Get heady
The Poco X3 Pro is the most powerful phone in this group, with a Snapdragon 860 and dedicated gaming tools on board.
Psychedelic jack
Not only does the Poco include a stereo speaker setup, but you also get a port for plugging in your trusty wired cans.
Poco X3 Pro What’s the story?
For less cash than you’d reasonably expect, you could own the excellent Poco X3 Pro. This sleek phone is essentially a reinvigorated Poco X3 NFC – one of the best budget phones of last year – with a performance boost courtesy of the mighty Snapdragon 860 chipset. Visuals are served up by a 6.67in FHD+ display and, despite that low price, the Poco also delivers a stereo speaker setup, plus a headphone port and solid Bluetooth. You’ve got NFC for contactless payments, microSD support to expand the storage and a responsive edge-mounted fingerprint sensor. Basically it’s got everything you could possibly ask for except a slot that spits out money.
Is it any good?
As expected, the Snapdragon 860 chipset can handle absolutely everything you need it to, even memory-guzzling games like Genshin Impact (provided you keep the detail on medium settings). The X3 Pro sports an IPS screen rather than OLED so contrast isn’t super-strong, but your peepers will still be pleased by the punchy colours and fine details. Plus the adaptive refresh rate maxes out at 120Hz to keep things looking smoother than buttered Barry White. The 48MP main sensor captures sharp pictures of even the squirmiest subjects, as well as respectable 4K footage. In fact, beyond the slightly garish design, there’s really not much to dislike about the Poco
X3 Pro. Besides, while the rather ridiculous branding may be a bit of an eyesore, at least the phone is solidly built with Gorilla Glass 6 and IP53 splash-resistance. Note, however, that Poco phones still use Xiaomi’s MIUI launcher – so while you get wonderful bonus bits like the gaming mode and Control Center, you’ll also be lumbered with a bunch of junk and questionable future updates. R5400 / takealot.com Key specs ● 6.67in 120Hz FHD+ IPS ● Snapdragon 860, 6/8GB RAM ● 128/256GB ● 48+8+2+2MP rear, 20MP front ● 5160mAh ● 215g
STUFF SAYS Incredible value – and the X3 Pro can’t be beaten for gaming power ★★★★★ 54
