POCO M5 Review: An Enticing Deal With A Catch. Xiaomi poco m5

POCO M5 Review: An Enticing Deal With A Catch

POCO M5 is the spiritual successor to the well-liked POCO M3. The trademark “POCO yellow” colour is back, too, along with the same ‘Among Us’ character-like design that was present in the previous lineup. The POCO M5 is no different from the majority of the company’s smartphones in that it offers competitive specifications for its price.

This time, the POCO M5‘s hardware lineup consists of a Full HD LCD panel with a 90Hz refresh rate, the MediaTek Dimensity G99 processor, a 50MP triple-camera setup, a large battery, and much more. All of this is available for the enticing price of just ₹12,499. Can the 4G-only POCO M5, therefore, succeed in the market where there are enough 5G phones already? Let’s find out in our review.

Design

POCO devices stand out from other smartphones in a pool thanks to their distinctive colour and material finish. The POCO M5 follows in the footsteps of the M4 but adds a faux leather touch to the back. Three colour variations are available for the phone, and for this review, we have the POCO Yellow edition with us. Since this is a budget product, the entire construction is made of high-quality plastic, while the front is protected by Gorilla Glass.

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The phone has a two-tone appearance because of the placement of the triple camera array and flash, which are on the top left corner and form a star pattern inside a glossy black visor. The 6.58-inch display on the front is surrounded by thick bezels and has a dew-drop-shaped notch. As for the button layout, the left side just contains the SIM tray, while the right side has the volume rockers and the power button, which also functions as a fingerprint sensor. The top of the device has an IR blaster and a 3.5mm audio jack, and the bottom has a USB Type-C port, speaker grill, and microphone.

While the SIM tray features a rubber barrier to prevent water and dust infiltration, there isn’t an official IP rating as such. Despite weighing 210 grams, the POCO M5 has good weight distribution, which, when combined with flat edges, makes it easier to use with one hand.

Display

The POCO M5’s front features a 6.58-inch LCD screen with FHD resolution. The panel’s adaptive refresh rate can alternate between 30Hz, 60Hz, and 90Hz. The display feels fluid while swiping and is bright enough to be seen under sunlight. The viewing angles are adequate, similar to a typical IPS LCD panel at this price, but the blacks and colours aren’t as deep as we would’ve liked.

Some buyers might find the teardrop notch and slightly wide chin unappealing, but we didn’t mind it that much, given the price of the phone. Yes, it does appear a little antiquated, but the content is unaffected. Speaking of content, the M5’s panel complies with Widevine L1 certification, which means that you can stream videos from Netflix, Prime Video, and other video streaming apps in Full HD, but it lacks HDR capabilities, which is completely acceptable given the phone’s price.

It should be noted that occasionally, especially when scrolling through the UI, small micro stutters may be present. These can be attributed to the MIUI optimization and not a defective display.

Camera

The POCO M5 features a triple-camera setup on the rear, with two symmetrical, substantial rings holding the 50MP primary and 2MP macro cameras, while the other ring consists of a 2MP sensor. We aren’t fully sold on the selection of the sensors and believe that an 8MP ultrawide camera would have been a better fit. The selfies on the phone are taken by an 8MP front-facing camera tucked away in the dew-drop notch.

The phone comes with a familiar camera app that is present on other MIUI-powered devices and has all the crucial modes neatly laid out. Regarding camera performance, the main camera takes some decent pictures in daylight with slightly cooler colour tones. The shots are well-detailed, although sometimes the highlights are overexposed. The differences between photos taken with HDR and those taken without it are minimal. Additionally, unlike many other MIUI-powered handsets, this one does not support AI Colour mode.

We anticipated that nighttime shots would be average from the outset. However, the phone does manage to take some respectable pictures indoors, which is the surprising part. As for the other two sensors, they make hardly any difference at all, and as we mentioned in the previous section, it would have been wiser to get rid of them and replace them with an improved ultra-wide angle lens.

