Review POCO M4 Pro

POCO is known as a brand that always prioritizes fast performance as its main selling point, including the M series family that plays in the middle segment. His latest phone, the POCO M4 Pro, looks tempting and can be an attractive option for gamers on a medium budget. Curious as to what his abilities are? Come on, just take a look at our review!

POCO’s signature design

It wouldn’t be called POCO if it didn’t carry a design with their own characteristics that are brave enough and bring the spirit of young people. So is the POCO M4 Pro. The back cover has a jumbo-sized camera frame that almost fills the entire top. In fact, the camera arrangement itself is only placed parallel to the left.

The color variant we are reviewing is Power Black. Even though the word ‘Power’ is added, it’s actually still a standard black color with a glossy effect that gets dirty easily by finger marks. Suitable for those of you who like a calm style. If you want to stand out more, we think the POCO Yellow and Cool Blue colors are more attractive.

In terms of operation, the POCO M4 Pro is a phone that is comfortable to hold. The dimensions are just right and not thick at all. In addition, the weight of the device made from polycarbonate is also quite light (179 grams) despite the large battery. A combination that makes it fun to put in a trouser pocket.

On the front you will find a 6.43-inch screen that has a small punch hole in the middle to house the selfie camera. The bezels around it are not exactly thin, but they are still quite reasonable for the size of a smartphone in its price class. The good news is that the screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 3.

Overall, the POCO M4 Pro offers a solid device design and good build quality. On the bottom you’ll find the USB-C port, speaker jack, and microphone. While at the top there is a 3.5mm audio jack port and an IR Blaster.

The slot is not a hybrid, meaning you can install two SIM-cards and one microSD at the same time. While the fingerprint sensor is on the side, paired with the power button. For additional information, this smartphone already has an IP53 rating for resistance to splashing water and dust.

Super AMOLED 90Hz screen

One of the sectors that we like about the M4 Pro is the screen that uses a Super AMOLED panel with a brightness level of up to 1000 nits, and the DCI-P3 color gamut. The resolution is Full HD with a refresh rate of 90Hz and a touch sampling rate of 180Hz. Besides being sharp, this screen has a rich color offering and is pleasing to the eye. Another feature worth highlighting is the SGS certification for Eye Care Display.

As far as our testing goes, the POCO M4 Pro screen is very adequate to support various activities such as browsing, social media, playing games, to watching movies. It also has Widevine L1 certification, so you can watch movies from platforms like Netflix in HD quality.

A little about audio, this phone is supported by stereo speakers with sound that sounds clear and powerful. For us it is quite satisfying to accompany playing games or watching videos from YouTube.

Camera is okay in ideal light conditions

From the camera sector, the POCO M4 Pro has a 64 MP main sensor on the back accompanied by an 8 MP ultra-wide and 2 MP macro. While for those who like selfies, there is a 16 MP camera in front. The composition on standard paper is only 3 million rupiah among smartphones.

For its features, you are presented with modes commonly found on most smartphones such as Night, Portrait, and Pro for manual settings. The photos themselves are fairly okay in ideal light conditions. It’s sharp, the colors are slightly raised to make it look more appetizing, and the dynamic range is decent.

Portrait mode is able to produce photos with a natural bokeh effect and is quite neat, as long as you shoot in a bright place. While the Night mode can be relied on for indoor conditions that are a bit dim, or outdoors at night. Can’t call it special, but it doesn’t disappoint either.

As for the selfie camera, the photos are also quite clear in ideal light conditions. By default you will immediately notice there is a smoothing effect on the face, which fortunately is not too much. Its dynamic range is also quite safe when shooting with a slightly bright background.

POCO M4 Pro can record videos up to 1080p resolution at 30fps, using both the rear camera and the front camera. Yes, unfortunately there is no 60fps option let alone 4K. Apart from Movie Frame, there are not many features available for recording with the front camera. But if you use the rear camera, you can record in 720p 30fps macro mode.

Powerful performance for a variety of needs

To support its performance, the POCO M4 Pro relies on the MediaTek Helio G96. This 2021 chipset output can still be relied on for today’s needs. For your information, this chipset still adopts 12nm fabrication.

There are two memory options offered, namely 6/128 GB and 8/256 GB as we review in this article. The default RAM can be added virtually up to 2 GB or 3 GB. In order to maintain the temperature, POCO completes it with LiquidCool Technology.

While using the POCO M4 Pro, we think its performance feels agile and responsive. Standard applications can run smoothly without problems. Even more demanding needs such as gaming can be well facilitated, although of course not with high graphics settings in some titles.

Mobile Legends, for example, can be run with the right-aligned settings smoothly. Genshin Impact with Lowest settings can still be played fairly stable at frame rates in the 30s range. While PUBG Mobile can be Smooth-Ultra stable to be played for a long duration.

The point is POCO M4 Pro is quite okay for gaming. Even while playing, the temperature increase is still in a safe range and does not interfere with comfort, especially to make the frame rate drop worse. In heavy games like Genshin Impact, the decrease in frame rate due to rising temperatures will only be felt after playing for about 40 minutes.

Can charger 33W

Battery? 5,000 mAh as in most mid-range phones today. The staying power is just standard for everyday use from morning to night. One plus point, POCO still provides a charger to support 33W Fast Charging technology on this phone. Yes, you don’t need to buy separately. Charging is also fast, about 1 hour 10 minutes.

Conclusion

As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, the POCO M4 Pro is an interesting option for those of you who are looking for a mid-range phone for gaming. The balance of performance on almost all fronts also makes this device ideal for more types of users, especially young people.

For those who are interested, the POCO M4 Pro 6/128 GB costs USD $210, while the 8/256 GB variant is priced at USD $240. Purchases can be made through Po.co.id and several other well-known e-commerce sites in Indonesia. For offline, you can directly visit POCO Store, Xiaomi Shop, and Xiaomi Store.

Pros of POCO M4 Pro:

• Solid design quality
• Rating IP53
• Super AMOLED 90Hz screen
• Powerful performance
• The camera is pretty good in adequate light conditions
• OK battery
• Fast charging
• The sales package still provides a 33W charger
• There is NFC

Disadvantages of POCO M4 Pro:

• Glossy finish is a bit easy to get dirty by finger marks
• Video recording can’t be 60fps, let alone 4K
• It will be more interesting if it uses a newer generation chipset
• MIUI has ads

POCO M4 Pro is suitable for:

• Young people: With balanced capabilities in various sectors, this cellphone is suitable for young people who have various needs such as studying, playing games, watching movies, to creating content.
• Gamers on a medium budget: The chipset is not the newest, but its performance can still be relied on to run popular games. The cooling system also works well to reduce the temperature.
• Mobile employees: The 5,000 mAh battery and 33W fast charging are the perfect combination for employees who are always on the move.
• Netflix and drama fans: The POCO M4 Pro has a wide screen complete with Widevine L1 certification. Watch Korean movies or dramas on Netflix in HD resolution.