Chinese Xiaomi has created a separate subsidiary brand from the series POCO smartphones. Many of you may still remember the legendary one Pocophone F1 as an affordable flagship smartphone. However, it did not offer a high-quality metal body or a stylish pop-out front camera.
This review will introduce you in detail POCO F2 Pro, which has also become the cheapest flagship smartphone on the market with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor. Although it is only a kind of disguised version of the Chinese model Redmi K30 Pro, we decided to test this smartphone in detail.
Where to buy?
We are a smartphone POCO F2 Pro for bought on DHgate shopping portal at the Mi Flagship Store, which offers DHL shipping for this smartphone. It guarantees delivery without customs duties, which it also fulfilled, and our smartphone arrived in a relatively fast time.
We also wrote about our experience with ordering and delivery in a separate article. At the time of writing the review, the smartphone was priced at 430 on DHgate €, which is the final price for you as a customer, and it is an excellent price tag.
For comparison, the official price for our market was set at 549 €, so thanks to our coupons you can save more than €100.
Packaging: Surprises with accessories
Flag smartphone POCO F2 Pro you will arrive in a box of standard dimensions. The gray color of the package is complemented by the yellow elements of the bottom of the box and also the yellow inscription of the smartphone model.
After unpacking the lid of the box, there is a paper envelope with accessories on the top itself. This includes a needle for ejecting the slot for two SIM cards (DualSIM), a paper manual and also a thick silicone case.
The case is high quality, but specially cut without the upper edge. This is represented only by the protruding left and right side edge of the case due to the necessary space for the mechanical retractable front camera of the smartphone.
Below is the smartphone itself covered with a protective foil, and below it a cable with a USB type C connector and a local terminal for a quick charger. The phone supports up to 30W cable charging with the Quick Charge 4+ standard.
Retractable camera and 3,5 mm audio connector
The smartphone will offer dimensions at the level of 163,3 x 75,4 x 8,9 mm, while the weight of this smartphone has stopped at a value of 219 grams, which you will really feel in your pocket. Nevertheless, there is definitely an improvement over the previous generation.
While the predecessor with the label Pocophone F1 was a very cheap flagship smartphone, its construction was the same – plastic. In the new generation POCO The manufacturer F2 Pro brings high-quality metal materials and protective glass on the front and back, while glossy gradient colors cannot be missing.
On the front there is a large display, up to 6,67 ″, with minimal frames and without any cutouts in the display. We have to admit that this design looks really premium and the display has a really modern design of a flagship smartphone.
Above the display there is a speaker designed for telephony (which also creates a stereo effect when listening to music or video by voice) and there are also the necessary sensors. The frames around the display are really minimal and look very premium.
The top edge is really interesting in this case. It contains a drawer with a motorized front camera, which is accompanied by a light and sound response when it is extended. The upper part of this socket aligns the upper edge when the camera is inserted and contains a light-emitting diode, which lights up, for example, when charging or when an incoming notification is received.
Also on the top there is an infrared port for remote control of home electronics (complete with software in the phone), a secondary microphone, which you will appreciate, for example, when recording video, and also a 3,5 mm audio connector for connecting standard wired headphones.
DualSIM and protruding rear camera
The bottom edge is home to the primary microphone, a USB type C charging connector, and also, thanks to the layout of other elements, there is also a slot for inserting a pair of NanoSIM cards. The smartphone therefore supports DualSIM (Dual stand-by) technology. It does not support microSD memory cards in this slot.
There is also a loud speaker also located at the bottom edge. It is really loud and its sound is enough for occasional watching videos, in addition, it is suitably complemented by a second speaker above the display and thus completes a kind of stereo effect.
The left side contains virtually no controls. The right side is home to the volume buttons and the button for turning the smartphone itself on or off. The latter is even stylishly distinguished by color, it has a red color. The buttons are easy to feel and conveniently located due to the size of this smartphone.
The protective glass of the rear wall is rounded and runs smoothly on the side edges. This can be dangerous due to the grip of the device and possible slipping. However, this imperfection will be solved, for example, by the enclosed protective case.