The front-facing camera on the POCO M5 is a mixed bag. Most of the time, the colours in the selfies appear washed out, although this can be changed in the future with an OTA. Having said that, the camera captures stunning portraits with a linear background-blur effect and great subject recognition.

Software

The POCO M5 ships with the Android 12 operating system with Xiaomi’s custom MIUI 13 skin on top. The phone has the August security patch as of the time of this review, and POCO has promised to release a new security patch every three months. POCO uses its own POCO launcher with custom icons on top of MIUI 13, a separate experience from what Redmi or, for that matter, Xiaomi smartphone users get.

When compared to custom skins from other OEMs, MIUI 13 is often fairly feature-rich. However, for budget smartphones, it can occasionally be a little too much. Unfortunately, the POCO M5 suffers from the same issue. Random notifications from apps that we would classify as bloatware frequently bombard you. Fortunately, they can be removed. A few stock apps push “recommended content” and send out annoying notifications, but at least they can be turned off easily.

Poco M5 vs Galaxy A53

Our main complaint with MIUI is its aggressive RAM management, which instantly kills background apps when the phone is set aside. Due to the delay in notifications, you will need to reopen the app in order to see them. Although there is a feature that allows you to keep the apps running in memory, it is buried deep within the settings.

Performance

Powering the POCO M5 is the brand-new MediaTek Helio G99 SoC. This new 4G SoC from MediaTek is built on the same platform as the well-liked Helio G96. This chip is designed to appeal to audiences looking for a performance-focused chip in the sub-₹15,000 price range. POCO gave up on 5G on the M5 in favour of features like an adaptive refresh display, a triple-camera setup, and a big battery in order to compete in that lower price range.

While we don’t think it makes sense to benchmark a phone in the sub-₹13,000 price range, we did attempt some popular benchmarking apps for audiences who are interested in learning about the performance of the phone. The phone achieved single-core and multi-core scores of 556 points and 1,924 points in GeekBench v5. In AnTuTu v9, the POCO M5 scored 3,66,800 points. In 3DMark’s Wild Life test for graphics performance, the phone scored 1,239 points and a frame rate of 7.4fps. We played every major game currently available on the phone, including Call of Duty Mobile, for around an hour at a time to assess the phone’s actual performance, and the phone performed admirably given its pricing.

The POCO M5 functions well in everyday use and shouldn’t present any significant problems. No matter what the situation was, we never noticed the phone becoming excessively hot during our testing period. Yes, the phone does take a little while to switch between apps, but that is to be expected from a budget smartphone with a heavy software skin with lots of bells and whistles. The only difficulties we have are with MIUI’s bloatware and aggressive RAM management, which we hope will be fixed on subsequent devices.

Battery Life

The POCO M5’s battery life is one of its main selling points. The phone has a sizable 5,000mAh battery inside. We put the phone through its paces throughout our tests, but we weren’t able to empty the cell in a single day. For users with low to moderate usage, this phone will easily last close to two days. On the plus side, the battery can be recharged fairly quickly as well; with the included 22.5W charger, the phone can be fully charged in around 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Verdict

You would have observed the growth of the roster over the years if you had been paying careful attention to the POCO M lineup. The POCO M5 adds several new features while building on earlier iterations. The phone does have some positive qualities working in its favour, such as an attractive design, a sizable battery, and a respectable processor. However, there are still a lot of problems, such as MIUI’s aggressive RAM management, bloatware, and unwanted push notifications from pre-installed apps.

The catch here with the POCO M5 is that it lacks 5G connectivity at a time when two carriers have already launched 5G networks in the country. Overall, the POCO M5 is a decent phone for those wishing to upgrade from a feature phone or an entry-level smartphone to a budget smartphone at the current price of ₹12,499.

Poco M5 Review

An affordable handset that comes with great battery life.

• Verdict
• Availability
• Key Features
• Introduction
• Design and screen
• Camera
• Performance
• Battery Life
• Latest deals
• Should you buy it?
• Final Thoughts
• How we test
• You might like
• FAQs
• Trusted Reviews test data
• Full specs
• Sustainability
• Jargon buster

Verdict

The Poco M5 is an affordable phone that comes with more than enough power for browsing and streaming. The low price point does mean that it’s limited in terms of gaming, and it doesn’t have the best camera on the market, but it’s more than serviceable if you’re looking for a good-value handset.

