POCO F1 was a killer phone and now POCO is back with another killer smartphone. The POCO X3 Pro has everything that you can ask for except a 5G & AMOLED display, so if you wanted to buy a new phone below 20k then I think, this could be it.
So let’s review POCO X3 Pro and find out whether it’s worth buying or not but before that let me tell you the India price of POCO X3 Pro.
| POCO X3 Pro (6GB + 128GB) | Rs 18,999 |
| POCO X3 Pro (8GB + 128GB) | Rs 20,999 |
The phone is available in Phantom Black, Frost Blue, Metal Bronze colour options while the first sale of POCO X3 Pro is on 6th April 2021 at noon via the Flipkart India Website.
Contents
POCO X3 Pro Review
POCO X3 Pro features everything that users wanted for so long. The phone comes with a powerful Snapdragon 870 Processor, a Quad camera setup, 33W fast charging support, a huge 5,160mAh battery, a 120Hz refresh rate display, and it’s priced at Rs 18,999. Overall, POCO X3 is value for money device and it’s the best phone to consider under Rs 20,000 in India.
Also, the phone doesn’t have 5G support and an AMOLED display. So if you want that crisp AMOLED display and 5G support then this phone is not for you but you want powerful performance and you can live without an AMOLED display then don’t think about any other phone, just buy POCO X3 Pro.
POCO X3 Pro Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| 120Hz refresh rate | LCD Display |
| 33W fast charging support | Decent Camera Quality |
| Well-Priced | No 5G Support |
| Powerful Processor | Avarage Audio Quality |
| Plastic Build | |
I think you got the answer but still, if you can make a decision between Redmi Note 10 Pro Max and POCO X3 Pro then let’s take a closer look at POCO X3 Pro and find out what POCO has to offer with the Pro version.
Also Read: Top Best Mobile Phones Under Rs 20,000 in India
Display Quality: Almost Perfect
The POCO X3 Pro Comes with a 6.70-inches 120Hz LCD display and it has 480 nits of brightness. There is no doubt, the display brightness is too low because Redmi Note 10 Pro has 1300 nits of brightness, here I feel, POCO had done cost-cutting.
Most of the people including me wanted AMOLED display but that didn’t happen. Now, we have to live with LCD display.
Talking about the display panel, this is a good quality display and that 120hz refresh rate makes things smoother than ever. For those who are asking, whether Snapdragon 870 can handle 120hz or not? The answer is yes, Snapdragon 870 SoC can handle 120Hz display without any problem, so don’t worry about that.
Also, the phone has Wide Vine L1 which means you can stream FHD+ content on OTT platforms. POCO has also enabled camera2api, so if any developer launches gCam then you use it on this phone.
Talking about myself, after using AMOLED for years, I don’t want to go back to LCD display. So POCO X3 Pro is not for me.
Now, here you have to decide, whether you can live with an LCD display or not? By the way, POCO has used good quality LCD display, so there won’t be any kind of problem while watching movies or playing games.
Cameras: Okay, Okay
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Okay, the POCO X3 comes with 48MP Primary sensor, 8MP ultra-wide lens, 2MP depth sensor and 2MP Macro Sensor while there is 20MP front camera setup. The rear camera setup can shoot videos up to 4k@30fps while front camera can shoot at 1080p@30fps.
Before I say anything about camera quality, let me just remove those 2MP+2MP sensors because those sensors are just added to say, we have launched a new smartphone with a Quad camera setup at the launch event and that’s it. What I’m saying is, don’t buy phone just because it has four cameras at the back.
Talking about the 48MP primary sensor, the phone takes some good quality images under good lighting conditions. The good thing is a camera is not trying to overexpose the images, dynamic range is also good, so it’s not like when you click a photo, the background will pop-out.
In short, POCO has done good job with cameras but when it’s come to night or low light photography, thing changes drastically.
At nights, the images lose out on details, dynamic range is not that great, images come out with noise. It also has dedicated night mode but even after using night mode, everything stays the same, just IOS went up and that’s it.
POCO has to work on night photography. Also, the Ultra-wide lens is also same as the primary sensor. Under good lighting conditions, images come out good but at nights, it feels like a 10k camera setup.
Those 2MP+2MP camera is also there but it’s not the best or good. So take this as addons.
Coming to videos has support for 4k@30fps but in this setting, you won’t get stable video. So to get stable footage, you have to use 1080p@60fps.
Overall, POCO X3 Pro has a decent camera setup. This is more of a gaming smartphone which I’m gonna talk about in a bit but about the camera, don’t expect flagship-level image quality. It’s what you can expect from a 15k smartphone.
