POCO F7: 5 top features that make quite a few flagships look old

I’m a big fan of flagship smartphones, and I sometimes pay outrageous sums for them. But now and then I have a phone in for testing that is this well equipped and costs only a fraction of that. The POCO F7 is one of them. Even in the lower price ranges today you can find smartphones that are completely sufficient for your own needs and sometimes have features you miss on expensive phones. Here are my five top features of the POCO F7.

Number 5: Design

The POCO F7 finally looks a little different, cool and edgy, with the small Snapdragon logo. I would never put the case that comes in the box on it. That would be like buying a new, stylish sofa and pulling a plastic sheet over it for protection. For a mid-range smartphone it is built to a high standard and even has IP68 certification, so it is protected against dust and water. That is not a given in this price range.

Number 4: Processor

The Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 is a powerful processor that other manufacturers put into flagships they launch for €799. With 12 GB of RAM the phone runs super smooth and without stutter, and the Google and Xiaomi AI features run quickly too. A good processor is also important for energy efficiency.

Number 3: Battery

The POCO F7 has a 6,500 mAh battery. That makes it better equipped than any flagship we get in Germany. Even though it is cheaper, it has a bigger battery than the POCO F7 Ultra with 5,300 mAh and the POCO F7 Pro with 6,000 mAh. Despite the monster battery it weighs only 216 g. On top of that comes 90-watt HyperCharge, which you look for in vain on many flagships from other manufacturers.

Number 2: Display

The display really surprised me.

• Size and panel: 6.83-inch OLED, a size you otherwise only know from Pro Max Ultra flagships.
• Resolution and refresh rate: 120 Hz and 447 PPI.
• Wet Touch Display 2.0: Use it even with wet hands, for example while swimming, in rain or in snow.
• Dolby Vision: The display dynamically adjusts color, contrast and detail to every scene. In this price range that is anything but usual.
• Touch sampling rate: 2,560 Hz, so the display scans for touches 2,560 times per second. That means extremely fast response when gaming, with no delay on your inputs.
• PWM dimming: up to 3,840 Hz, so nothing flickers and your eyes are spared.

Together with the fast processor and the huge battery, it is perfect for gamers, but not only for them.

Number 1: Price

For the smallest variant with 256 GB, the recommended retail price (RRP) is €449.90. At Xiaomi Online the phone was already available for €399.90. With these features it leaves the competition in this price class behind.

The camera: not a highlight

The only thing that is not a dedicated highlight for me is the camera. With the 50-megapixel main sensor and the 8-megapixel ultrawide camera, stable photos and videos are possible, no more, but no less either. The 20-megapixel selfie camera does a rock-solid job. For 95% of people who don’t aim for a social media career or shoot photos for a living, that is completely enough.

Verdict

The POCO F7 makes me a little nervous when I think about what I otherwise pay for my flagships. Maybe you also have that uneasy feeling that you spent far too much money on your current smartphone. All I can do is recommend looking at what the mid-range and lower price classes have to offer before you buy, especially if quality matters to you.