Availability

Introduction

Xiaomi’s sub-brand Poco launched its M-Series of phones back in 2020, with the Poco M5 coming in as the latest mid-range device, alongside its older brother, the Poco M5s.

The Poco M5 is a solid affordable handset that is brimming with features; a Full HD 90Hz refresh rate, a 5000mAh battery and 18W fast-charging, alongside a 50MP main camera, all for under £200.

I enjoyed my time using the Poco M5, especially since I have never used an Android handset before. Here is how I got on.

Design and screen

The Poco M5 comes in three colours: Yellow, Green and Black. My unit came in Black and I thought it had a mature design, featuring a leather-like back and a camera bar that spans the rear of the phone. This gives the phone a more premium look, despite its affordable price.

Since the back is textured like leather, I never had any issues with fingerprints or smudging, and it made the phone feel a little durable to the touch, as opposed to standard smooth, cheap-feeling plastic. It’s also much lighter than some of my previous Apple phones, which made it easier to hold and use with just one hand.

In terms of ports, it features a USB-C charging connector and a 3.5mm audio jack, the latter of which may be a rarity on most premium phones nowadays but is more likely to be found on this end of the price spectrum.

The power button also doubles as a fingerprint sensor, which I found was far more reliable than using the device’s face unlock option. I was also able to customise the power button to turn on certain features, like the Camera or Google Assistant, which I really liked as it made navigating the device feel more fluid.

On the front of the device, there is a 6.58-inch Full HD flat-screened display with a resolution of 2408x1080p. Like many other Android phones, it features a punch-hole camera, which I do massively prefer to the large, wide notch that’s present on Apple handsets such as the iPhone 14. What’s more, it’s made of Gorilla Glass 3 which offers some protection against bumps and scratches, though there is no official IP rating for this handset.

I thought that the screen was pretty sharp, with colours coming off as bright and vibrant. After testing the screen, I found that it had a nit count of 388.91 which is within range of what I would expect for an average handset, though I will say that I sometimes struggled to read the screen during bright days, and it paled in comparison to the iPhone 12 Mini (which has a nit count of around 625).

There is also no HDR support, so you won’t be able to get the most dazzling results when you’re streaming Netflix for example. However, I still enjoyed watching video content with the Poco M5, and thanks to the large screen size it doesn’t feel too cluttered – though I would look towards a higher-end device if screen performance is a top priority for you.

Camera

The Poco M5 comes with a triple camera setup, including a 50-megapixel main camera (f/1.8), a 2-megapixel macro camera (f/2.4), and a 2-megapixel depth camera (f/2.4).

Some of the features include a night mode; AI-powered portrait mode, which is designed to create bokeh and depth in the background; and Pro mode, which takes full advantage of the 50-megapixel camera.

For the price, I was impressed with the camera. The colours seemed vibrant and it could pick up a lot of detail especially when I turned on HDR. As you can see from the picture below, the reds and yellows pop, with a lot of detail being captured on the brickwork

Photos taken in clear daylight also fared well, and I felt like the M5 was able to capture and lot more depth and nuance than I would have expected. However in some instances, photos could look a little washed out and lack some contrast, making it look like some objects were almost blended together.

Photos in low light were also decent, and I thought that the dedicated night mode was able to capture some light and detail in pictures, though I think this isn’t the strongest feature of this camera.

The macro mode was a bit of a disappointment, and I found that I couldn’t really get as close to objects as I would have liked. It also rarely cooperated unless I was in very clear and bright situations, and I ended up not using it due to the inconvenience.

Turning the phone around, I thought that the 5-megapixel front camera was serviceable and took some decent selfies, but it lacked the same level of detail as the rear setup. Portrait mode was probably my least favourite aspect of the camera overall, with pictures coming out unnaturally smooth and washed out.

