The Poco X series typically delivers a high-refresh-rate display, a large, fast-charging battery, and a value-for-money chipset (leaving the flagship performance to the F-phones). The X5 series checks all these boxes, and while the camera is rarely the focus, the new Pro model boasts a 108 MP sensor. This time there’s also a vanilla phone, but we’ll get to that.
That Xiaomi Poco X5 Pro is a direct successor to the X4 Pro from around this time last year. The chassis has been slimmed down, in fact at 7.9mm it’s the thinnest X phone to date (and third thinnest in the Poco family, beaten only by a pair of F phones).
The main upgrade of this generation is the Snapdragon 778G – the 6nm chip (TSMC) with a flagship quality Adreno 642L GPU. The new chipset is significantly faster across the board compared to the Snapdragon 695 that powered the X4 Pro.
This year, Xiaomi also equipped the Pro with double the base storage, 128GB, but kept the base RAM at 6GB. There’s an 8/256GB option if you need more of both (in both cases it’s LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.2 storage). The phone runs Android 12 with MIUI 14 for Poco out of the box.
Poco X5 Pro upgrades to Snapdragon 778G • up to 8GB real plus up to 5GB virtual RAM
The screen is another upgrade. It’s still a 6.67” AMOLED panel with 1,080 x 2,400 px resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate. But it now renders 10-bit color with 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space. The display is brighter to boot, reaching a peak of 900 nits (up from 700 nits). Damping is handled by a high-frequency 1,920Hz PWM system. Protection is still provided by Gorilla Glass 5.
The camera system is the same as far as the cameras are concerned. This means that the main module has a 108MP 1/1.52” sensor, which is joined by an 8MP ultra wide-angle module (120°) and a 2MP macro camera, plus a 16MP camera on the front.
The 108 MP main camera achieves 4K video recording thanks to the faster chipset
This is not to say that the camera is without improvements – the Snapdragon 778G brings a faster ISP (2 gigapixels per second) and a more powerful NPU (12 TOPS). The most obvious upgrade is enabling 4K video recording (up from [email protected] on its predecessor, embarrassing for a Pro phone). In addition, it is also faster to use the camera, e.g. taking a photo is 69% faster, night mode has been sped up by 38%.
The new chipset also enables faster local connectivity with Wi-Fi 6 (ax) and Bluetooth 5.2 (up from Wi-Fi 5 and BT 5.1). Additionally, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack, an IR blaster and (at least in some regions) NFC.
The phone also has a USB-C port that refuels the 5,000mAh battery at 67W using the included charger.
The Poco X5 Pro is available in blue, black and the brand’s trademark yellow.
Here are the best Poco X5 Pro features at a glance:
That Xiaomi Poco X5 holder Snapdragon 695 chipset of the X4 Pro, but has double the base storage of 128 GB. Like the new Pro, it also has an 8/256GB version and does one better – it has a microSD slot for up to 1TB more (note that this phone has a hybrid card slot). The vanilla model launches with the older MIUI 13 for Poco out of the box.
The vanilla Poco X5 keeps the Snapdragon 695, has a 6.67″ 120Hz AMOLED screen
The screen is 6.67” in size with the same FHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate as the Pro. However, it is an 8-bit panel and uses the older Gorilla Glass 3. That said, peak brightness is even higher, peaking at 1,200 nits.
The camera and battery are more akin to what a hypothetical vanilla Poco X4 could have been (Xiaomi never released such a phone). It has a 48 MP main camera (limited to 1080p video recording due to the chipset), an 8 MP ultra wide (118°) and a 2 MP macro plus a 13 MP selfie camera on the front.
Poco X5
The battery has the same capacity, 5,000 mAh, although the charging speed is down to 33W. However, you still get a charger in the box, a 33W adapter that can handle 0-100% in 68 minutes.
5,000 mAh battery with 33 W fast charging (0-100% in 68 minutes)
While wireless connectivity is somewhat older than the Pro (Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1), the X5 still has a 3.5mm headphone jack, an IR blaster and (in some regions) NFC.
Vanilla Poco X5 with 6/128 GB memory can be yours for $250/€250, the 8/256GB model is $300/€300. However, there are early pricing for both options, bringing the price down to $200/€200 and $250/€250 respectively.
Poco X5 prices • Early bird discounts for the X5
The Poco X5 Pro starts at $300/€300 for the base 6/128GB model and goes up to $350/€350 for the 8/256GB. This one also gets early bird discounts, so if you’re quick you can pick these up for $250/€250 and $300/€300 respectively.
Poco X5 Pro prices
Early bird pricing for the Poco X5 Pro
Both the X5 and X5 Pro will be available from February 7th (tomorrow), but note that prices may vary by region. Both phones will be available through a wide range of retail partners, here they are:
Retailers that will offer Poco X5 and X5 Pro
The Poco X5 Pro is heading to India next week (the rumors were right, the vanilla X5 won’t be available there). The base 6/128GB model has an MSRP of INR 23,000, the 8/256GB will be INR 25,000. The first sale will be on Flipkart from February 13 (next Monday). Note that you will be able to knock INR 2,000 off the price with an instant discount or an exchange bonus (the bonus itself is up to INR 20,000).
