POCO India has today introduced its latest 5G mid-range smartphone in India, the POCO X5 5G is the newest smartphone in the POCO X5 Series with a 120 Hz AMOLED display, Snapdragon 695 5G octa-core SoC, a total of 7 5G bands with dual 5G support, 48 MP AI triple cameras and 33W MMT charging. It’s a toned-down variant of the POCO X5 Pro 5G which was introduced last month. Here are our hands-on and first impressions of the POCO X5 5G.
POCO X5 5G Specifications
- Display & Design: 6.67-inch AMOLED DotDisplay, Full HD+ resolution (2400 x 1080 pixels, 395 ppi pixel density), 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate, 1,200 nits peak brightness, 4,500,000:1 aspect ratio, DCI-P3 wide color gamut, Sunlight display, and Reading mode 3.0, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, 7.9mm thin, 181 grams weight
- Software: MIUI 13 for POCO, Android 12 operating system
- CPU: 6nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G octa-core SoC clocked up to 2.2 GHz (2x 2.2 GHz Cortex-A77 Kryo 660 cores + 6x 1.8 GHz Cortex-A55 Kryo 660 cores)
- GPU: Adreno 619 Graphics
- Memory: 6 GB OR 8 GB RAM, LPDDR4X
- Storage: 128 GB OR 256 GB UFS 2.2 internal storage, microSD card support up to 1 TB (hybrid slot)
- Main Camera: Triple cameras (48 MP f/1.8 1/2.76″ + 8 MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle 118° FOV + 2 MP f/2.4 macro), up to 1080p@30fps video recording, LED flash
- Selfie Camera: 13 MP f/2.45, up to 1080p@30fps video recording
- Others: Side-mounted fingerprint scanner, Face Unlock, Hi-Res Audio
- Connectivity: USB Type-C, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, IR Blaster, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo
- Cellular: 5G network, dual SIMs, dual 5G, VoLTE support (SIM2 as microSD)
- Battery & Charging: 5,000 mAh battery, 33W fast charging
- Colors: Black, Green, Blue
- Price: ₹18,999 (6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage) ₹20,999 (8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage)
- Availability: 21st March 2023 at 12 PM on Flipkart
- Offers: Flat ₹2,000 discount on ICICI Bank cards, additional exchange discount of ₹2,000, No cost EMI
The POCO X5 5G is the latest smartphone in the POCO X5 Series with features just below its sibling POCO X5 Pro 5G. It has a sleek and classic matte-finish design light in weight with IP53 water-resistant rating. The POCO X5 5G is about 7.98mm thin and 189 grams in weight and is available in three color variants – Jaguar Black, Wildcat Blue, and Supernova Green. We got the Supernova Green color as you can see in the images below.
The POCO X5 5G equips a 6.67-inch AMOLED DotDisplay with Full HD+ resolution (2460 x 1080 pixels, 395 ppi pixel density), and 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate. Other display features include 1,200 nits peak brightness, 4,500,000:1 aspect ratio, DCI-P3 wide color gamut, Sunlight display, and Reading mode, and it is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
The smartphone offers support for dual 5G SIM cards and a total of 7 5G bands. The bottom side has a USB Type-C port, a microphone, and loudspeakers (mono) whereas the top side has a 3.5mm jack, an IR Blaster, and a second microphone. Other features on the phone include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner on the right, volume controls, a hybrid SIM slot on the left, as well as, Hi-Res Audio, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.1, and NFC.
About the camera setup, the POCO X5 5G has triple cameras on the back side with 48 MP f/1.8 as the primary camera having 1/2.76 inches sensor size. The two secondary cameras include one 8 MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle 118-degree camera and a 2 MP f/2.4 macro camera. The front side has a 13 MP f/2.45 camera for selfie and video calling needs. Looking at the camera setup, the POCO X5 5G has a very decent package on paper. We will be sharing some camera samples and will show you the camera features and modes in the full review.
About the hardware, the POCO X5 5G packs a midranger Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G which is further paired with an Adreno 619 GPU for gaming and graphics-related tasks, and up to 8 GB RAM with up to 256 GB storage. The specs appear to be excellent for this price and can offer a smooth performance as far as we know.
There are a total of two RAM and storage variants – 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage as the base variant, and 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage as the top-most variant. The RAM can be expanded via its RAM expansion feature up to 3 GB (visible in the about section) and the storage can be expanded via microSD card support (hybrid slot – SIM2). The RAM is an LPDDR4X type and the storage is a UFS 2.2 type.
The POCO X5 5G runs on the MIUI 13 For POCO based on the Android 12 operating system. We should see the new MIUI 14 with Android 13 OS soon, Xiaomi has recently released the update and we can expect it to be aired on the POCO X5 5G. Its upper variant, the POCO X5 Pro 5G offers an MIUI 14 update with Android 12 running.
On the battery and charging side, the POCO X5 packs a 5,000 mAh battery with support for 33W fast charging (MMT). As per POCO India, the phone offers 33 hours of calling, 8 hours of video recording, 21 hours of video playback, and 195 hours of music playback which is great.
Early Verdict
The POCO X5 5G has a great offering for its price – starting with its CPU (Snapdragon 695) which has an impressive midrange performance paired with 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage, the 120 Hz AMOLED display is spectacular, and it has a decent 33W fast charging option. The price for the POCO X5 5G starts at ₹18,999 and it can be grabbed at a flat ₹2,000 discount which is a great deal. The specs are promising on paper, so far as we know, we will be sharing more details about the POCO X5 5G soon including the performance, camera samples, and more in our full review.