In terms of video, the front and rear cameras can record 1920x1080p and 1280x720p at 30fps. There is a macro video mode and movie frame mode, with no option for slo-mo or time-lapses.

Performance

The Poco M5 uses a MediaTek Helio G99, which couples an octa-core CPU with an ARM Mali-G57 MC2 GPU. This silicon gives the phone enough of a performance boost to run smoothly, although naturally it’s nowhere near the same standard as high-end handsets from the likes of Apple.

This phone comes with 4GB and 6GB RAM, with options for 64GB and 128GB storage, although it does support expandable storage up to 1TB. In the same vein as the Poco M5s, it does not come with any support for 5G, but 4G instead.

During day-to-day use, I found that it was perfectly serviceable. I didn’t experience any issues while scrolling through apps or browsing the web, and it had enough power to let me engage in some light gaming, although I did find that intensive games like PUBG took a toll on the device and didn’t feel as fluid.

To back up my anecdotal experience I also ran some benchmark tests using Geekbench 5. The single-core score came out at 547, while the multi-core performance came out at 1920. This edged out the Poco M5s – which scored 1847 in the multi-core test – despite its slightly higher price tag, although it does put it below other Poco handsets, like the mid-range Poco F4, which scored 3178.

This handset uses Android 12 but the interface is controlled by Xiaomi’s own MIUI 13. Some of the interface feels smooth, like the drop-down menu and customisation options within the power button, but it did feel insanely bloated upon first use due to the litany of pre-installed apps onboard. There are multiple downloaded games, seemingly every cryptocurrency app ever made, and random ‘virus scanners’ that do hinder the experience.

After some time cleaning up my home screen and curating my own folders it felt less cluttered, although it seems like Xiaomi didn’t put any real thought into the design of the interface.

I will say as someone that has very little experience with Android devices, I was able to get used to MIUI after a few days. I can’t say that it feels as good as iOS, and I imagine those who prefer classic variations of Android, like those found on devices like the Pixel 6 Pro, will also need some time to figure out Xiaomi’s software.

For browsing, light gaming and watching video content I thought that this phone worked very well, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a lot of performance power.

Battery Life

The Poco M5 packs a 5000mAh battery and supports fast charging at 18W, with the charger included in the box.

From my experience, this phone has an impressive battery life. I could use it for a few hours a day without needing to recharge it every night, and even on heavy-use days it took a while for the battery to drop.

I found that watching one hour of video content on Netflix drained the battery by 12% while streaming music content for an hour only cost me 6%. While individual use cases will affect the device differently, the Poco does have great battery life, outlasting my iPhone 12 Mini on most days.

However, the battery falls a little short when it comes to recharging. While fast charging is a plus, 18W is nowhere near the fastest offered on the market. Charging the device from 0% to 50% took 54 minutes, with 0% to 100% taking 124 minutes.

This isn’t a dealbreaker, but it’s definitely something to keep in mind, as you won’t be able to quickly charge up your device before a long-haul journey.

Should you buy it?

You want a cheap phone to browse and watch video content: The Poco M5 packs a large screen that’s ideal for both browsing and streaming video content. Plus, the reliable battery means that it will last you through the day without issues.

You want more performance power: While the Poco M5 is great for casual gaming and browsing, it’s not capable of intensive gaming and does not pack the most powerful camera.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I think the Poco M5 is a great phone for the price, and something to consider if you’re after a handset that will get you through the day without costing a fortune.

POCO M5 Review. This Has To STOP!

The design is minimal and mature, and while the screen isn’t the brightest around, it does work well for watching video content and it’s large enough that it doesn’t feel too cluttered to use.

My least favourite part of this device is the user interface, although after tinkering with it and getting used to it I thought it worked fluidly, and it’s a lot more customisable than any Apple phone.

While the camera won’t be winning any awards, it is perfectly serviceable and picked up on a lot more detail than I would have expected. For the price, this is not something to be written off, and if you’re not bothered about gaming or seeing the highest specs then this is a smartphone I would easily recommend.

