Dan
The Pocophone F1 from Xiaomi became one of the unexpected hits of 2018 thanks to extremely powerful specs and surprisingly low price. The Pocophone F11 could nearly match up to flagships phones from Apple and Samsung in terms of power for under half the price. Is the Pocophone still as impressive in 2019? In this review I’ll take you through every feature of the Pocophone F1 including the screen, design, processor, gaming ability and cameras. By the end of this review you’ll definitely know if the Pocophone is for you.
Pocophone F1 Specs
| Feature | Pocophone F1 |
|---|---|
| Size | 155.5 x 75.3 x 8.8 mm |
| Screen Type | IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors – 6.18 inches, 96.2 cm2 (~82.2% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Screen Resolution | 1080 x 2246 pixels (403 ppi density) |
| Processor | Snapdragon 845 |
| Memory | 6/8GB RAM – 64/128GB Internal |
| Front Camera | 20 MP, f/2.0, 0.9µm – Features HDR – Video 1080p@30fps |
| Rear Camera | 12 MP, f/1.9, 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF & 5 MP, f/2.0, 1.12µm, depth sensor – Features Dual-LED flash, HDR, panorama – Video 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps (gyro-EIS), 1080p@240fps |
| Battery | 4000mAh |
| OS | MIUI 10 |
| Sensors | Bluetooth, WiFI, GPS |
| Price | $300 – $340 |
| Cheapest Place to Buy | Check Gearbest |
Display and Design
I’ll be honest, the Pocophone F1’s strengh is not in its display nor its design. The large, bright display features a 6.18 inch LCD screen with a resolution of 1080 x 2246 and a pixel density of 403ppi. The end result is a fairly average display that doesn’t look out of date, but isn’t spectacular either.
The LCD screen allows for very dark blacks and vibrant colors, and the resolution is just enough that games and icons look good. You can certainly get better screens on other phones, but you will have to pay a lot more for them. If you are content with a good but not mind-blowing screen then you’ll be happy with the Pocophone.
As for the overall design, again it’s nothing ground breaking. The F1 features a notch based design at the front with a rather poor screen to phone size ratio. While there is no physical home button there is still a rather large black boarder which isn’t particularly attractive. Still, there is nothing particularly wrong with the design of the Pocophone F1 and it still looks modern and new. Again, for the price it looks great and is about the perfect size.
Cameras
The three cameras that don the Pocophone F1 are one of the main reasons to buy the camera and its pretty amazing the quality you can get out of them. The rear duel cameras, 12mp and 5mp respectivly, are able to produce excellent quality images in all lighting conditions.
The colors, dynamic range and sharpness are all on point and even in lower light conditions the sensors don’t falter. The duel cameras are also capable of shooting full 4K video as well as slow motion videos at 240fps. For a phone that’s only just over $200/£200 having these features is pretty amazing.
The single font camera also does the job that it was designed for very well, and that is taking selfies. The 20mp camera shoots very sharp images, albeit with less dynamic range and vibrancy than the rear cameras. The front camera is able to refocus your selfies to blur the background, creating an overall more attractive images.
I’m extremely happy with the cameras on the Pocophone F1 and it amazes me how Xiaomi can afford to put such excellent sensors in this phone and still sell it for such a low price.
back to menu ↑Speed/Performance
With 6GB of RAM and a powerful Snapdragon 845 processor, the Pocophone is real powerhouse and made headlines when it was first announces for this reason. These specs match up to MUCH more expensive phones and will be able to run any app or game completely smoothly.
The extra power also makes using the phone a speedy and smooth experience, with all apps opening virtually instantly with no lag. Scrolling and swiping is instantaneous and I’ve definitely noticed the difference compared to my last generation Samsung phone.
back to menu ↑Gaming
If you are looking for a smartphone specifically for gaming, you really can’t get better than the Pocophone F1 for the price. I’ve tried many of the most taxing, high quality games on the Pocophone and they all run extremely well with no lag. Games I tested include a flight simulator, PUBG, Need for Speed, Sim City & Pokemon Go.
MiUI 10
The latest update to the Android based Xiaomi operating system brings several big changes. The previous versions have come under fire for being too hard to use and not making use of Android’s new features. MIUI 10 changes and simplifies the menu system, automatically sorting apps into categories. The biggest change is the addition of gestures, which allows you to swipe up, down, left and right to go back or go to the menu screen. This removes the bottom button bar and makes the usable screen slightly larger. In my opinion is makes the phone a more user friendly device.
back to menu ↑Other Features
Battery: With 4000mAh the battery lasts a surprisingly long time. If used sparingly you could easily manage 2 days on a charge. With heavy use you would get a full day without charging.
MicroSD: It’s a feature that’s been routinely missing from many flagship phones, but to my delight there is a MicroSD card slot that you can fill with 256GB of extra memory
Fast Charging: With the correct charger
Missing Features:
The biggest missing feature and the one I miss the most is NFC. It was probably asking too much to have this feature on such a cheap phone, but it’s still something to consider if you are used to using your phone as a payment device.
back to menu ↑Verdict
The Pocophone F1 is a ridiculously cheap phone for what you get. It’s stupidly powerful and has excellent cameras with a modern operating system. You will have to sacrifice a few features like NCF and the screen is by no means the best, but for the price this can be forgiven.
What you need to remember is that the latest Samsung, Apple and even Huami phones are up to 4 times more expensive than the Pocophone F1, and in my opinion they are nowhere near 4 times better. If you want a premium phone but don’t want to pay a premium price the the Pocophone F1 will provide just that.
back to menu ↑Where to Buy
If you want the absolute cheapest price for the Pocophone then check out Gearbest, which ships to over 200 countries.
Check Gearbest
For faster shipping but a higher price you can check out Amazon.
Check Amazon
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