Overall, the Poco F5’s camera is perfectly acceptable for the money, but it lags behind mid-range rivals such as the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus and with its impressive 200MP main camera, as well as the Redmi Note 12 Pro and the OnePlus Nord 2T with their larger Sony IMX766 image sensor. Google’s Pixel 7a and Pixel 6a, of course, remain mid-range camera stars for the same or much less money respectively. Performance This isn’t the fastest affordable Xiaomi phone when it comes time to recharge, with a 67W wired charge in the box. Together with that larger cell, it leads to the phone getting from 0 to 69% in 30 minutes, and to a full charge in around 56 minutes. That’s still not bad, but bear in mind that the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus gives you a 120W charger and a full charge in 30 minutes.

Shots from the main sensor also tend to be a little too saturated, and the noise levels tend to increase in darker areas, with images becoming over-sharpened in this case. This is solved when you switch to Night mode, which does a solid job of lifting the brightness and reducing noise, likely owing to OIS that allows for slower shutter speeds. On the other hand, the default Photo mode doesn't produce bright shots at night. The camera has no trouble turning out shareable photos in good lighting, and the selfie camera is fine. The portrait mode on the main and selfie lens struggles with edges and stray hairs, but it produces a decent bokeh effect. The main camera has a night mode that does a passable job, but inevitably noise creeps in the darker it gets. It cannot match something like Google’s Pixel. The Xiaomi Poco F5 5G boasts an impressive technical sheet that makes its competitors tremble. Its 6.67-inch flat Amoled display occupies 93% of the front panel and benefits from a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz, compatible with HDR10+ and Dolby Vision formats. This is in addition to a Full HD+ resolution (2400 x 1080 pixels), infinite contrast thanks to OLED technology and a very low response time (44 ms), which translates into incredible fluidity when playing games or using applications. The panel's brightness doesn't disappoint either: its maximum brightness of 1000 nits ensures comfortable reading even in bright sunshine. Power at the Top of its Range There’s a certain symmetry to the top and bottom bezels, which is always nice to see in a cheaper phone. You still only get an IP53 rating, however, which is inferior to the likes of the Pixel 7a and the Samsung Galaxy A54. There’s Gorilla Glass 5 around front, which beats the Pixel 7a’s GG3 for toughness. You’re getting MIUI 14 layered on top of Android 13 with the Poco F5, just like with the Poco F5 Pro, not to mention the Xiaomi 13 and the Redmi Note 12 Pro. It’s no less cluttered or clumsy here.Thanks to its modern chipset, the POCO F5's performance is beyond reproach, and I am able to play PUBG Mobile on maxed-out settings with no annoying stutter. Titles like Genshin Impact and Call of Duty Mobile also deliver a fluid experience, with the frame rate set to 60 fps. Stutters are inevitable on occasion, though.

Paired with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage, this model really is a very well specced mid-ranger. There are 8GB/256GB and 12GB/512GB variants out there in some markets, but they’re not being sold in the UK. When it comes to media usage, an hour of video streaming sapped 7% of a charge, while half an hour of gaming drained around 14%. An hour of music streaming barely dropped the battery level a single percentage point. All in all, the Poco F5 Pro’s efficient processor and large battery serve it well. The Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2 chipset is one of the most powerful processors on the market, so you can be sure that the POCO F5 will be able to handle anything you throw at it. The 67W charging is incredibly fast, so you can go from empty to full in just a few minutes. The Full HD+ 120Hz OLED display is incredibly smooth and responsive, making it a pleasure to use for gaming, watching videos, or just browsing the web.With rapid performance, a superb screen, and a mid-range price, something had to give. In Poco F-series world, that something is invariably the camera.