How we test

We test every mobile phone we review thoroughly. We use industry-standard tests to compare features properly and we use the phone as our main device over the review period. We’ll always tell you what we find and we never, ever, accept money to review a product.

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FAQs

Does the Poco M5 have HDR support? No, there is no HDR support on the Poco M5, although users can take pictures in HDR.

What processor does the Poco M5 use? It uses a MediaTek Helio G99 processor, with an Octa-Core CPU and an Arm Mali-G57 GPU.

Does the Poco M5 have a triple camera setup? Yes, this handset has a triple camera setup, with the main camera using a 50MP sensor and the remaining two lenses being a macro camera and a depth sensor.

Poco M5 smartphone review: when budget cuts go a little too far

The Poco M5 is a simply effective phone, but there are too many other budget options that offer more to get excited about for this device to be worth seriously considering.

Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

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Poco M5. key specs

Dimensions: 163.99 x 76.09 x 8.9mm Weight: 201 g Screen: 6.58-inch LCD (30/60/90Hz) CPU: Mediatek Helio G99 GPU: Mali-G57 MC2 RAM: 4GB LPDDRX Storage: 64GB UFS 2.2, expandable via microSD Rear camera: 50MP main, 2MP macro, 2MP depth Front camera: 5MP Battery: 4,6000 mAh OS: Android 12 5G: No

First launched in 2018 as a mid-range smartphone line, Poco has in recent years established itself as a budget smartphone brand. It certainly has had some winners, such as 2021’s Poco F3.

The new Poco M5, which debuted last September, continues the brand’s efforts to offer inexpensive mobile options. However, at a certain point, too much can be done to drop the price of a smartphone – and the Poco M5 seems to be a case of such cost-cutting downgrades hurting the overall device.

The package I received included the 64GB phone, a USB cable, a protective case, and a 22.5W power brick. Read about how we test products at T3.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the Poco M5.

Poco M5 REVIEW: DESIGN AND SCREEN

While the Poco M4 Pro 5G made it obvious that it was borrowing the design of Xioami’s flagship Mi 11 Ultra, the design of the Poco M5 goes out on its own a little bit more. The front of the phone is in line with its budget nature, still offering a display with a teardrop-style notch at the top – as we’ve seen on smartphones for years now.

Poco goes for a sizable display at 6.58 inches, and it offers a sharp resolution of 1080 x 2408 pixels. The “Sunlight” display does a surprisingly good job of providing a strong contrast despite being a standard LCD display. But going heavy on a budget has tended to come with sacrifices to the actual quality of the image.

While it doesn’t look as good as the OLED display Poco managed to pack onto the Poco F3, it’s not as bad as it could be at this price. It does suffer when viewing it at off angles, though. The display can switch between a 30Hz, 60Hz and 90Hz refresh rate, providing smoother visuals as needed or better battery savings. I haven’t noticed any hitches as it switches between modes, so it’s certainly nice to have here.

Poco earns some style points around the sides and back of the phone, though. The rear is covered in a leather-like material that comes in black, green or yellow. The color also applies to the frame of the phone. Cutting across the top of that leathery material is a large, almost credit card-sized panel that brandishes the Poco logo on one side and the three-camera system on the other.

The camera housing feels a touch deceptive, as the camera bumps make it appear like there are sizable sensors underneath, but there’s just black filler around much of the cover glass. The 2MP depth camera has a smaller bump that could have likely applied just as easily to the 2MP macro camera, which instead gets a large bump.

Around the side of the phone is a volume button and a power button that has a built-in fingerprint sensor. The left side houses a dual SIM tray that supports microSD cards.

The speakers are obnoxiously easy to smother at both sides, and you might not even realize it because it can be almost completely muted with a palm. The sound comes out impactfully when not covered, but with a bit of a grating balance that makes it uncomfortable to use at max volume.

The Poco M5 does provide support for wired headphones, though – long live the 3.5mm headphone jack. That port lives at the top edge of the phone, where the Poco M5 also includes an IR blaster for controlling various electronics, such as TVs, soundbars and more.

