Review of Poco M4 Pro — anti-crisis smartphone with a fearless price tag

In early March, the Poco M4 Pro smartphone appeared on the Russian market, which had every chance of becoming a new bestseller. Despite the sharply soaring dollar exchange rate, the starting cost of the device turned out to be more or less acceptable - from 24,990 rubles. For this money, other manufacturers can not offer anything like this now. It would seem that you should take it? Yes and no. More details in this review.

Table of contents

• Specifications
• Design and ergonomics
• Screen
• Performance
• System
• cameras
• Connection
• Autonomy and charging
• Results

Specifications

Design and ergonomics

Visually and tactilely, the Poco M4 Pro is a typical budget phone that doesn’t look more expensive than it costs. It has plastic matte ends and a glossy back panel with a huge insert that houses three cameras. Probably, this detail is designed to make the smartphone more visible, standing out from the crowd.

Poco M4 Pro is available in blue, black and yellow. I had the first option on the test, on the back of which fingerprints are clearly visible, dust and divorces.

In the other two versions, lighter, there should be less problems with this. Although if you are used to using a case - and it is included in the kit, then you don’t have to worry about greasy traces.

On the right side of the case there is a dual volume button and a power button combined with a fingerprint scanner. The sensor is not the fastest, but it works flawlessly, not like Pixel 6.

On the left is a triple tray for two SIM cards and a microSD card. At the top and bottom ends there are holes for the speakers. They are not located symmetrically, which means that one will always overlap with your hand if you hold the smartphone in a horizontal orientation. The sound is generally good for a budget device, and the very fact of having a stereo pair is a clear plus.

In the hand, Poco M4 Pro lies well and does not slip, it is convenient to use it. This is partly due to the flat side faces and relatively low weight. The smartphone feels even lighter than the declared 180 grams.

Screen

Poco M4 Pro has a 6.43-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2400 × 1080 pixels and a refresh rate of 90Hz. The sampling rate of the touch layer (touch reading) is 180 Hz, which is also not bad.

The screen brightness reaches 700 nits - this is enough for everyday use, including in the sun, but automatic adjustment does not work properly. Too low values ​​are often set indoors, so you have to increase the brightness manually through the slider in the curtain.

There are three color rendering modes to choose from, and the first two - "Bright" and "Saturated" - turned out to be very caustic even by the standards of AMOLED panels. The third mode - "Standard" - is more calm and pleasing to the eye. They are complemented by a color tone setting, which allows you to make the picture a little warmer or colder.

There is also support for the Always-On mode - it is turned on through the "Active Screen" in the display settings. Only works for 10 seconds after touching the display - no permanent display.

I will also note the useful options for waking up the screen when taking the smartphone in hand or by double tapping on the screen - it is convenient to watch notifications or time.

Performance

The eight-core MediaTek Helio G96 is responsible for the performance of the smartphone. This is a chip with far from the most modern manufacturing process (12 nm) and without a 5G modem, but with support for fairly fast LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.2 drives.

In benchmarks, the Poco M4 Pro shows good results for its class (AnTuTu and Geekbench above). It confirms the good performance and experience of everyday use, in which the smartphone, if somewhere, slowed down, it was solely due to an excess of software tips and advertising. Fortunately, almost all of these intrusive offers can be turned off, although you have to mess around.

My version of the smartphone had 128 GB of internal memory and 6 GB of RAM, which can be supplemented with another 2 GB due to the virtual expansion function. The latter allows you to use the internal drive for operational needs. The volume of such an additional part does not vary - only 2 GB.

Especially for games, the smartphone has an option to speed up the work, which is configured from the Security application.

In theory, it should reduce the level of processor throttling and guarantee a more stable frame rate in some Tanks or PUBG Mobile. And judging by the CPU Throttling Test, there really is a benefit from it. In the screenshots above: before and after enabling the option.

System

The smartphone runs on MIUI 13 based on Android 11. For several years now, this Xiaomi shell has hardly changed visually, including on Poco, so users familiar with the brand's devices will not see anything new for themselves.

If you used, for example, Samsung models, then the system will surprise you with a bunch of tips on how and what to do, as well as obsessive recommendations to install some kind of program or game. There is also an excess of pre-installed applications and an overloaded interface of some services. Take a look at the info widgets and news feed below.

All applications are installed by default in the menu, which is accessed by swiping up on the desktop. There is a search bar and a breakdown into sections that can be renamed - this is convenient.

In the desktop settings, you can change the icon layout (grid) and activate the screen lock by double tap. It is also possible to switch from round labels on icons to numbers that will indicate the number of notifications in the application.

blind on top is quite standard, in the traditional style "like Apple's" - with background blur and translucent interface elements with rounding. The multitasking screen is more or less combined with it, but the widget selection menu for the desktop seems to be from a completely different shell.

