The Poco X5 Pro is a new phone, but it’s only a slight update to the previous model. It has a low price though, so is it still worth your attention?
Exactly how different does a new smartphone need to be compared to the model it’s replacing for it to be truly classified as “new?” Is a new design enough, or does it need brand new features and fully upgraded hardware too?
That’s the question I’ve been mulling ever since using the Poco X5 Pro, because it’s barely any different from the Poco X4 Pro, which was announced about a year ago. Was the X4 Pro so good that it didn’t need to be changed, or is it all just laziness on Poco’s part?
The Poco X5 Pro looks different from the Poco X4 Pro, but it’s clear they are related. The X5 Pro has flat sides, a flat rear panel, and a flat screen. It’s slab-like, much like the Poco X4 Pro, the Redmi Note 11 Pro, and the Xiaomi 12 Lite. These are important comparisons because they all have a great deal in common. The X5 Pro’s chassis appears to be made of metal, and there’s Gorilla Glass 5 over the screen, but it has a plastic rear panel.
The camera module is conventionally set in the top left, and the branding is placed alongside it against a black background, giving the impression the module is far larger than it actually is. This is the same design strategy Poco took with the X4 Pro, — it just chose a different orientation. My review phone is in bright yellow with a black chassis, but black and blue models are also available, as was the case with the X4 Pro.
It’s a big smartphone. It’s wide at 76mm and quite thick at 7.9mm, which is emphasized by the flat sides. It makes using the phone with one hand awkward, and this isn’t a phone for those with small hands. Poco says it’s the thinnest X-series phone it has made, but as the X4 Pro was 8.1mm thick, I’d be pretty surprised if you can feel the 0.2mm difference between them.
It’s substantially lighter than the X4 Pro at 175 grams, which considering the overall size of the phone, is impressive. But the X4 Pro had a glass rear panel and a plastic chassis. The older phone’s basic-but-welcome IP53 rating has disappeared too, and although the phone feels durable and well-made, it lacks even that simple reassurance that it’ll handle a splash of water. Unusually for a modern smartphone, it has a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Does the Poco X5 Pro have a new design? Yes, it’s clearly a distinct device despite sharing many of the same elements as the Poco X4 Pro, but not all the changes are positive.
I’ll take the lower weight if it means sacrificing the glass back, but it’s a shame the IP53 rating has been forgotten. The yellow color won’t be to everyone’s taste, but it genuinely does capture attention.
The Poco X5 Pro has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G processor inside, which is the only hardware change between it and the Poco X4 Pro. The old phone made do with the Snapdragon 695 chip. There’s a choice of 6GB or 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, with either 128GB or 256GB storage space, respectively. The screen is a 6.67-inch AMOLED with a 120Hz refresh rate and a 2,400 x 1,080 resolution. It’s powered by a 5,000mAh battery with 67-watt wired fast charging.
Chipset aside, this is all exactly the same as the Poco X4 Pro. Dig into some of the really nerdy specs, and the X5 Pro, unfortunately, seems to have a few downgrades. Poco says the X5 Pro’s screen has a typical brightness of 500 nits and a maximum of 900 nits — both of which are below the X4 Pro’s quoted levels.