The rear wall contains a round module with four rear cameras, below is the manufacturer's logo and mandatory recycling information. The rear camera module also has a powerful dual LED flash.
All side edges also contain plastic parts that serve to pass the signal. However, these are fine strips that do not interfere with the design of the device. The manufacturer definitely deserves praise for the processing of this smartphone.
Beautiful 60 Hz AMOLED
There is no doubt that current flagship smartphones already offer panels with a higher refresh rate at the level of 90 Hz, 120 Hz, or even up to 144 Hz. POCO With its affordable price, the F2 Pro will only offer a standard 60 Hz display.
On the other hand, the equipment of this smartphone includes a really large up to 6,67 ”Super AMOLED display with Full HD + resolution, which is 2400 x 1080 pixels (the competition also offers 2K resolution). The display has an aspect ratio of 20: 9, offers a fineness of 395 ppi, a brightness of up to 500 rivets and the HDR10 + function or Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
The display panel itself covers almost 88% of the front wall, especially with a very narrow frame without a standard front camera. We were satisfied with the quality of this panel in the editorial office, it will offer true and rich colors (possibility to correct in the settings), but also sufficient minimum and maximum brightness.
The viewing angles of this smartphone are really without problems and it is a panel worthy of a flagship smartphone. Understandably, it feels a cheaper price due to the refresh rate.
The retractable camera also received improvements
POCO The F2 Pro is basically a kind of successor to last year's Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro (Redmi K20 Pro), as it is based on the model Redmi K30 Pro. Its specialty is the retractable front camera, which in the new generation has been improved in the same way as the option to choose the color of the LED lighting when it is pulled out.
There are five colors to choose from, and it is a pleasant accessory especially for geeks. There is also the option to select the sound effect when extending / retracting the camera.
Cheapest Snapdragon 865
A really big advantage of this smartphone is the used flagship eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor. This processor is practically a privilege of several hundred more expensive flagship devices, and in this case it is POCO F2 Pro really affordable choice.
The Snapdragon 865 processor is made with 7nm technology and its eight cores are composed of 1 x 2,84 GHz Kryo 585 + 3 x 2,42 GHz Kryo 585 + 4 x 1,80 GHz Kryo 585. Adreno 650 graphics accelerator is also available. which is among the top and should handle virtually any graphically demanding game from the Play Store.
We in the editorial office were satisfied with the performance and the phone did not hesitate even during a more demanding multitasking. The good news is that the flagship hardware is complemented by optimized software, which further improves the speed and smooth feeling of the device.
Storage: No microSD slot
There are several versions of the smartphone on sale. The types of RAM are equally different. When choosing, it is also necessary to take into account the absence of a slot for a microSD card, so you cannot expand the storage in this way.
Specifically, these are configurations with 6 GB RAM (type LPDDR4X) + 128 GB internal storage (type UFS 3.1) or up to 8 GB RAM (type LPDDR5) + 256 GB internal storage (type UFS 3.1).
In terms of technical specifications, the winner is the higher and more expensive version with LPDDR5 RAM. We tested a cheaper version with 6 GB of RAM and there were no significant compromises on the performance of the smartphone, so you don't have to worry about this version.
Fingerprint reader: Modern sensor under the display
The fingerprint sensor is located on the front below the display. It is a modern sensor located in the lower half of the display panel. We must praise the reactions of the reader itself, the sensor responded very quickly and reliably. Only very sporadically was it necessary to repeat the application of the finger a second time.
Of course, it's not about speed as in the case of the standard sensor located on the back, but the difference is no longer as significant as in the past. However, the sensor also handled surprisingly well with mild moisture or grease on the fingers. The manufacturer also deserves praise for using and optimizing the fingerprint reader.
Android 10+ POCO Launcher
The smartphone also includes up-to-date software. This is specifically the Android operating system in its version called Android 10 (10 QKQ1.191117.002).
The security update released on 01.04.2020 is available from the security page. So this is not the latest security, and the May or June security package from Google is missing. The manufacturer could improve this situation in one of the next software updates.
