If you need 5G support and can’t afford a flagship-class handset, Poco’s budget offering is well worth considering.
Xiaomi’s Poco brand has a reputation for low-cost, high-quality handsets, and the new Poco M4 Pro 5G packs a lot in considering its £249 (inc. VAT) price tag (~$335; 6GB RAM / 128GB storage). However, there are also some drawbacks. This doesn’t feel like a premium handset to hold — there’s no cool metallic touch when you pick up the phone, for example. Still, my Power Black review unit had a nice reflective finish to the plastic backplate. There’s a Cool Blue version and what looks like a rather arresting Poco Yellow model too. Whatever colour you go for, the rear camera array sits in a raised lozenge that is itself surrounded by a huge black Poco-branded strip. It’s certainly an arresting design, but it may not appeal to everyone. The right edge houses a volume rocker and the power button, which incorporates a fingerprint reader. Face authentication is also available if you prefer. There’s a 3.5mm headset jack on the bottom edge for those who don’t want to use a Bluetooth or USB-C connection. This handset benefits from a moderate level of dust and water resistance: IP53 certification signifies that it’s ‘dust protected’ and can handle ‘spraying water’. The 6.6-inch screen has a resolution of 2,400 by 1,080 pixels (399ppi). The IPS panel clear and sharp, and offers a variety of settings: vivid, saturated and standard colour schemes; default, warm, cool and custom colour temperatures; and a reading mode that adjusts the colours so that they’re easier on the eye.
