Poco is famous for its excellent smartphones with an excellent price/performance ratio. For reasonable money, it brings a lot of music in the lower middle class. Now we have two news right here – Poco X5 5G a X5 Pro 5Gwhich have a lot in common but differ in some ways more than it seems.
While with the previous generation, Xiaomi decided to sell only the high-end model in the Czech Republic, this time it also brings us the basic version. The Poco X5 and X5 Pro phones are very similar though, the cheaper model is only slightly different with more rounded edges and a back that is matte from the basic model, while the Pro model has a slightly glittery finish that shines in the sun. Another advantage is that both phones have a fast fingerprint reader on the side, on which the thumb rests comfortably.
The phones are very similar. However, the base model is a bit more rounded and has a matte back.
The phones have the same display, which only differs in the higher brightness of the Pro model. It is an AMOLED with a diagonal of 6.67″, with FullHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate for a smooth image. The battery has also remained the same, offering a capacity of 5,000 mAh for both phones, with fast charging also supported. The basic model can be charged with a power of 33 Watts, the Pro model allows up to 67W, so you can charge your phone in a few tens of minutes.
The most popular Poco smartphones
Other popular Poco smartphones
However, where the phones fundamentally differ is in performance. While the base model is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695, the pro model is powered by the Snapdragon 778G. According to the benchmarks, the increase in performance is almost a quarter, but it is also surprisingly noticeable in the speed of the environment and loading of applications, where the cheaper model is visibly lagging behind. This will be partially known due to the different memories. The basic model offers 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, the Pro model has double the storage and adds 8 GB of RAM.
The environment of both phones looks almost identical. However, they differ in subtle details, as the Poco X5 uses MIUI 13 and the X5 Pro uses the newer MIUI 14.
There is also a peculiarity associated with the system, which will probably be related to the equipment. Although both phones offer pre-installed Android 12, the basic model still runs on the MIUI 13 superstructure, while the Pro model already starts with the new version of MIUI 14. But this can be solved over time with an update, and in practice you won’t know much about it anyway.
For many, the camera will play a major role in the decision. Although it is triple in both phones and even in both with high resolution – 48 Mpx in the Poco X5 and 108 Mpx in the Poco X5 Pro. But the difference in quality is huge. And if you like to take pictures, definitely go for the Pro model. You can tell by the better details of the photos during the day, better HDR quality, but you will see the most profound difference in the photos at night. Both phones also have an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens and a 2MP macro camera, but they are practically identical.
Bread is broken on the camera (and the prize).
I will also mention the difference in the front camera, which has a resolution of 12 or 16 Mpx in the X5 Pro model, where the higher resolution is very noticeable in the quality. But you can tell the difference even by looking at the phone itself. While in the more expensive model the selfie camera is relatively inconspicuous, in the basic model it is complemented by a silver ring around it.
The difference in camera quality between the Poco X5 (above) and the Poco X5 Pro is stark at first glance.
The difference in details is also visible in the front camera.
As it turns out, the two phones are more different than meets the eye. However, given the significant price difference, it is justified. The basic model will serve everyone who is looking for a good phone for reasonable money. The Pro model will then be for people who have a slightly bigger budget and care mainly about the quality of photography.
The Poco X5 is sold at a price of CZK 6,499 in the basic 6/128 GB configuration, while the Pro model with 8+256 GB memory costs CZK 8,999. However, both models will be available for pre-sale until February 19 with a discount of CZK 500.
