POCO F4: Intermediate smartphone in a premium shell
Design with presence, a good camera and fast charging: the new smartphone of Shiomi's discounted sub-brand has arrived in Israel - and we have already taken it for a test.
The price?
Less than NIS 2,000.
That's what we thought
Yinon Ben Shoshan
08/07/2022
Friday, 08 July 2022, 01:00 Updated: 01:14
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POCO F4 (Photo: Walla! Technology, Yinon Ben-Shoshan)
Aside from the desire to recreate the lost popularity, one of the most notable features of POCO, Shiomi's discounted sub-brand that went independent last year, is the attempt to make it as big as the technology giants - only with less money.
Last week the company announced the POCO F4, continuing the path of the POCO F3, which is intended for the mid-range market and presents quite impressive specifications.
Near the launch in Israel, we received the device for review from the official importer, the Hamilton Group.
Its price in Israel is NIS 1,999, and among other things, you will receive an AMOLED screen measuring 6.67 inches, a 64-megapixel camera and a super luxurious glass structure.
Is it worth the money?
We checked.
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Design
Unlike other Foucault devices, which were based on existing designs by Shiomi, the POCO F4 feels a little different and it manages to provide a very, very strong presence - which is an important point to keep in mind.
I'll start with the fact that this is a fairly large device: on the front you can find an AMOLED screen measuring 6.67 inches, with support for a refresh rate of 120 Hz (standard nowadays).
However, it is not particularly heavy (195 g), and also maintains an average thickness (7.7 mm)
. A black and bold frame, where you can find the compromise in the frame of the device, which is made of glossy plastic.
Back made of glass.
POCO F4 (Photo: Walla! Technology, Yinon Ben-Shoshan)
In the transition to the bottom is a single speaker, SIM card tray and USB-C socket for charging, data transfer and also for sound.
Foucault, like the rest of the manufacturers, has abandoned the traditional headphone jack.
As requested, on the right side of the phone are the volume keys and the power button.
Interface and performance
The device comes with Shiomi's home MIUI 13.0.1.0 interface, based on Android 12. However, a very annoying detail that is hard to ignore is the same pre-installed and non-removable apps, one of the annoying facts that Chinese manufacturers set for us.
How annoying is that?
By default the device comes with more than 4 Chinese gaming apps
.
In practice, both on paper and in real life the device offers work without too many compromises (except for a few small lags in the interface).
The system works quickly, the animations are smooth and heavy applications that did not challenge him very much.
However, it suffers from a problem that most smartphones suffer from - it heats up with increased use.
In practice, both on paper and in real life, the device offers work without too many compromises (Photo: Walla! Technology, Yinon Ben-Shoshan)
To understand a little more about what you get, here are the specifications: the device comes with an 870 Snapdragon chip from Qualcomm (not the most advanced, which is fine), support for the fifth generation network (5G), along with 8 GB of working memory (RAM) and 256 storage memory internal.
As for battery life, Foucault has incorporated a battery with a capacity of 4,500 mAh that supports fast charging at a power of 67 watts.
This means charging from 0 to 100% in just 38 minutes.
If you claim multi-line and want to pay via Google Pay, you will be happy to know that unlike other models in the category, you will find NFC support here.
Charging from 0 to 100% in just 38 minutes (Photo: Walla! Technology, Yinon Ben-Shoshan)
Camera
If there is one point where Shiomi's flagship devices have improved very impressively in recent years it is of course the photography array.
This is actually the case in the mid-range category, where the POCO F4 is located: the device comes with three cameras - a 64-megapixel rear rear camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle sensor and a 2-megapixel macro lens.
For the first time on Foucault's smartphone, the primary sensor also includes an optical stabilizer (OIS).
A set of three cameras.
Photography with the POCO F4 (Photo: Walla! Technology, Yinon Ben-Shoshan)
The Poco F4 provides quality images in good lighting and direct sunlight.
The images came out quite sharp, bright and the colors accurate without light compensation which too brightens the image.
In AI mode (artificial intelligence), the array was able to identify the objects and even provided better results than manual setting.
Sharp image in good lighting: Photo in AI mode with the POCO F4 (Photo: Walla! Technology, Yinon Ben-Shoshan)
Close-up photo with the POCO F4 (Photo: Walla! Technology)
And that's not all, Foucault also incorporated a dedicated and smart night mode here, which overall coped well with challenging lighting conditions such as not very bright spaces, when the photo received a lot of lighting and there was almost no noise or smearing.
Good lighting even at night.
Photography with the POCO F4 (Photo: Walla! Technology, Yinon Ben-Shoshan)
Without smearing.
Photography in a dark space with the POCO F4 (Photo: Walla! Technology, Yinon Ben-Shoshan)
Bottom line
The device was sold for NIS 1,999 at the official import of the Hamilton Group - half of today's flagship device.
If you are looking for a cheap (relatively) smartphone with a great camera, good performance, a design that feels luxurious and a battery that charges quite quickly - this is one of the best options you can find.
If you demand more from your smartphone and are looking for more advanced and in general this is a device that serves you as the main tool, you may want to look for another model with more advanced specifications.
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