Xiaomi Poco X5 Pro review – Light 5G smartphone with 108 MP and 120-Hz Flow AMOLED (Redmi Note 12 Pro Speed Edition) – NotebookCheck.net Reviews

The best smartphone in its price segment? Poco advertises nothing less than that as far as it concerns the X5 Pro. With a powerful Snapdragon chipset, flexible AMOLED display, and 108-MP camera, all the signs for our test of the Poco smartphone are good. But will this be enough for a purchase recommendation for the Poco smartphone?

Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

The Poco X5 Pro is available in three colors: black, blue, and yellow. While the plastic back is matted, the large camera module keeps its dark gloss, causing fingerprints to collect quickly in this area. The quality of the workmanship and haptics is at a solid level for a midrange smartphone, but a Redmi Note 12 Pro with its glass back exudes a bit more quality.

Barely weighing 181 grams (~6.4 oz), not only is the midrange smartphone lighter than its predecessor, but with a case thickness of less than 8 mm (~0.3 in), it is also slimmer. This is made possible by the P-OLED materials of the Flow Display technology. Instead of layering the OLED components inside glass, the display components of the X5 Pro display are completely made of plastic. This allows for a more flexible OLED display, so it can also be made thinner. 

The front of the Poco smartphone consists of scratchproof Gorilla Glass 5 that transitions evenly into the metal frame. The ratio between the display and case front is a good 87%. As its predecessor, the Poco X5 Pro also includes an IP certification according to IP53, offering splash water protection. 

      Xiaomi Poco X4 Pro       Xiaomi Poco X5 Pro       Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G       Samsung Galaxy A53       Motorola Edge 30 Neo       DIN A6 164.19 mm / 6.46 inch 76.1 mm / 3 inch 8.12 mm / 0.3197 inch 205 g0.4519 lbs162.91 mm / 6.41 inch 76.03 mm / 2.99 inch 7.9 mm / 0.311 inch 181 g0.399 lbs162.9 mm / 6.41 inch 76 mm / 2.99 inch 7.9 mm / 0.311 inch 187 g0.4123 lbs159.6 mm / 6.28 inch 74.8 mm / 2.94 inch 8.1 mm / 0.3189 inch 189 g0.4167 lbs152.9 mm / 6.02 inch 71.2 mm / 2.8 inch 7.75 mm / 0.3051 inch 155 g0.3417 lbs148 mm / 5.83 inch 105 mm / 4.13 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 1.5 g0.00331 lbs

With Bluetooth 5.2, stereo speakers, an IR blaster, and NFC for contactless payments, as well as a 3.5 mm audio port, the X5 Pro offers a well-rounded equipment package for the midrange. Our test unit includes 256 GB of UFS 2.2 storage, but the actually available storage space is smaller at 224 GB, due to the operating system and several preinstalled apps. Those who need additional space for videos or photos can store them on external storage media such as USB sticks via USB OTG. The current X Pro series doesn’t allow you to expand the storage space by using a micoSD card. 

Like that of the Redmi Note 12 Pro, the USB-C connection of the sibling model from Poco only supports the 2.0 specification, which means that you cannot use it for wired image output with the midrange smartphone. In our copy test with a connected M2 SSD drive (Samsung 980 Pro), the transfer speed of the USB port is a low 32 MB/s. On the other hand, you can use wireless transfer of the display contents to external monitors via Miracast and watch video content from streaming services in HD quality thanks to Widevine L1.

Xiaomi combines the Android operating system with its inhouse MIUI user interface for Poco version 14. At the time of our test, the X5 Pro uses only Android 12 with the security patches from January 2023. Unfortunately, our questions to Poco Germany on the period of guaranteed upgrades remained unanswered. The Note 12 Pro sibling model is supposed to receive two large Android updates, and we can assume a similar support for the Poco smartphone. However, you should keep in mind that you already need one major OS upgrade to update the X5 Pro to the current Android 13, so that the next Android generation (Android 14) will probably be the end of the line for the X5 Pro.  

In our view, the Chinese manufacturer unfortunately saves on expenses in the wrong place here, with Samsung, for example, showing that things can also be done better in the midrange in terms of software maintenance. A Galaxy A34 receives four major updates and five years of software support. You probably cannot expect more than three years of security updates as in the predecessor for the Poco X5 Pro.  

The integrated WLAN module of the X5 Pro supports Wi-Fi 6 and the protocols according to the IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax standards. In combination with our Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 reference router, the Poco achieves transfer rates of almost 1,000 Mbit/s when sending, which is very good in the midrange. Compared to the Wi-Fi 5 smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy A53, this turns out twice as high.

On the other hand, you have to accept some small compromises when using the mobile Internet. Even though the X5 Pro gives access to the 5G net, the built-in Snapdragon X53 modem only covers 13 LTE frequencies. For comparison, the Note 12 Pro sibling model can access 20 bands. With this, using the Poco smartphone when traveling can become problematic due to the limited frequency coverage.    

The Poco X5 Pro determines its location via the main GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and Beidou satellite systems but only in the single band. On the other hand, the signal strength is fairly high even indoors at an SNR value of more than 30, and the locating accuracy is also very high at 3 meters.

In order to evaluate the locating accuracy of the midrange smartphone in practice, we record a route in parallel with the Garmin Venu 2 for comparison. Even though we see some deviations in the recorded route details of the Poco smartphone, the route is often identical to that recorded by the Gamin smartwatch. At the end of the 10-km (~6.2 miles) test route, the difference between the recordings from the two devices is only 50 meters (~164 ft). The X5 Pro is therefore very well suited for everyday navigation tasks. 

