Xiaomi's Poco brings F3 and X3 Pro to Singapore

Why be satisfied with just Xiaomi when you can flood the market with more bang-for-buck smartphones? At least, that's what we think Poco had in mind when the Xiaomi sub-brand decided to introduce two new models to the local market. Without further ado:

Poco F3

The Poco F3 is the successor to the Poco F2 series, one of the brand's flagship-grade smartphones.

It's one of the first smartphones in Singapore with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 chipset - effectively a Snapdragon 865+ chipset clocked at even higher speeds, offering better performance than the high-end smartphones of 2020. While it's no Snapdragon 888 in terms of 2021 flagship performance, it's still an upgrade from the previous generation's SD865 chipset. Poco also added LiquidCool Technology 1.0 Plus to help the phone with its heat management too.

The Poco F3 also packs other hardware components to match its powerful processor. The panel is an HDR10+-certified 6.67-inch DotDisplay with E4 AMOLED (2,400 x 1,080 pixels resolution), 1,300-nits peak brightness, 120Hz refresh rate, and 360Hz touch sampling rate. Memory comes in the form of LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage.

AI Triple Camera is the collective name of its rear camera configuration, with a 48MP main lens at f/1.7 aperture that offers pixel-binning (total 1.6μm pixel size). Secondary cameras are an 8MP ultra-wide lens with 119° FOV and a 5MP telemacro lens with 3-7cm autofocus. The front camera is a 20MP selfie shooter with Night Mode support for brighter selfie optimisation.

Perhaps the biggest upgrades on the Poco F3 are in its sound department. The phone is officially a first for Poco at supporting Dolby Atmos (although that only comes after an OTA update). It also uses a triple microphone combo for sound recording, which allows for pinpoint audio pick-up via Audio Zoom.

Powering it all is a 4,520mAh battery with 33W fast-charging and an accompanying charger in the box. Other perks are dual nano-SIM card slots, an IR blaster, USB-C port, Wi-Fi 6 support, and Bluetooth 5.1. Our market is also getting NFC on these units too.

The Poco F3's "early bird" prices will be available for a limited time - from March 27, 2021, 12am to March 28, 2021, 11.59pm. The "early bird" prices are $459 (6GB RAM + 128GB storage) and $499 (8GB RAM + 256GB storage). The colours available are Arctic White, Night Black, and Deep Ocean Blue.

The phones will otherwise go at $549 and $599 respectively on Shopee, and other authorised Poco dealers.

Poco X3 Pro

Poco's mid-range X3 series is getting a Pro version. Dubbed as the Poco X3 Pro, it packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 chipset. This processor is effectively an overclocked version of the Snapdragon 855, which was the leading flagship-grade chipset from two years ago.

This also makes the Poco X3 Pro one of the more competent mid-range devices now available in Singapore. Assisting it with heat management is the same tool (LiquidCool Technology 1.0 Plus) on the other Poco phone launched alongside the X3 Pro.

The Poco X3 Pro offers a 6.67-inch DotDisplay, made from LCD (2,400 x 1,080 pixels resolution) with a 120Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate. It's worth noting that the 120Hz refresh is adaptive, where different applications will net a different max refresh rate for better optimisation and battery efficiency. The display is also protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 6.

The phone packs a 5,160mAh battery with 33W fast-charging, and it also has a compatible fast-charging adapter inside the packaging.

Flip it over, and it has a quad rear camera setup built for most photo-taking scenarios. The main camera is a 48MP shooter that's very similar to the Poco F3's main lens. The other cameras for the X3 Pro are an 8MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro, and 2MP depth sensor.

Instead of Dolby's optimisations, the Poco X3 Pro's dual speakers are Hi-Res Audio certified. If you like going old school, the phone has a 3.5mm audio jack.

Other perks are its hybrid SIM slot (with a second SIM slot that can be replaced with a MicroSD card). Like the F3, the Poco X3 Pro sold in Singapore also have NFC.

Officially, the Poco X3 Pro goes at $399 (6GB RAM + 128GB storage), and $449 (8GB RAM + 256GB storage) on Shopee and other authorised Poco resellers. Phantom Black, Frost Blue, Metal Bronze are available.

It also has an "early bird" promotion where the X3 Pro goes at $299 and $369 respectively for a very limited time - March 24, 2021 12am, to March 25, 2021 11.59pm.

This article was first published in Hardware Zone.