POCO is no longer a foreign brand in the smartphone industry, especially in the mid-range phone sector. They often launch phones at an affordable price but with relatively good specs and the POCO X4 GT which launched in June 2022 seems to be another high-quality value device from the company.
Of course, you might be wondering if this phone is one we'd recommend over the dozens of other mid-range phones on the market today. In fact, POCO itself offers several other smartphones at similar prices to the POCO X4 GT, such as the POCO F4. In this review, we'll see if the POCO X4 GT holds its own.
Design - Looks simple with flat sides
The POCO X4 GT features a simple design on the back, with a flat matte surface. Besides the camera module, you'll find the standard logo branding and manufacturer info. The black colour we received had a slight sheen, briefly reflecting light when tilted at certain angles.
The matte finish also means most fingerprints won't stick on the back of the phone. But if your fingers are covered in oil or sweat, they can still leave a clear mark. In terms of colours, the POCO X4 GT is also available in blue and silver.
Back design
You can see the POCO logo here
Triple-camera at the back
Visible camera bump
Also, the POCO X4 GT features flat sides with bevelled edges. On the right, you'll find the volume controls and power button. There's also a fingerprint scanner that's embedded into the power button.
At the bottom, you'll see a speaker, USB-C port and dual-SIM card tray, while the top houses another speaker and the 3.5mm audio jack. Unfortunately, POCO decided not to include a microSD memory card slot. Overall, the POCO X4 GT's design doesn't have standout features, but it should appeal to customers who want a low-profile phone.
The sides are flat with bevelled edges
Right: Volume and power buttons
Bottom: 1x speaker, USB-C charging port, and SIM card tray
Top: 1x speaker and 3.5mm audio jack
Tech specs & features – LCD screen with a solid mid-range chipset
Here are the full specifications for the POCO X4 GT:
- 6.6-inch LCD screen, 20.5:9 aspect ratio, 2460×1080 resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, 270Hz touch reading rate
- DCI-P3 colour gamut, Dolby Vision, 650 nits peak brightness, built with Gorilla Glass 5
- MediaTek Dimensity 8100 chipset
- RAM LPDDR5 8GB
- 128GB or 256GB UFS 3.1 storage
- 64MP main camera + 8MP ultra-wide camera + 2MP macro camera
- 20MP selfie camera
- 5080mAh battery
- 67W fast charging, charger included in the box
- LiquidCool Technology 2.0 cooling system, 32% larger vapour chamber
- Integrated fingerprint scanner (power button), USB-C port
- Dolby Atmos stereo speakers
- IR transmitter, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 6, NFC
- Choice of black, blue, silver
Moreover, this phone has relatively good tech specs for its price. Most notably, it comes with MediaTek's Dimensity 8100, a chipset manufactured with TSMC's 5nm fabrication process. Although this is not the most advanced MediaTek chipset of the year, its performance is on par with flagship smartphones launched in 2021. Therefore, you can expect fast gaming performance on this phone.
However, one thing that might disappoint you is the LCD panel, which isn't as good as an AMOLED screen. First, it has a low contrast ratio of 1500:1. The colours produced are also not that intense, while the peak brightness of just 650 nits makes it hard to use under sunlight.
On the bright side, the screen has a high refresh rate of up to 144Hz, so you can experience smooth motion while scrolling or gaming. It also has a touch response rate of 270Hz, which means that your game controls should feel responsive.
The POCO X4 GT's LCD screen
Looks decent, but not the best screen we've seen
The punch-hole selfie camera is quite visible
The bottom bezel is slightly thicker
Left: Screen colour settings; Right: Options for refresh rate at 60Hz, 90Hz, and 144Hz
As for the battery, the POCO X4 GT has a relatively large battery capacity of 5080mAh. It also supports a fast charging rate of 67W. More importantly, this phone comes with its charger in the box.
For the UI, the POCO X4 GT comes with MIUI 13 for POCO, which is easy to use. It has a variety of settings, allowing you to change the look of your UI while playing games. You can also activate Game Turbo to access various functions for gaming, like screen recording or blocking messages and phone calls. There's also pre-installed bloatware on the phone, but luckily it's just a few that you can easily ignore.
