Product test
Reviewing the Poco M3: what’s inside this 159-franc smartphone
by Coya Vallejo Hägi
The Poco M3, now with 5G
19.5.2021
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
Chinese smartphone manufacturer Poco just unveiled the newest addition to its young M series. The Poco M3 Pro 5G comes with a new processor, a preinstalled version of Android 11 and other upgrades in the display and design. However, Poco does compromise slightly for the sake of competitive pricing when compared to its predecessor.
Just half a year after Xiaomi Global launched the budget M3 phone under its sub-brand Poco, a second serving has already popped up: The Chinese smartphone manufacturer has unveiled a Pro version of the M3 during today’s virtual presentation.
And this new M3 displays its biggest upgrade front and centre. The Pro version supports 5G – meaning that the M3 Pro can theoretically transmit data up to a hundred times faster than its 4G-capable predecessor.
What else is new?
The M3 comes storming out of the gates with a novel processor. In previous M3 iterations, Poco relied on a different chip manufacturer. The original M3 still had a Snapdragon 662 from Qualcomm – here, the 5G modem of the M3 Pro is installed in a MediaTek Dimensity 700 system-on-a-chip (SoC). The exact same model as installed in the Redmi Note 10 5G, the Pro’s supposed twin phone from another Xiaomi subsidiary. Accordingly, many parallels have already been drawn between both online.
While the M3 still came with Android 10 out of the box, the M3 Pro offers up Android 11 and still works with MIUI 12, just like its predecessor. In addition, 4K video, NFC functionality and a display upgrade from HD+ to FHD+ have been added to the Pro version of the M3.
As previously, the M3 Pro 5G is available in the same three colours: black, blue or Poco yellow – all in a glossy finish, with the blue version showing off a light-green hue. In the launch event on YouTube, Poco’s head of product marketing, Angus Ng, emphasised that the Pro should weigh slightly less at 190 grams – 7 grams lighter than the predecessor.
The price of 5G
The Pro version comes with two options for storage: 4 GB of RAM/64 GB of ROM or 6 of GB RAM/128 GB of ROM. Both are extremely cheap at around 179 Euros and 199 Euros, respectively. And with an Early Bird discount valid until mid-June, the phones are even available for 20 Euros less.
Here’s the catch
Naturally, the Chinese manufacturer had to make compromises in order to keep prices as low as they are for the Pro version. The battery was most definitely slimmed down in the Pro version. Its potency has been reduced by 1000 mAh compared to the predecessor, thus amounting to 5000 mAh.
According to the smartphone wiki GSM arena, the previously installed reverse charging feature is no longer present in the Pro version.
Camera specs have mostly stagnated for the triple cam, with a 48 MP megapixel main camera, 2 megapixel macro lens and 2 megapixel depth sensor. A slightly higher focal length and a dual-LED dual-tone flash are new additions. The 8-megapixel front camera is still the same as in the M3.
When and if the Poco M3 Pro 5G will be available in Switzerland is still unclear.
«I want it all! The terrifying lows, the dizzying highs, the creamy middles!» – these words spoken by an iconic American TV celebrity could have been mine. It's a take on life I also apply to my job. What does this mean in concrete terms? That every story has its charm; no matter how small, large, exciting or trivial. The more eclectic the mix, the better.
3 comments
later