Poco X2 Full Review: The “X” Factor

Poco F1, one of the most loved smartphones in India and after waiting for one and a half years, the new Poco is here called Poco X2. No, it’s not the successor to the Poco F1 for which we are eagerly waiting. It’s a new X factor from the Poco, which by the way now a separate brand. Technically, it’s the same Redmi K30 4G variant, which was launched in China a while ago with the new name, but who cares! I mean, Poco has nailed the pricing once again and offered a great package with the motto “Everything you need and nothing you don’t.” Check out our Poco X2 Full Review.

Poco X2 Full Review

Box Contents:

• Phone itself
• USB Type-A to Type-C Data Cable
• 27W Fast Charger
• SIM Card ejector tool
• TPU Case
• Documentation

Design: Beautiful but Not As Eye-catchy as the Redmi K20

Let’s start the review with the design and build quality. Poco X2 is a premium looking smartphone with the Gorilla Glass 5 Protection on the front as well as back. It comes in three different colors, Matrix Purple, Atlantis Blue, and Phoenix Red, and the names are complicated nowadays! Joke apart, but all the three colors look neat and attractive. This time Xiaomi or let’s say Poco did not include a black variant. The back panel is flashy, and the circular design around the camera gives some emboss look. The rear panel is almost clean, with some gradient finish and the Poco branding at the bottom. The sides are curved, so we did not face any issue in gripping this phone, and the in-hand feel is good too.

It is worth to mention that the side frame of the phone is made out of plastic. The phone is a significant and comparatively heavier with a weight of 208grams, although the weight distribution is perfect. The USB Type C port and headphone jack are present at the bottom along with the single bottom-firing speaker. The IR blaster is retained, which is a good thing that is present just below the secondary noise cancellation microphone. The left side houses the SIM card tray, which is hybrid means you can either insert two SIM Cards or a SIM Card with a MicroSD Card.

Side Mounted Fingerprint Scanner: Fast and Accurate

On the right side, the volume buttons and Side-mounted fingerprint sensors are there. Because the phone comes with an LCD, we don’t get the In-display fingerprint sensor like the Redmi K20. The power button doubles as the fingerprint reader, and you can press the switch as well. Also, the switch is long, and the position is good, generally our thumb rest at that place, so it’s easy to unlock the phone. Also, it’s swift and accurate.

Poco X2: Side Mounted Fingerprint Sensor

Display: No, AMOLED, but wait! It’s 120Hz

1] The screen used here is an IPS LCD and not an AMOLED panel.

2] The display comes with a 120Hz refresh rate, which is twice than of a regular filter.

The entire review is going to run around the display. No doubt, the AMOLED display is far ahead than the LCD because it produces vibrant punchier colors, deep blacks, which makes the media consumption experience a lot better. Also, it saves battery, and there are some advantages like Always On Display and Dark Mode. But it does not mean that the display here is terrible, not at all. The presentation of the Poco X2 is a 6.67″ Full HD+ panel with pill-shaped dual cutouts on the top right corner. The punch-holes are very small, and you won’t even notice it after a short period. The aspect ration is 20:9 results into a taller display. The sunlight visibility and viewing angle are excellent, and the display is HDR10 certified. Also, Widevine L1 is there so you can stream HD videos on Netflix and Prime Videos.

Now let’s talk about the smoother experience. Yes, the display feels super soft, superfluid, and we enjoyed the 120Hz refresh rate on the Poco X2. We encountered minor frame drops in the UI because the Snapdragon 730G is not the most powerful chipset, and to handle the 120Hz refresh rate is a bit tough for it. Still, the experience was delightful. Not just that, we tried playing some high refresh rate games, and we loved it. So, yeah, now it’s up to you, whether you prefer an AMOLED display with 60Hz or you want to experience the 120Hz refresh rate on an LCD Display.

Camera: 64MP Sony IMX686 Is Impressive

Poco X2 comes with a quad-camera setup on the back, which includes a primary, an ultrawide angle, a macro lens, and a depth sensor. The primary sensor here is the new Sony IMX686, which is 64MP in resolution, and the quality of the image is too good. As you know, we have seen a lot of smartphones with the IMX586, and most likely, we will see tons of smartphones with this new sensor. The color reproduction, sharpness, exposure everything turns out good. Also, if we compare this with the Samsung Isocell GW1 64MP sensor, then this Sony sensor is superior in dynamic range as well as in detail. The highlights and shadows are well maintained in the right lighting conditions. The phone continues impressing in low light conditions as well. Small bright photos are noise-free. By default, the camera does not oversaturate the images, which are a good sign.