One thing you regrettably won’t find on this phone is any promise of water ingress protection. While many phones will protect against water and debris getting inside to some small degree, there’s no assurance of it here. Fortunately, the phone feels fairly sturdy otherwise.

Poco M5 REVIEW: HARDWARE AND PERFORMANCE

Poco M5. Geekbench 5 scores

Single-Core Score: 552

Multi-Core Score: 1,876

OpenCL: 1,495

Vulkan: 1,463

Where the Poco F3 stunned with its inclusion of a Snapdragon 870 chipset for the price, the Poco M5 doesn’t manage to impress so much with its MediaTek Helio G99. Not only does this chipset not support 5G connectivity, leaving customers out in the cold on a technology that is rapidly rolling out, but it also only supports Wi-Fi 5, meaning two key ways of keeping this phone connected are stuck in the past.

The performance of the Helio G99 chipset in the Poco M5 isn’t bad, but it disappoints next to Poco’s other devices, even the older Poco M4 Pro 5G. The Poco M5 can be a little laggy here and there in daily use, with small stutters interfering with the user experience.

In games, it offers respectably smooth performance that doesn’t stagger with its brilliance, but will leave little to be desired for the casual gamers. The extra refresh rate of the screen may not be taken advantage of for the more demanding games, as even the slightly dated Sky from Thatgamecompany wouldn’t allow the device to run faster than 30fps.

Like the Poco M4 Pro 5G before it, the Poco M5 is likely suffering some slowdowns thanks to its inferior UFS 2.2 storage. It’s hard to get away from at this price, though. The phone comes in either a 64GB model with 4GB of RAM or a 128GB model with 4GB or 6GB of RAM. Many phones do more, but this isn’t a bad place to start, especially with expandable storage available.

Poco M5 REVIEW: CAMERA, OS AND BATTERY

The cameras on the Poco M5 simply are underwhelming. The main 50MP sensor can handle the basics, but it gets noisy if lighting conditions aren’t optimal. Even when it’s shooting in bright conditions, the photos come out rather over-sharpened and don’t hold up well if you zoom in on the picture. A photo I captured of a bird just a few feet away couldn’t actually resolve any details of the bird when zoomed in on.

There’s a 2MP macro camera on board as well, but the results from it are bad enough that you’re better off just getting a close up with the main camera and cropping in. Close-ups with the main camera come with the added benefit of a fairly satisfying bokeh blur.

Poco also has a 2MP depth camera, but all that does is enable a software-powered portrait mode. While it effectively separates and blurs the background for simple subjects, it’s not a feature I can see using often.

The phone comes running Android 12 with MIUI 13 running on top. Ultimately, MIUI is a little too colorful and has a mishmash of very stylized icons (like that for Themes and Camera) alongside some stunningly plain ones (like Settings and File Manager). It tries a little too hard to put bloatware apps in front of us, keeping the same pre-made folders of promoted apps I found on the Poco M4 Pro 5G, but at least most of them are not actually installed.

MIUI continues to offer its own take on the notification shade and quick settings drop-down. Both take over the whole screen, but they make effective use of the space, especially with how many settings are available on one screen. Once one of these shades is pulled down, it’s also just a simple swipe sideways to switch between them.

One positive is the battery. At 5,000mAh, the Poco M5 packs plenty of juice for all-day use, even with a bit of gaming and entertainment. It has 18W fast charging on deck, which is regrettably a downgrade from the M4 Pro 5G’s 33W charging. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a Poco charger that works in the US.

Xiaomi Poco M5 review

The Poco M5 is a decent phone available for a low price, but it simply lacks the sense of sheer punching-above-its-weight good value that defined many previous Poco handsets. You seem to be getting a little less for your money overall compared to other Poco phones, meaning you’re probably better off finding a deal on a Poco M4 Pro or the Redmi Note 11.

If there’s such a thing as a template for Xiaomi’s Poco sub-brand, it’s a combination of multimedia-friendly performance with a temptingly low price tag. The Poco M5 sticks firmly to that script, offering competent all-round performance for less than £200.