Home screen and app drawer
Game Turbo can provide quick access to various functions related to gaming
For security, you can unlock the screen of this phone with the side fingerprint scanner or face scanning with the selfie camera. Both work very fast, even with wet fingers or in dim conditions.
Next, let's talk about the cameras. On the back, you'll find a triple-camera setup consisting of a 64MP main camera, 8MP ultra-wide camera, and 2MP macro camera. As for the front, there's a small punch-hole for a 20MP selfie camera.
Camera functions in POCO X4 GT
Performance – No problems even with heavy gaming
Overall, we were happy with the phone's performance throughout our time using it. With the MediaTek Dimensity 8100 chipset, the POCO X4 GT can handle all your social media, messaging, and video apps. Even with mobile games, it was capable of playing the latest titles.
We installed Asphalt 9, COD Mobile, Genshin Impact, and PUBG Mobile on this device for our standard gaming test. The results? It could comfortably play most of them at the highest graphics settings, except for Genshin Impact. The MiHoYo game is known for its high graphics requirements, but the POCO X4 GT can still play the game on medium settings.
Geekbench scores
3DMark scores
To ensure that the phone is sufficiently cool when gaming, POCO equipped it with the LiquidCool Technology 2.0 cooling system. Overall, it was effective at keeping the phone's temperature under control. During our test, the phone temperature didn't feel too hot even after an hour of gaming. The performance also remained stable, which means there was minimal thermal throttling (if any). It does get slightly warm over time, but this is normal and is nothing to worry about.
One thing that was a bit disappointing for us was the stereo speakers. The sound quality is decent enough, but the max volume wasn't that high. Fortunately, POCO decided to include a 3.5mm audio jack for headphone users. So for those who are into music and gaming, it's recommended to use headphones or earphones.
In terms of battery life, the phone can usually last for about a day with no issues. On most days, we ended up with around 20% of battery left at the end of the day. But if you want to extend the battery life, you can also activate Ultra Battery Saver, and the phone should be able to last up to three days.
Thanks to the 67W charger, charging the phone is really fast. From our experience, a full charge from 0 to 100% will take around 40 minutes. That's pretty fast, considering that this is a mid-range device.
100% to 5% within 10 hours 40 minutes
Charging from 4% to 99% takes 45 minutes
Now, let's move on to photography. Like most other mid-range smartphones, the POCO X4 GT's camera has no problems delivering beautiful photos under good lighting conditions. Overall, we were quite happy with the pictures taken with the main camera, ultra-wide camera, and selfie camera. Unfortunately, the macro camera was disappointing as it produced many blurry shots.
As expected, pictures taken in low-light conditions weren't all that impressive. The image quality was average at best, but that's about what you'd expect from a phone in this category.
Samples from the main camera
Samples from the ultra-wide camera
Samples from the main camera with night mode
Selfie photos
For video, the POCO X4 GT can record in 4K 30fps, and the video quality was similar to the photo quality. We did appreciate the electronic image stabilisation feature, which works particularly well when you're walking slowly.
Conclusion – Good chipset, average screen
The POCO X4 GT features a very interesting chipset for a mid-range phone and is a solid device for different users. It also has a long battery life, a fast charging speed, and a good camera for everyday use. However, its main weakness is the screen, which is nowhere near as good as the AMOLED panels we typically see nowadays.
If you want a mid-range smartphone focused on fast performance and could care less about the screen quality, you can't go wrong with the POCO X4 GT. Of course, there're plenty of options available at similar prices. They even come with AMOLED screens, albeit with slower CPUs, GPUs, or charging rates.
The POCO X4 GT is available in Malaysia with a starting price of RM1499 (8GB+128GB). But if you add RM100, you can get the POCO F4 (RM1599), which has an AMOLED screen and a Snapdragon 870 chipset. You could also go for the Samsung Galaxy A33 5G (RM1499), but it lacks an in-box charger and 3.5mm audio jack. Another option would be the realme 9 Pro+ 5G (RM1499).
So, what do you think? Do you agree with our thoughts on this phone? Share your comments on Facebook, and stay tuned to TechNave for more reviews like this.
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