Is This A Real Gaming Smartphone? POCO M5 REVIEW

This is a completely honest review of POCO M5 smartphone, because I bought it for my money on Aliexpress. I was able to buy it for $127 at the start of sales. Now it costs about $149.

So, this is a budget smartphone, but it has very good specifications, such as 90Hz Full HD+ display, Dimensity G99 processor, 50MP camera and 5000mAh battery.

You know, POCO M5 looks like the best gaming smartphone under $150, because it has a good performance and high refresh rate display.

We will run benchmarks and play games in this article, but also we will test camera, battery, speaker, connectivity, etc.

Unboxing

Like the other Poco phones, the new POCO M5 comes in a yellow box.

I have a model with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, but you can choose a version with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal memory. It should be even more powerful.

Inside the box, there is a smartphone, silicone protective case, user manual, USB Type-C cable and 22.5W power adapter. However, POCO M5 supports only 18W fast charging.

We will test charging time and battery life of the new smartphone later in this article.

Design

You know, POCO is a Xiaomi’s sub-brand for young people, that’s why all POCO smartphones have an attractive design.

In case of POCO M5, the rear panel has a leather-like texture. It looks very interesting, and even a little premium.

There is also a glossy panel on the back with triple camera, flashlight, and POCO logo.

By the way, the Chinese company says that the rear panel is stain-resistance, but the black glossy panel still leaves the fingerprints.

The side frames are made of plastic.

There is a SIM and memory card slot on the left side, while a volume rocket and power button are on the right side.

By the way, a fingerprint reader is installed in the power button. You may not notice it right away, because the button has no texture like the other smartphones.

POCO M5 has a microphone hole, USB Type-C port and speaker at the bottom.

There is even 3.5mm audio jack and IR blaster at the top. You know, I haven’t seen a 3.5mm audio jack in smartphones in a long time.

Before talking about the screen, I want to say that POCO M5 is available in yellow, green and black colors. The yellow version looks very appealing to young people, doesn’t it?

By the way, the dimensions of the new POCO smartphone are 164 by 76.1 by 8.9 mm. The weight is 202 grams.

Display

Now, let’s talk about display of POCO M5.

First, we can see a waterdrop notch above the screen, but it is very small. The notch is almost the same size as the front camera.

The bezels on the sides of the screen, as well as on the top, are also very small. The bottom bezel is a little bigger, but not by much.

The display diagonal is 6.58 inches, and resolution is Full HD+, 2408 x 1080 pixels.

You know, one of the main features of POCO M5 is 90Hz screen refresh rate. You can choose 60 and 90Hz in the display settings. You should know that a standard refresh rate saves battery. So, it is better to turn on a high refresh rate while playing games.

There are also some other useful display functions in the settings menu, such as reading mode, brightness level, automatic brightness, and even sunlight mode.

Software

If we started talking about settings, POCO M5 smartphone runs on Android 12 operating system with MIUI 13.0.2 user interface. This is the latest version for my smartphone.

However, there are many updates available for the system apps, such as music, POCO Launcher, themes, casting, and others.

In a security status menu, you can enable find device, as well as check the last security update and Google Play Protect.

We will talk about connectivity, including SIM cards, and mobile network, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other connections later in this article.

POCO M5 has a POCO launcher by default. There are no other launchers available, but I think you can download them from Google Play Store.

You can also change settings for app drawer, such as app suggestions, manage app categories, backgrounds, scroll bar, etc.

Like the other Xiaomi and POCO phones, the new POCO M5 has a market of themes, wallpapers, ringtones, and fonts. Most of them are free.

In a passwords and security menu, you can add the screen lock, fingerprint unlock, Face unlock and Unlock with Bluetooth device.

In a battery menu, we can see the remaining battery life, and we can turn on/off battery saver mode and ultra-battery saver mode.

By the way, POCO M5 has many pre-installed apps from the box, such as Netflix, Opera, Amazon shopping, Spotify, Booking, and others. There are even some games out of the box, such as Genshin Impact, Tile Fun and Dust Settle.

However, you can remove these apps if you want.

Performance Test

Now, let’s test a performance of the new POCO smartphone.

It is powered by 6-nm processor MediaTek Helio G99.

As I already said, I have a model with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, but the smartphone is also available in a version with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal memory.

Benchmarks

You know, I was very surprised to see 6-nm processor in a budget smartphone.

But also I am surprised by the AnTuTu result of this phone – 319654 scores. It is very good for $150 smartphone.

In a GeekBench 5, POCO M5 smartphone has 549 points in a single core test, and 1924 points in a multi core test.

I have also launched 3DMark benchmark and Wild Life test. The overall score is 1242 points.

By the way, POCO M5 has UFS 2.2 storage. The reading speed is 514 mbps, and a writing speed is 526 mbps.

Games

OK, the new POCO smartphone has good benchmarks results, but I think you are more interested in gaming performance. Let’s play some games.

Genshin Impact is already installed on smartphone, so let’s start with it.

By the way, I have already selected 90Hz refresh rate mode in the settings.

You know, the graphics in this game are quite low. You can also see little slowdowns. Overall, you can play Genshin Impact on POCO M5, but I was expecting better performance in this game.

As for PUBG Mobile, we can see HD graphics, and High fps in the settings.