Despite the missing ‘Pro’ in the name, this is essentially a direct follow-up to the Poco M4 Pro from earlier in the year. But has it advanced sufficiently over the previous model – or at all, for that matter?

Design Build

Xiaomi’s Poco team has really leaned into the dominant camera module look of the Poco M4 Pro and Poco M4 Pro 5G. This component spans the entire width of the Poco M5’s rear cover, somewhat like the Pixel 6a, only much taller.

Another point of interest here is Xiaomi’s choice of finish. While the rear panel (like the phone’s entire frame) is made from plastic, it adopts a fake leather effect.

It’s a love it or hate it flourish, but the Poco brand has never been shy about making bold design decisions. I for one applaud it for trying to do something slightly different, and it’s certainly more resistant to fingerprints than its shiny predecessor.

Less laudable is the sheer size of the phone. It’s rather thick at 8.9mm, while 201g feels too heavy for such a cheap all-plastic phone.

The decision to switch away from the hole punch notch of the Poco M4 range in favour of a teardrop alternative is a rather regrettable one. It makes the Poco M5 look like an older, cheaper phone than its predecessors. Perhaps that’s why it’s no longer deserving of the ‘Pro’ moniker, despite what the shared price tag might suggest.

Once again there are three colours to choose from: Black, Green, and that old Poco favourite Yellow.

Screen Speakers

Xiaomi appears to have brought the display across from the Poco M4 Pro 5G rather than the Poco M4 Pro. That might sound like a tiny distinction, but it actually represents a sneaky downgrade.

Whereas the Poco M4 Pro was notable for having the first AMOLED display in the M-range, the Poco M5 reverts to a regular 6.58in IPS LCD. It’s not a bad component at all as sub-£200 smartphones go, with a decent 2400×1080 (FHD) resolution and a 90Hz maximum refresh rate, though you’ll need to activate the latter in the settings menu.

It gets to a claimed 500 nits in HBM (high brightness mode), while with auto brightness turned off I recorded a maximum brightness of around 350 nits. That’s not hugely bright, and the screen can get pretty washed out in outdoor lighting.

Ultimately, it’s that reversion to LCD that stands out here. The Poco M5’s screen simply isn’t anywhere near as vibrant or attractive as its predecessor.

It’s reasonably colour accurate though. Switching from the default Vivid to Standard mode, I recorded an sRGB gamut coverage of 92.4% and a gamut volume of 94.7, with a strong average Delta E of 1.13.

Another downer here is the decision to strip the Poco M5 of proper stereo speakers in favour of a weedy mono one. This could be counted on as a signature Poco feature, so its absence in favour of a weedy mono speaker is keenly felt.

Specs Performance

The provision of a MediaTek Helio G99 chip in the Poco M5 is a subtle improvement over the MediaTek Helio G96 of the Poco M4 Pro. Perhaps the biggest difference is that the M5’s chip is built on a smaller, more efficient 6nm process compared to the 12nm M4 Pro component.

It might run cooler and more efficiently, but there isn’t a huge difference in raw performance terms. An average Geekbench 5 multi-core score of 1895 for the Poco M5 is very similar indeed to the Poco M4 Pro before it. Its GPU is slightly more impressive than before, with many of our usual GFXBench tests yielding an extra frame per second.

Gaming performance is solid, if not spectacular. I was able to bump Genshin Impact up to Medium graphical settings and a 60fps target with eminently playable (if not exactly silky) results. That’s not bad given the meagre provision of 4GB of RAM, which represents a downgrade from the Poco M4 Pro’s choice of 6- or 8GB.

Similarly low is the entry-level provision of 64GB of internal storage. With a lot of £200 phones now moving to 128GB as the minimum spec, it feels a little dated. Still, at least you have a microSDXC slot for expansion purposes.

Cameras

So far we’ve seen signs of regression from the Poco M4 Pro, and that continues with the Poco M5’s camera provision. Most notably, there’s no ultra-wide camera this time around.