The system is supplemented with the well-known MIUI graphic superstructure, but this time in a version POCO A launcher that is designed just for POCO smartphones. MIUI version codename for POCO makes MIUI Global 11.0.6.0 (QJKEUXM) Stable version.
We have been satisfied with the superstructure for a long time, while practical improvements include dark mode, Google panel with news from various websites, but also a drawer with all applications, in this case even sorted by various categories such as Communication, Entertainment, etc., very practical .
64 MPx pleasantly surprised
Xiaomi has decided to make the flagship smartphone of its subsidiary brand POCO equipped with four rear cameras. These are placed together with the dual LED flash in one common circular module that stands out significantly from the body of the device. However, it can save the packaging in the package.
Namely, it is the main 64 MPx (f / 1.9) 26 mm sensor, which is then complemented by a 13 MPx (f / 2.4) ultra-wide-angle sensor, 5 MPx (f / 2.2) telephoto lens, which also offers a "macro" function, and also a 2 MPx (f / 2.4) depth sensor, whose job is mainly high-quality background blur.
Full-size original photos are available at the following link.
When it comes to video capture, the phone supports up to 8K resolution (24/30 fps) but also 4K resolution (30/60 fps). Interesting is the super-slow motion video in 1080p (960 fps) resolution, there is no lack of HDR or panorama.
A rarity of this device is the motorized front camera, which is located in the upper edge and does not disturb the display of the phone. It offers a resolution of 20 MPx (f / 2.2), HDR and the ability to record 1080p video (30 fps). Ejecting the camera is fast and is accompanied by a customizable light or sound signal.
We were extremely satisfied with the quality of the photos, especially in daylight. Exemplary deep colors, depth of field, but also the level of detail meet the parameters of a flagship smartphone. Artificial intelligence with its modes is also helpful, and photos from the interior or poor lighting are significantly improved by the "Night" mode.
Connectivity: 5G is coming
In terms of connectivity, it is a top equipment of a modern and flagship 5G smartphone. There is a 4G connection (channels 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41) with LTE-A technology, but also a 5G connection (channels 77, 78 Sub6).
The Internet connection will also support dual Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac / 6, along with Wi-Fi Direct technology. Bluetooth 5.1, A2DP, LE are available for connecting accessories, with support for aptX HD technology and also aptX Adaptive.
Of course, there is an integrated dual GPS technology, but also A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO or QZSS. A practical element is the NFC chip for making contactless mobile payments, for example via Google Pay.
In the upper part of the smartphone there is also an infrared sensor for controlling home electronics, which is supplemented by software in the form of the Mi Remote mobile application. Charging is realized by a USB type C connector with support for the USB OTG function, there is also a 3,5 mm audio connector. There is no FM radio.
Decent 4700 mAh battery life
smartphone POCO F2 Pro contains up to 4700 mAh battery in its equipment. Despite the higher weight, the positive news is the above-standard battery capacity.
In addition, this model is exceptional thanks to the support of up to 30W fast cable charging via the universal USB type C connector, with support for the USB Power Delivery 3.0 standard and Quick Charge 4.0+.
The manufacturer relies on fast charging in its marketing activities, while with the included charger you can charge your smartphone to full capacity in less than 70 minutes.
In our case, the endurance of the smartphone fluctuated at a level regularly more than 6 hours of display on. This means not only one full and demanding working day full of activities, but also a reserve for late evening or half of the next day. Endurance is one of the best features of this smartphone.
Our testing included active and re-use of social networks, hourly telephony, hourly watching of 1080p videos, occasional gaming, as well as repeated payments with smartphones on a contactless terminal or occasional photography.
POCO F2 Pro Review: Final Rating
A smartphone from the parent brand Xiaomi under the designation POCO The F2 Pro is a truly successful flagship model, despite several compromises that you as its future owner have to make.
The powerful processor at the lowest price on the market is very attractive together with the AMOLED display, motorized front camera and high battery capacity.
POCO F2 Pro Global
On the other hand, you have to reckon with a slightly higher weight of the large device, but also with the absence of increased resistance to water and dust. Nevertheless, it is a very successful smartphone, the purchase of which we definitely recommend, for example with the use of one of our discount coupons.
