The Poco F3 is another excellent smartphone from the South Korean brand that beats every standard, making it the best option in its segment considering its modest price tag. With a lot of outstanding quality phones offering at cheap prices becoming rampant currently, it can often be hard for most phones at this time to stand out. Fortunately, the Poco F3 breaks all boundaries to outperform its price tag in many ways.
Earlier before, we thought OnePlus Nord offers the best price-to-performance perfection, but we’re surprised by Xiaomi’s prowess on the F3. There’s no doubt that the Poco F3 offers the best features that are far above its price. Above all, we’ve got an excellent display with a powerful processor, 5G connectivity, and enough battery power that guarantees longevity. However, the quad-camera arrangement didn’t perform to our expectations, nevertheless, the phone is such an excellent value for money.
There’s no doubt this might be the best budget phone you’ll see this year. Check out our full review to know the total specs, features, and of course price in Nigeria.
Poco F3 Key Specifications
- Display: 6.67-inches AMOLED, 120Hz
- Resolution: 1080 x 2400 pixels
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 5G
- Front Camera: 20-megapixel
- Rear Camera: 48-megapixel + 8-megapixel + 5-megapixel
- RAM: 6GB /8GB
- Storage: 128GB /256GB
- Battery Capacity: 4520mAh
- OS: Android 11, EMUI 12
Poco F3: Design
The Poco F3 is a clear definition of premium. There’s no doubt this phone’s design can rival some flagship devices like Samsung Galaxy S21 and Xiaomi Mi Note 10. Amazingly, the glass rear of the phone reflects like a mirror, it’ll surely amaze you on how stunning this is when taken out of the box for the first time.
Fortunately, the glass rear is protected by Gorilla Glass 5 which added to its premium finish. Of course, with such a glossy finish, you’ll expect the phone to be prone to picking up fingerprints easily after a bit of use. However, there’s a provided transparent silicone case in the box that helps to protect the phone from fingerprints and damages, but be aware it detracts from the eye-catching gleam.
In more practical terms, you should note that this is a pretty large device with 163.7 x 76.4 x 7.8 mm dimensions. This makes it slightly difficult to manage if you’re used to using phones with one hand. Contrary, if you enjoy having big screen smartphones, then this is worth experiencing.
However, there’s no official IP rating and wired audio fans will be disappointed by the absence of a 3.5mm headphone jack. Fortunately, you can choose to purchase an adapter and connect it to the USB-C port if you insist on wired audio.
On the right side of the phone is the volume keys and power button which functions as a fingerprint scanner. On the left side is the dual-SIM slot with an absence of SDcard support. You can buy the phone in triple color options of Arctic White, Night Black, and Deep Ocean Blue.
Poco F3: Display
Undoubtedly, the screen is one of the standout features of this device. Apart from having an AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, it measures 6.67-inch with a Full HD+ resolution (2400 × 1080 pixels), offering a 360Hz sampling rate and 900 nits typical brightness.
Undoubtedly, the display is sharp with excellent contrast. Scrolling through the screen will deliver a very good smooth feeling and display colors are vibrant and punchy with deeper blacks that only AMOLED screens can provide.
Poco F3: Camera Review
The triple camera stack on Poco F3 is led by a 48-MP primary shooter, followed by an 8-MP ultra-wide sensor, and a 5-MP telephoto lens. The front panel is occupied by a 20-MP selfie camera.
Generally, we found the images taken from the main camera to be vivid, colorful, and bright with enough details. Also, the camera’s Night mode brightens photos taken in low-light conditions and help to reduce glare and noise significantly, thereby giving them more details (although not perfectly).
However, we’ve seen a step down in details compared to the main camera on the ultra-wide sensor. Meanwhile, it’s still a good option for capturing larger landscapes compared to the one on most rivals.
Unfortunately, while the design, screen, and processor are the outstanding features of this smartphone, we can’t say the same for its camera. The Poco F3 camera performs below our expectations and not worth your top priority if you’re buying it as a camera device. However, more alternatives in the same price segment like the Google Pixel 4a will give you a better camera performance compare to Poco F3.
