Poco F9 Pro review

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Introduction and specs

The Poco F9 series came a little early this year, as last year's F8 generation hit the shelves in November. Still, the release isn't rushed by any means, at least at first glance. The Poco F9 Pro seemingly brings enough improvements to keep its competitive edge.

Perhaps one of the most interesting new additions to the specs sheet is the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Series V chipset. It's basically a toned-down version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 proper. According to Qualcomm and Xiaomi, the chipset provides performance nearly indistinguishable from the full-fledged SD 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC, but at a lower cost. We can definitely see how this chipset fits the overall profile of the Poco F9 Pro.

Xiaomi Poco F9 Pro specs at a glance:

• Body: 157.5x75.3x8.6mm, 218g; Gorilla Glass 7i front, aluminum frame, glass fiber-reinforced plastic back; IP68/IP69 dust tight and water resistant (high pressure water jets; immersible up to 1.5m for 30 min).
• Display: 6.59" AMOLED, 68B colors, 185Hz, Dolby Vision, HDR Vivid, HDR10+, BT.2020, 4500 nits (peak), 1156x2510px resolution, 19.54:9 aspect ratio, 419ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8850-1-AB Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series (3 nm).
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 16GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM; UFS 4.1.
• OS/Software: Android 16, HyperOS 3.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 200 MP, f/1.7, 24mm, 0.5µm, PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 50 MP, f/2.0, 60mm, 1/2.75", 0.64µm, PDAF (10cm - ∞), OIS, 2.5x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, 112˚.
• Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.2, 21mm (wide), 1/3.44", 0.64µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240/960/1920fps, gyro-EIS, HDR10+; Front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps.
• Battery: 6330mAh; 100W wired, PD3.0, QC3+, 100W PPS, 50W wireless, 27W reverse wired, 22.5W reverse wireless.
• Connectivity: 5G; Wi-Fi 7; BT 6.0, LHDC 5.0, ASHA, MIHC, Auracast; NFC; Infrared port.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); stereo speakers (with Dolby Atmos).

The 6.59-inch OLED display remains the same, with a familiar feature set, although Xiaomi advertises slightly higher peak brightness, so we put that to the test.

There's virtually no change in the camera department as the F9 Pro continues to rely on a potent 200MP main camera flanked by a 50MP telephoto unit and an 8MP ultrawide camera. The telephoto gains the ability to focus at close distance.

Xiaomi also bumped up the battery capacity to 6,330 mAh this year, kept the 100W wired charging and added speedy 50W wireless charging. That feature was previously only available on the more premium models, so it's nice to see it trickle down to phones such as the Poco F9 Pro.

Unboxing the Poco F9 Pro

The Poco F9 Pro comes in a standard retail box containing the usual user manuals along with a USB-A to USB-C cable used for charging and data transfer.

There's also a protective case inside, but there's no sign of the 100W Xiaomi charger. You will have to buy one separately if you want to utilize the fast charging capabilities to the fullest.