Poco F3 & X3 Pro announced: Snapdragon 870 and 120 Hz for just 350 euros
With the Snapdragon 870, Xiaomi now brings an upper-class SoC to the upper mid-range. The Poco F3, which also uses the SD 865++ chip, costs just under 400 Euros. As its little sidekick of sorts, the manufacturer has also introduced the Poco X3 Pro, which is based on the Snapdragon 860 - an entirely new chipset based on the Snapdragon 855.
- Poco launches two new mid-range phones
- Poco F3 offers powerful SD 870 for a starting price of 350 euros
- Poco X3 Pro gets a 5,160 mAh battery and quad cameras for just under 250 euros
March 2021 is turning out to be quite busy for us tech journalists. Just weeks after Xiaomi came up with its incredibly value for money handsets from the Redmi Note 10 series, it's now the turn of its sub-brand Poco to launch new phones. Earlier today, the company announced the global launch of two models: the Poco F3 and Poco X3 Pro. As the norm is with Poco, the goal is to offer as much performance as possible at a very low price point.
Poco F3: Flagship SoC from last year for 350 Euro
The Poco F3 is probably the most surprising of the new Poco lineup. For this phone, Xiaomi has chosen the Snapdragon 870 SoC from Qualcomm, which was introduced at the beginning of the year. For just 350 euros, you get an SoC that can basically be seen as the successor to the 865+. The powerful octa-core CPU of the chip has a max clock speed of 3.2 GHz and is paired with up to 8GB of fast LPDDR5 RAM and 256 gigabytes of UFS 3.1 memory for €399.90. There is also a 6/128GB variant that will go for €349.99.
To our device page of the Poco F3
Xiaomi uses a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate on the Poco F3. Also interesting for gamers is the high sampling rate of 360 hertz. Additionally, the Poco F3 offers a triple camera on the back, combining a 48MP main camera with an ultra-wide angle lens and a macro lens. The battery is nothing to write home about either at 4,520 mAh, while the 33-watt Quick Charging is something Xiaomi has picked up from the Note 10 series.
The Poco F3 will be available from March 30, 2021.
Poco X3 Pro: Without AMOLED, but with quad camera
If the Poco F3 is too expensive (or too powerful) for you, Xiaomi also offers a cheaper alternative with the Poco X3 Pro. The phone comes with Snapdragon 860, an SoC without 5G support that clocks at 2.96 gigahertz. It's nice to see that Xiaomi is also relying on UFS 3.1 storage here, and the phone can also support 120-hertz refresh rate. However, instead of an AMOLED display, a 6.67-inch LCD has been used. The touch sampling rate too is a little lower at 240 hertz.
To our device page of the Poco X3 Pro
The phone gets a quad-camera setup with a 48-megapixel main sensor, an ultra-wide-angle lens, a macro camera and a depth sensor. Whether the setup actually delivers better images than the camera in the F3 remains to be seen. Personally, I don't expect it to. Battery life, on the other hand, might stand out a bit better thanks to a 5,160 mAh battery. Again, you'll benefit from Xiaomi's 33-watt fast charging.
The Poco X3 Pro is available from 249.90 euros with 6 gigabytes of RAM and 128 gigabytes of internal storage, alternatively you can buy the phone for 299.90 euros with 8/256GB. The sales start here is the 26th of March.
What do you think of the new Poco models?
With the launch of the new F3 and X3 Pro models, Poco is announced as an important player on the mobile phone market, so the evolution of the models is worth following, because we will have some pleasant surprises. Bravo Poco!