Poco F3: Processor, Performance, and Software
Fortunately, the display is not the only standout feature of this device. The Poco F3 boasts if a powerful Snapdragon 870 chipset which is among the best when it comes to Qualcomm’s smartphone silicone.
Undoubtedly, all kinds of tasks are completed easily at a fast speed without any sign of lag, crashes, or slowdowns. Switching between apps or multitasking is very comfortable, thanks to dual variants of 6GB and 8GB of RAM.
With the 120Hz refresh rate and 360Hz touch sampling rate, there’s no doubt this is the best device for gamers, offering with an Adreno 650 graphics card that comfortably runs demanding games without any issue.
Fortunately, there’s a 5G connectivity support that gives you access to the fastest internet speed. Apart from giving you a super-fast Wi-Fi connection speed, you’re also guaranteed of having the best feature without falling behind on newer models.
On the software side, you’re getting the latest Android 11 OS with MIUI 12 overlay. The MIUI skin comes equipped with lots of pre-installed apps. Also, you’re guaranteed of exciting configuration features that the latest Google operating system offers.
Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro: Full Review, Features, and Price in Nigeria
Poco F3: Battery Capacity
The Poco F3 has a fairly large 4520mAh battery capacity that’s healthy for its standard. However, giving how demanding the display is, don’t be surprised the battery can drain up quickly. If the screen is set on its highest refresh rate setting and you’re playing an intensive game of watching HDR video, then you’ll see the battery percentage tick down quickly.
However, when the screen is set at the default 60Hz refresh rate most of the time you’ll get more than a day of battery power based on the mode of your usage.
Fortunately, there’s a 33W fast charging support that can power the phone from 0 – 100% in just 55 minutes. This is one of the features that sets the Poco F3 apart from its rivals.
Poco F3: Price in Nigeria and Availability
The Poco F3 is the latest device from the Xiaomi independent brand. It was officially released on March 27, 2021, and we expect it to be available in Nigeria from next month.
The Poco F3 is a very affordable device and starts at ₦152,000 (about $400) for the 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage variant. However, the second 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage variant is sold for ₦189,000 (roughly $499) but will not be available in most locations.
Poco F3 Full Specifications
General
- Brand: Poco
- Model: F3
- Release Date: March 27, 2021
- Operating System: Android 11, M1UI 12
- Weight: 196g
- Colors: Arctic White, Night Black, Deep Ocean Blue
Display
- Touchscreen: YES
- Type: AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1300 nits (peak)
- Display Size: 6.67-inch
- Screen Resolution: 1080 x 2400 pixels
- Dimensions: 163.7 x 76.4 x 7.8 mm (6.44 x 3.01 x 0.31 in)
- facebook Support: YES
- In-display fingerprint scanner: Yes
- Sensors: Fingerprint (side-mounted)
Platform
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM8250-AC Snapdragon 870 5G (7 nm)
- CPU: Octa-core (1×3.2 GHz Kryo 585 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 585 & 4×1.80 GHz Kryo 585)
- GPU: Adreno 650
Memory
- RAM: 6GB /8GB
- Inbuilt Storage: 128GB /256GB
- SD Card slot: No
Camera
- Rear Flash: LED Flashlight
- Rear Camera: 48-MP f/1.8 (wide), 8-MP f/2.2 (ultrawide), 5-MP f/2.4 (macro)
- Video: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240/960fps, gyro-EIS
- Front Camera: 20-MP f/2.5 (wide)
- Front Flash: —
Connectivity
- Wi-Fi: YES
- Bluetooth: 5.1
- USB: MicroUSB 2.0
- GPS: YES
- WLAN: YES
Network
- SIM: Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
- Technology: GSM | HSPA | LTE
- 3G Support: Yes
- 4G/ LTE Support: Yes
- 5G Support: Yes
Battery
- Capacity: Li-Po 4520 mAh, non-removable
- Fast Charge: 33W
Price
- Price in Nigeria: ₦152,000 – ₦189,000
- Price in Dollar: $400 – $499