You get a 50Mp wide camera, a 2Mp macro camera, and a 2Mp depth sensor. Suffice to say, those last two might as well not exist for all the good that they do.

That 50Mp main sensor also seemingly represents a bit of a step back after the Poco M4 Pro represented the series debut of a 64Mp sensor.

In practical terms, the Poco M5 achieves about as much as you can hope from cheaper phones – to capture decent shots in good lighting. Feed it plenty of light and you’ll get reasonably sharp, natural-looking shots, if a little flat ad suffering from a touch of overexposure in the highlights.

As soon as the light drops, things descend into a noisy mush. Even the dedicated Night mode fails to do much more than brighten that noise up rather than sharpen things.

There’s a 5Mp selfie camera around front, which displays quite a lot of noise and struggles with highlights.

Battery Life Charging

The Poco M5 runs on a 5000mAh battery, which is pretty much table stakes for a modern affordable phone, but reassuringly capacious all the same.

Combined with that more efficient 6nm MediaTek Helio G99 chip and other undemanding components, this is a genuine two day performer. A full 16-hour day of light usage would tend to leave me with more than 70% left in the tank.

Unfortunately, I was unable to run the usual PC Mark Work 3.0 battery test that we use in this scenario. For whatever reason, the Poco M5 repeatedly crashed out of this benchmark, and many others for that matter. Given the strong performance of the phone in general usage, this isn’t a huge concern.

Xiaomi has packed in an 18W charger with the Poco M5, which is a solid inclusion. Again, though, this marks a step back from the Poco M4 Pro, which came with a 33W charger.

It results in some rather slow charging speeds. In 15 minutes of charging from empty, the Poco M5 only reached 6%, while 30 minutes took it up to 21%.

Software

While the Poco M4 series ran on Android 11 at launch, the Poco M5 ships with Android 12. Not that this matters all that much – Xiaomi’s custom MIUI 13 continues to sit heavily on top like a big, gaudy quilt.

It’s an interface rife with niggling annoyances. You still get annoying full-screen (but largely empty of information) notifications every time you install an app. It’s still impossible to see how much screen-on time you’re getting out of a single charge, unlike virtually every other Android UI.

Also like before, however, MIUI continues to be extremely customisable. Don’t like the convoluted split notification system? You’re only a settings menu trip away from combining the two halves into something more standard. Meanwhile, Xiaomi’s Themes offers one of the most extensive wallpaper shop fronts, often with matching icons.

I could still do without all of the wearisome bloatware that blights every Xiaomi and Xiaomi-adjacent phones. Do we really need the Open web browser and Xiaomi’s own Mi Browser on top of Google Chrome? Or the throwaway Tile Fun and Dust Settle games? No. We do not.

Price Availability

Pinning Poco phones down to a specific price or launch schedule can be an exercise in futility. However, the Poco M5 has arrived with a starting price of £179 for 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage.

Alternatively, you can bump the storage up to 128GB for £199. This is slightly cheaper pricing to the Poco M4 Pro from earlier in 2022. It’s also similar to the Redmi Note 11 and the Realme 9i.

You should be able to purchase the Poco M5 through the official Poco website but the buy now button links to AliExpress where the phone costs a ridiculous £629 at the time of writing. So, you’re much better off getting it from the Mi store where are correct.

It’s not officially available in the US, but you can buy a global unlocked version for 189 from Amazon if you like.

Check out our best budget phones chart for all the current top handsets.

Verdict

The Poco M5 offers a fairly competent all-round smartphone experience for a sub-£200 price. However, we’re simply not getting that famous Poco sense of generosity here, and you only need to look at the Poco M4 Pro to see why.

That early–2022 model offers similar performance, a more flexible camera system, a superior display, stereo speakers, faster charging, and more memory, all for a slightly higher price. You can say similar things about the Redmi Note 11, too.

Buying the Poco M5 isn’t a bad idea by any means, and its unique design and excellent battery life are stand-out features. However, it simply doesn’t represent the value that we’re used to seeing from this highly regarded budget brand.