usage. The device gives enough power to use the device for the entire day. It supports a 67W fast charging solution.

This can easily charge your smartphone from zero to 100 per cent in less than 60 minutes. 

POCO X5 Pro 5G Review: Camera

In terms of camera, the POCO X5 Pro has a triple camera setup at the back, with a primary lens of 108 megapixels. It is accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide camera with a 120-degree field of view (FoV) and a 2MP macro lens. The images are detailed when clicked in natural light conditions. In HDR mode, you will end up getting some over-saturated images. Portrait mode is also capable of giving some good images. There is a lot of scope for improvement when it comes to lowlight images. 

The rear camera setup allows 4K recording at 30 frames per second (fps). 

For selfies, you will get a 16 megapixels camera and it too can give good images with natural skin tones under natural light conditions. Under low light conditions, the images are distorted and lack details.

POCO X5 Pro 5G Review: Verdict

The POCO X5 Pro 5G has been priced in the segment which sees the maximum number of sales and it is capable enough to give some tough competition to other devices in this segment.