It is also very comfortable to play PUBG Mobile on POCO M5.

Finally, the last game that I want to test on the new POCO smartphone is Call of Duty. Like the previous game, it runs very well.

So, POCO M5 doesn’t have big problems with games, but I expect a better performance in Genshin Impact.

Camera Test

Now, we can talk about camera of the new POCO smartphone.

There is a triple camera on the rear panel with 50MP main sensor, 2MP macro camera and 2MP depth camera.

On the front panel, there is 5MP camera.

Camera App

In the camera app, there are different shooting modes available, such as Pro, documents, video, photo, portrait, night, and more.

By the way, if you want to take 50MP photos, you need to press on more and select 50MP mode.

In the photo settings, we can turn on/off watermark, smart suggestions, choose picture quality, change volume buttons functions, etc.

In the video settings, we can choose a video recording resolution from 720p 30fps and 1080p 30fps. You know, I didn’t find the image stabilization function in the settings, but I hope the smartphone has it.

Photos and Videos

Now, I will show you the sample photos.

First, I took some photos in a normal Photo mode and 50MP mode. To me, the pictures with 50MP resolution look better. Do you agree?

As I already said, POCO M5 also has macro and depth cameras on the rear panel. The photos in portrait mode look pretty good.

You know, it looks like the macro camera is not fake. The macro pictures are very nice.

5MP front camera is enough to take good selfies.

If you want to take photos in low light conditions, then it is better to choose a Night mode. The pictures in the night mode are brighter and more detailed.

Finally, let’s watch some videos taken on POCO M5. Unfortunately, the smartphone doesn’t have image stabilization, so the videos are a little shaky. However, they are good quality.

By the way, I had cloudy weather when I tested the camera, and I think that in a sunny weather the photos and videos quality will be even better.

Battery Test

Now, we can do a battery test of POCO M5.

As usual, I will test a video playback time on a single charge. The videos play on YouTube via Wi-Fi, as well as at maximum screen brightness.

The battery life of the new POCO phone is 10 hours and 28 minutes.

As I already said, POCO M5 has 22.5W power adapter, but the smartphone supports 18W fast charging.

You know, I have noticed that one percent of the battery level charges in one minute.

The full battery charge takes 2 hours and 16 minutes.

Speaker

As for the speaker of POCO M5, it is single, and it is located at the bottom of smartphone.

I would like the smartphone to have a dual speaker, but a single speaker of POCO M5 sounds good.

Connectivity

The new POCO smartphone has a slot for dual SIM, but they only support 4G networks. You know, it is not a big problem for me, because there are no 5G networks in my country yet, but you should pay attention to this before buying the smartphone.

There is also Bluetooth 5.3 and dual-band Wi-Fi support.

An important function of any smartphone for me is NFC. POCO M5 has NFC, so you can use it for contactless payment.

Pros and Cons

So, I have been testing the smartphone for about a week, and I can tell you what I like and dislike about it.

Pros

Design

Like the other Poco phones, the new POCO M5 has a nice design with leather-like texture and glossy plastic on the rear panel.

I have a black color version, but the smartphone is available in a yellow color, and I think it looks great.

There is a fingerprint reader, 3.5mm audio jack, IR blaster, USB Type-C charging port, and hybrid slot for dual SIM and microSD memory card in a new smartphone.

Display

The display of POCO M5 has a diagonal of 6.58 inches and Full HD+ resolution. One of the main features of this mobile device is 90Hz refresh rate.

The difference between 60Hz and 90Hz is really visible, but don’t forget that a higher refresh rate wastes more battery power.

Performance

You know, I agree that POCO M5 is a budget gaming smartphone, because it has good benchmarks results, as well as good performance in games. You can play any games, and the smartphone will not slow down or heat up.

I think Dimensity G99 is a good processor for budget phone.

Camera

The camera of POCO M5 has 50MP main sensor, 2MP macro sensor and 2MP depth sensor. I like the macro and portrait photos, as well as pictures on the main camera.

For a budget smartphone, the camera quality is really good.

Battery

As for the battery of POCO M5, it has a capacity of 5000mAh. The playtime on a single charge is very long – 10 hours and 28 Minutes.

The full battery charge takes about 2 hours and 16 minutes, and I think it is OK for a budget phone with 18W fast charging support.

NFC

You know, NFC is very important for me, and I am glad that POCO M5 has it.

Cons

No 5G

Talking about drawbacks of the new POCO smartphone, first, I want to mention the lack of 5G networks support.

You know, it is not a big problem for me, because there are no 5G networks in my country yet, but if you need 5G support, then probably this phone is not for you.

By the way, the previous POCO M4 Pro has a processor with 5G support.

No Ultra-Wide Angle

I also miss the wide-angle camera on the new POCO phone. Yes, there are macro and bokeh cameras, but I wished there was a wide-angle camera instead of those two.

No Video Stabilization

Perhaps the biggest problem of POCO M5 is a lack of video stabilization. You have to try hard to make good videos.

Single Speaker

By the way, I also do not understand why the smartphone has only single speaker. We know that many budget smartphones from Xiaomi and Redmi have dual speakers, but here there is only one.

Overall, for the price of $150, POCO M5 is a good smartphone, especially for games, because it has a good performance, 90Hz display and a big battery.