Performance: Killer
The phone is powered new and powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 Processor which is built on 7 nm architecture. Let me tell you one thing, you won’t get this kind of performance in any other 20k smartphone. This is the best smartphone for gaming, hands down…
Here is Performance score of POCO X3 Pro,
AnTuTu: 453223 (v8)
GeekBench: 2574 (v5.1)
GFXBench: 38fps (ES 3.1 onscreen)
The POCO X3 Pro is running on MIUI 12-based on Android 11 and this UI doesn’t have ads like Redmi or Mi phones which is plus point for everyone.
I don’t know what to say know because there is no other smartphone to compare with POCO X3 Pro.
In short, this is the best smartphone to buy for gaming, don’t think about much, if your main goal is to play games but if you want that balanced smartphone then you have to re-think because this phone doesn’t have the best camera and best display but it does have the best processor.
Battery Life: Good Enough
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It comes with a 5,160 mAh battery with 33W fast charging support. By the way, the 33W charger will charge this phone from 0% to 100% in 1.15 hours.
So the phone will last for a day without any problem, even if you’re a heavy user, it will last for a day. For example, if you charge, POCO X3 Pro at 8:00 AM then will be dead around 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
Now, keep in mind, battery life depends user by user. Still, the phone has good battery life, nothing to worry about.
Audio Quality: Not Good
POCO X3 Pro has Stereo speakers that mean, sound quality should be good but it’s not. The speakers are leaking bass, so yes, the sound quality is kind of flat. It’s not like, the phone doesn’t have bass but it’s not that great considering it has Stereo speakers.
Talking about call quality, I haven’t face any problem while talking calls on POCO X3 Pro. I have used Airtel & Reliance Jio SIM card.
Conclusion: Beast
Of course, the POCO X3 Pro doesn’t have an AMOLED display, 5G support, cameras are decent, the phone is made out of plastic, but it has a powerful processor which balances out everything.
No brand will give everything in one smartphone and if the phone is priced at 19k, you can’t expect everything best. POCO is here to make a profit and that’s why they did cost-cutting on some areas which I have mentioned in this review.
Bottom line, if you can live without an AMOLED display and 5G then POCO X3 Pro is the best phone smartphone to buy for under 20k price in India.
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POCO X3 Pro Full Specifications
| Specification | POCO X3 Pro |
|---|---|
| Launch Date | March 30, 2020 |
| Available From | April 6, 2020 at noon via Flipkart |
| Display | 6.67 inches FHD+ LCD |
| Display Brightness | 450 Nits |
| Screen Refresh Rate | 120Hz |
| Resolutions | 1080 x 2400 pixels resolution |
| Dimensions | 165.3 x 76.8 x 9.4 mm |
| Build Quality | Glass front (Gorilla Glass 6), glass plastic, plastic frame |
| Ram | 6GB + 8GB |
| Storage | 128GB |
| Camera (Rear) | 48 MP Primary Sensor 8MP Ultra-Wide 2 MP Macro 2 MP Depth |
| Video Recording (Rear) | 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps |
| Camera (Front) | 20MP Selfie Shooter |
| Video Recording (Front) | 1080p@30fps |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 (7 nm) |
| OS | MIUI 12-based on Android 11 |
| GPU | Adreno 640 |
| CPU | Octa-core (1x2.96 GHz Kryo 485 Gold & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 485 Gold & 4x1.78 GHz Kryo 485 Silver) |
| 5G | No |
| 5G Bands | - |
| Sensors | Proximity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Electronic Compass, Vibration Motor, IR Blaster |
| Battery | 5,160 mAh (non-removable) |
| Charging Speed | 33W Wired fast Charging support (33W charger included in the box) |
| Charging Port | USB Type C 2.0 |
| Charging Time | 0% to 100% in 59 Minutes (with wired charging) |
| 3.5mm Jack | Yes |
| SD Card Slot | Hybrid Slot |
| Stereo speakers | Yes |
| NFC | Yes (Removed from Indian Unit) |
| SIM slote | Two SIM Card Slot |
| Fingerprint | Side-Mounted |
| Weight | 215 Grams |
| Colors | Phantom Black, Frost Blue, Metal Bronze |
| Warranty | 1 Year |
| Performance Score | AnTuTu: 453223 (v8) GeekBench: 2574 (v5.1) GFXBench: 38fps (ES 3.1 onscreen) |
| Price | 6GB Ram + 128GB storage: Rs 18,999 8GB Ram + 128GB storage: Rs 20,999 |
| Modal Number | MZB08T9IN |
| In the box | Handset, Power Adaptor, USB Type-C Cable, SIM Ejector Tool, Protective Case, User Guide and Warranty Card |
| Available At | Buy@Flipkart |
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