The second sensor is an 8MP Ultrawide angle. There is a color shift between the primary and secondary sensors. However, the sharpness of the images is excellent, and also the distortion correction is excellent. The other two sensors are only 2MP in resolution, and as expected, the quality is not good. Still, the macro lens has a minimum focus distance of 2cms, which is better than the other smartphones; also, the depth sensor does an outstanding job in edge detection and background blur.

Camera UI

The stock camera interface is a typical MIUI Style. We have a lot of options at the bottom bar, and additional tools and settings are present at the top. Switching between lenses is very easy. The phone has some new camera features such as Cinema portrait, 4K @30fps video recording with EIS, Vlog Mode and RAW image capture support, 960fps slow-motion, and more.

Poco X2 Camera Samples

We have a dual camera on the front 20+2MP in resolution. The image quality is excellent, and the secondary depth sensor helps to capture bokeh images. The skin tones are natural, and the optimization is right here. Most of the time, the dynamic range is pretty impressive, although, in harsh lighting conditions, the images turn out overexposed. However, the beauty mode is on by default, and it smoothes out the skin; we prefer to turn it off all the time.

Poco X2 Camera Samples: Front Camera

Snapdragon 730G – G for Gaming

There is nothing new in terms of performance here. We have seen the Snapdragon 730 on the Redmi K20, and now the Poco X2 is powered by the 730G. It’s a pretty capable chipset. Everyone was expecting Snapdragon 855 on the Poco X2, but as we mentioned above, it’s not a successor to the Poco F1, but it’s an entirely new midrange category from Poco. For the asking price, Snapdragon 730G is the perfect chipset. We did not face any issue in routine tasks like switching between apps, scrolling through a browser, using social media, and we tried cumbersome tasks, including video editing and gaming as well, and the performance is awe-inspiring. However, we encountered minor frame drops in the UI because the 730G is not a flagship chipset, so to push constant 120Hz is a bit difficult. Although it does not affect the overall user experience.

Talking about the gaming, we played PUBG Mobile, and we didn’t feel any stutter or frame drops in the high graphics settings. There are several games available that support the 120Hz refresh rate. We enjoyed them as well. RAM Management is good as well, and the UFS 2.1 storage makes a difference.

Android 10 Out Of The Box

Poco X2 runs on MIUI 11 on top of Android 10 out of the box, kudos to Poco Team for providing the latest Android version. MIUI for Poco comes with some usual functions such as an app drawer and the Poco Launcher, but we have not seen the “MIUI for POCO” in the about section. The animations are fluid, and all the typical MIUI features are here. We’re yet to face any ads on the device, and the phone is ads-free, at least as of now. There are some preinstalled app and games which you can uninstall. MIUI Gesture, Dark Mode, Fast Face Unlock, Nature sounds, etc. features are present.

A Big Battery with 27W Fast Charging

The battery life is amazing here. The phone comes with an IPS LCD Display with a 120Hz refresh rate, so we were worried about the battery life, but the Power-efficient MIUI and 8nm Snapdragon 730G helped here, and we got around 6 hours of Screen on Time. So, for most of the users, the phone will easily last for a day with 120Hz, and 60Hz refresh rate will increase the battery performance. The phone also comes with a 27W fast charger bundled in the box, which charges the phone from 0-100% in nearly 80 minutes.

Verdict: Poco’s “X” Factor

Poco X2 is not a flagship killer, but we can call it a midrange killer because it competes with the phones like Realme X2 and even Redmi Note 8 Pro. No doubt, it’s a rebranded Redmi K30, and everyone was expecting something crazy from the Poco after waiting for a long time. But Poco X2 is one of the best packages available under Rs. 20k. If you are someone who watches a lot of Netflix and Movies on the phone, then you will miss the AMOLED Panel and its Pros like inky blacks and vibrant display. Also, the sound output of the single bottom-firing speaker is not the best you get in the segment.

However, to use a 120Hz Refresh Rate display is a delightful experience, and it’s not that easy to go back to standard 60Hz display suddenly. Also, we saw a lot of 48MP Sony IMX586 smartphones last year, and now this is the year of 64MP Sony IMX686 sensor. The camera performance is excellent in daylight as well as in low lighting conditions. Also, the battery life is impressive, and so the charging speed. The Kernel Sources was released on the launch day, so expect excellent community support for the Poco X2 just like we saw with the Poco F1.

Let’s now conclude all the things. Poco X2 is one of the best smartphones you can now get for the asking price. If you don’t mind an LCD and punch-hole, then there’s no need for a second thought to buy it. We still have one question: Where is the Poco F2?

Poco X2 Specifications

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8IwHQagPoD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

That’s all in our Poco X2 Full Review. What you guys think about the Poco X2 Camera Samples, do let us know in the comments down below.