The Poco X5 Pro supports dual-SIM 5G with two Nano-SIM cards as well as the VoLTE standards and WLAN calls, but not an eSIM. The voice quality is very satisfactory, and voices are reproduced clearly. Our conversation partners describe the quality of the voice recordings with the X5 Pro with its two microphones as very clear. During a video conference using the stereo speakers, the voices are also clearly understandable and sufficiently loud. 

The main camera of the X5 Pro is based on an “old acquaintance,” the Samsung HM2, which has already been used in the X4 Pro. The 108-MP main camera (f/1.9) records 12-MP pictures via 9-in-1 pixel binning but still doesn’t offer optical image stabilization, causing pictures to become blurry fairly quickly, particularly in the dark.

With a lot of light, the pictures impress with a very beautiful image sharpness and many details. We also like the dynamic of the pictures. However, colors are reproduced very bright with the Poco X5 Pro, appearing slightly unnatural particularly with green color tones such as in the meadow in our comparison pictures. Under low-light conditions, the Poco smartphone also quickly reaches its limits. On one hand, with its large open aperture, the pictures appear less dark than those of a Pixel 6a, and the noise level is also fairly low. On the other hand, the contours of the objects look very soft.

The ultrawide angle lens with a relatively narrow viewing angle of 120 degrees produces a decent image quality for this price range, but the 8-MP pictures aren’t really that enjoyable. The pictures show many irregularities and only offer a solid sharpness in the center of the image. Since there wasn’t any space for a telephoto lens left in the X5 Pro, enlargements are solely created digitally, and the results are correspondingly weak. 

In contrast to that of the X4 Pro, the video performance gives no larger reasons for complaint. Finally, the Poco midrange is also able to record videos in UHD resolution. If you want 60 fps, you can only use 1080p. The electronic stabilization of the 108-MP camera is decent, and in daylight conditions, movements are recorded solidly. 

Image Comparison

Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.

WeitwinkelWeitwinkelLow LightUltraweitwinkelZoom 5x

We analyze the color reproduction of the Samsung HM2 sensor under controlled light conditions compared to the actual reference colors. In addition to the smartphone-typical brightening, the X5 Pro shows large deviations in the green color tones of the ColorChecker passport, which isn’t much of a surprise considering the saturated comparison photos. However, the Poco smartphone shows only few color deviation outliers (>10) overall. 

The inputs on the large 6.67-inch Flow AMOLED dot display with a 240-Hz scan rate are implemented quickly and accurately up to the corners of the touchscreen. Xiaomi also equips its smartphone midrange with an attractive vibration motor that offers very accurate haptic feedback in everyday operation.

The active fingerprint sensor in the on/off button is easy to reach and unlocks the X5 Pro very reliably and also fairly quickly. There is also the less secure 2D face recognition, which is based on a face unlock function via the front camera. In daylight conditions, this works similarly speedily. 

* … smaller is better

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

Screen flickering / PWM detected	120 Hz
The display backlight flickers at 120 Hz (Likely utilizing PWM) . The frequency of 120 Hz is very low, so the flickering may cause eyestrain and headaches after extended use. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 19013 (minimum: 2.4 – maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

We evaluate the color calibration of the AMOLED panel using the Calman analysis software. In the default settings (Standard profile), the sRGB color space is targeted and almost covered completely. In the Vivid profile, we also determine only small deviations from the larger DCI-P3 color space. There are hardly any noticeable differences in the separate colors. The DeltaE values we measure show a very low deviation in the colors (<2). The display of the grayscale also only reveals a small deviation that remains within the target range (<3).

Like the Xiaomi high end, the Poco X5 Pro offers three color profiles and also an “Adjusted” mode where you can adjust the color temperature as well as single parameters such as the saturation or color space. 

Display Response Times

↔    Response Time Black to White
1.32 ms … rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 0.6325 ms rise
	↘ 0.69 ms fall
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.4 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 2 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (22.5 ms).
↔    Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
1.57 ms … rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 0.7425 ms rise
	↘ 0.827 ms fall
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.25 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 2 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (35.5 ms).

The midrange smartphone proves itself to be well-equipped for outdoor use, even if the reflections can be annoying. Due to the high brightness and powerful contrast, the contents remain sufficiently readable even in direct sunlight. You should keep in mind, however, that the maximum brightness without activated brightness sensor is only 494 cd/m². 

The viewing angle stability is very good, but there is a noticeable loss in brightness from very steep viewing angles. While you can hardly see any changes in the colors, the display then looks slightly cooler.

In the Poco X5 Pro, a Snapdragon 778G integrates eight cores arranged in two clusters and the Adreno 642L graphics unit. Thanks to the inhouse RAM expansion technology, up to 5 GB of available ROM storage can be converted into virtual working memory, allowing you to expand the internal RAM up to a maximum of 13 GB in this way.

In our CPU benchmark package, the Poco smartphone places slightly ahead of the Note 12 Pro sibling model, which uses the Mediatek Dimensity 1080. Particularly in the multi score of Geekbench, the Snapdragon 778G should be considered more powerful due to the additional ARM Cortex A78 cores. Overall, the results are significantly above the performance level of the predecessor.    

We see a similar picture in the graphics tests, but the benchmark values are even further apart here. In the GFXBench and 3DMark measurements, the Poco X5 Pro places about 20 to 25%, at times even 40%, ahead of the Note 12 Pro sibling model.  

The Xiaomi smartphone similarly shows no weaknesses in the browser speeds, although it is not dominating in the benchmark results anymore. However, websites are still rendered quickly and can be scrolled smoothly.

* … smaller is better

In terms of the storage speed, the UFS storage of the Poco X5 Pro delivers a good performance. Particularly when writing, the results in AndroBench are very good and almost twice as high compared to the X4 Pro.