There are no complaints about the smoothness of scrolling and scrolling - the system allows you to feel 90 Hz. However, the congestion of the interface still makes itself felt - slowdowns occur when you open applications that immediately try to load something from the Web. This is not very critical given the class of the device, but still noticeable.

cameras

The smartphone has three rear cameras:

• 64 MP, f / 1.8 - main wide-angle with phase focus (PDAF);
• 8 MP, f/2.2 - ultra wide-angle (119˚);
• 2 MP, f/2.4 - macro.

The number of megapixels never spoke about the quality of shooting, and in this case the main module demonstrates this perfectly. Good photos can be obtained in bright natural light, but this, of course, will not surprise anyone.

Indoors, the situation is similar - with good light, there will be details and more or less correct colors. But it’s worth taking the risk of taking a shot in uncomfortable conditions, and “soap” immediately appears. It's already needed take pictures several times, and preferably in a fixed position - there is no stabilization.

In the dark, things are worse. To make the shot successful, you will have to catch not only street lights, but also any reflections of light. Then the chance to take a photo that you don’t want to immediately delete will be higher.

There is a “Pro” mode in the shooting application that allows you to use manual settings, but with such a camera it is simply not needed. But the portrait mode can come in handy. It does not separate the background very accurately, but in some situations its capabilities will be enough.

With the wide-angle module, everything is simple - it is extremely mediocre, so you should use it only in very simple shooting conditions (examples above). Well, the macro camera is just for show - this is a typical story for state employees.

If you want to shoot a macro, it is better to crop the picture from the main camera. In the same way, by the way, a double zoom is implemented, which simply crops the photo on a 64-megapixel module, simulating an approximation. A full-fledged telephoto in a smartphone is already a much more expensive story.

As for the 16 MP selfie camera, it is generally not bad. There is a portrait mode with blurring of the background and a flash from the screen.

Connection

The smartphone can install two nano-SIM with LTE. There were no problems with the search for a Network signal and the stability of the connection. I can say the same about Wi‑Fi connectivity. NFC in a smartphone can be used for contactless payment with MirPay.

I will immediately highlight the presence of FM radio, which for some may be an additional plus. The module requires the use of wired headphones connected via a 3.5 mm port on the top.

Autonomy and charging

With charging, everything is fine - up to 33 W is supported, and the appropriate adapter comes as standard. The make-up rate in the off state is as follows:

• from 0 to 10% - 6 minutes;
• up to 30% - 13 minutes;
• up to 50% - 23 minutes;
• up to 100% - 50 minutes.

Without recharging, the device will work daylight hours. Usually I got about 6 hours of active screen time, but it depends a lot on the apps you use. You can count on two days of work only with a minimum load, without sticking in social network and videos from YouTube.

Results

In modern realities, this smartphone can hardly be called a top for its money, since the very value of money has changed a lot in recent weeks. Previously, a device of this class could be easily ordered from AliExpress for 15-16 thousand rubles. Now such an offer would be simply chic. But we have what we have. In the current situation, the new price seems acceptable.

Advantages

• stereo speakers;
• tray for two SIM cards and microSD;
• very fast charging;
• FM radio support;
• presence of NFC.

disadvantages

• problems with auto-brightness of the screen;
• overloaded MIUI interface;
• low quality photo at night.

Buy Poco M4 Pro in a Russian store

Probably, Poco M4 Pro was created as a simplified version of the Poco M4 Pro 5G smartphone, which also was in our review. The latter, in addition to supporting 5G, is distinguished by a slightly enlarged screen with an IPS matrix and a more modern processor. The rest of the differences are not so significant.

The new Poco M4 Pro costs from 24,990 rubles, while the 5G model with the same amount of memory (6/128 GB) is now selling for 22,990 rubles. It turns out that a new product with an older processor costs more. On this basis, a few simple conclusions arise:

• taking into account official prices, the previous model, Poco M4 Pro 5G, looks like a more rational purchase;
• however, if you're an AMOLED aficionado or want the smaller of the two smartphones, the new Poco M4 Pro is worth picking up.

I’ll immediately note that a smartphone similar in characteristics is also in the Xiaomi line - this is the base Redmi Note 11, which in the 4 / 128 GB version costs from 27,990 rubles. The only significant difference from the Poco M4 Pro is the Snapdragon 680 processor (6 nm).

What can I buy for Poco M4 Pro on AliExpress

• Inexpensive cover with a bumper, from 220 rubles →
• Reliable Nillkin silicone case, from 877 rubles → 
• Shockproof case, from 840 rubles →
• Wired headphones Mi In‑Ear Headphones Basic, 356 rubles →

The author thanks Poco (Xiaomi) for the device provided for testing. The company had no opportunity to influence its result.