Poco M2 Pro Review: A better version of Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro

Poco has been very selective about its smartphone portfolio. It was spun off from Xiaomi and launched the Poco X2 greater than a 12 months after the Poco F1. Rather than releasing ‘flagship killers’ such because the F1, the corporate is now focusing extra on the price range section. With the brand new Poco M2 Pro, it goals to tackle the sub-Rs. 15,000 worth section. Poco says it has seen great success with the X2 and hopes to duplicate that formulation.

The Poco M2 Pro begins at Rs. 13,999 and taking a look at its specs, it looks as if it may very well be a robust opponent to the Redmi Note 9 Pro and Realme 6, that are two glorious choices with related pricing. However, numbers on a paper aren’t all the time an correct depiction of precise efficiency. It’s time to place the Poco M2 Pro to the check, to see if it is pretty much as good because it’s made out to be.

Poco M2 Pro design

Poco desires to drive house the truth that the M2 Pro is made in India, with outstanding labels on the back and front of the field. While this could actually appease some folks, the bundled charger has a ‘Mi’ emblem on it and also you’re greeted by MIUI once you boot up the cellphone, so make of that what you’ll.

The Poco M2 Pro has a gorgeous design and is constructed effectively, but it surely additionally seems to be similar to the Redmi Note 9 Pro. On inspecting each telephones facet by facet, they seem to have the very same physique. Everything, together with the buttons, ports, hole-punch within the show, and the rear digital camera bump, traces up completely. Poco has used a brand new angular striped sample on the underside three-quarters of the cellphone. The digital camera module has additionally had some beauty adjustments. The M2 Pro contains a P2i water-repellent coating, which is alleged to make it splash-proof.

The Poco M2 Pro feels a bit hefty and enormous within the hand, however I received used to the burden after just a few days. A fingerprint sensor is embedded within the recessed energy button, on the fitting facet, and it authenticates you with a easy faucet. I do want the quantity buttons have been on the other facet, as they’re a bit laborious to achieve. The SIM tray on the left helps two Nano-SIM playing cards and a microSD card. The headphone jack, USB Type-C port, and speaker are on the backside, whereas on the highest, now we have a secondary microphone and an infrared emitter.

Poco has used a 6.67-inch full-HD+ LCD show, with a cutout for the selfie digital camera. You additionally get Gorilla Glass 5 on the entrance, again, and the rear digital camera module. I normally discover pre-applied display screen protectors actually annoying, however the one on the M2 Pro shouldn’t be intrusive. The show will get vivid, colors are punchy, and the Settings app permits you to tweak the color profile.

One characteristic that is lacking is a excessive refresh fee. A 120Hz panel is without doubt one of the defining options of the Poco X2, however the lower-cost M2 Pro will get an ordinary 60Hz show. The motive for this, as I used to be informed by Poco, was {that a} selection needed to be made between quick charging and a excessive refresh fee, as a way to hold the value down. The Realme 6 (Review) continues to have the higher hand amongst telephones priced beneath Rs. 15,000 with its 90Hz show.

Overall, the Poco M2 Pro feels very effectively constructed and appears good in blue. It’s additionally accessible in black and inexperienced. In the field, you’ll be able to count on a silicone case, charger, cable, and SIM eject instrument.

Poco M2 Pro software program: MIUI with Poco launcher

The similarities to the Redmi Note 9 Pro proceed with the software program. The Poco M2 Pro runs on MIUI 11, which is predicated on Android 10, and my unit had the June safety patch. Apart from having the Poco Launcher as a default, the options and performance are similar to what you get on Redmi gadgets. The full suite of Mi apps is current, together with Mi Music, Mi Video, Mi Browser, and so on, and most of them cannot be uninstalled. There are additionally loads of third-party apps comparable to Helo, Facebook, and a few fundamental video games, and all of those could be uninstalled.

Despite all of the inventory MIUI apps, I used to be shocked to not see any spam messages from them within the notification shade. Certain sections of some apps nonetheless push random promoted content material, however this may normally be disabled.

Poco M2 Pro efficiency

MIUI and app efficiency have been very good all through our overview. This is basically due to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G SoC. It’s the identical one used within the Redmi Note 9 Pro and Realme 6 Pro. I’m testing the center variant of the Poco M2 Pro, which has 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 64GB of UFS 2.1 storage, and is priced at Rs. 14,999. There’s a decrease variant with 4GB of RAM and the identical quantity of storage, which prices Rs. 13,999, and a top-end variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage priced at Rs. 16,999.

Navigating by MIUI’s interface felt snappy, multitasking labored effectively, and apps generally have been fast to load. Gaming efficiency was excellent too. I performed the same old heavy-hitters and all ran easily with good graphics. I did not discover any heating points both, even after taking part in for lengthy stretches at a time. Game Turbo is a helpful utility that offers you shortcuts for display screen recording, and so on, whereas taking part in video games.

Videos regarded good on the Poco M2 Pro’s show. However, the only speaker is not very spectacular. You can allow software program enhancements for audio should you use wired headphones, however there’s nothing to spice up the quantity of the speaker.

Poco M2 Pro cameras:Good, however not nice

The Poco M2 Pro has 4 rear cameras, which embody a major 48-megapixel sensor, an 8-megapixel sensor with a wide-angle lens, a 5-megapixel macro digital camera, and a 2-megapixel depth digital camera. You get a 16-megapixel hole-punch selfie digital camera. The M2 Pro has the identical model of the MIUI digital camera app because the Redmi Note 9 Pro. From what I may inform, the one actual distinction between the 2 telephones when it comes to performance is that you should use Night mode for the selfie digital camera on the M2 Pro.

There are some fascinating options comparable to the power to document full-HD video with the macro digital camera, and the outcomes have been surprisingly good. Pro mode additionally helps video recording, permitting you to manually set the publicity for a shoot and likewise the power to document in LOG format, which could be color graded later. For what it is price, the Redmi Note 9 Pro has the very same options now.

In low-light conditions, the principle and wide-angle cameras struggled with publicity and particulars. The digital camera app did a great job of suppressing noise, however the photographs typically regarded underexposed, and zooming in revealed weak particulars. Night mode wasn’t too efficient both, barely doing something to enhance the picture.

Selfies shot beneath vivid mild regarded good. Details and pores and skin textures have been typically effectively represented. Shots have been first rate, so long as there was sufficient ambient mild round.

The M2 Pro helps video recording at as much as 4K 30fps. Videos shot at this decision had a really heat color tone, and colors regarded fairly exaggerated. There’s no stabilisation at this decision. Stepping all the way down to 1080p, movies regarded higher due to stabilisation and colors had a extra pure tone. Low-light efficiency wasn’t nice, and movies typically regarded a bit underexposed and grainy.

Overall, the cameras of the Poco M2 Pro carried out decently beneath good mild, however struggled to ship passable leads to low mild.

Poco M2 Pro battery

I discovered the battery lifetime of the Poco M2 Pro to be excellent. The 5,000mAh capability simply lasted for a complete day, even with a lot of gaming and digital camera utilization. With lighter workloads, I used to be ready to make use of the cellphone effectively into the second day. The cellphone additionally ran for a bit greater than 17 hours in our HD video loop check, which was good. The bundled 33W quick charger does a great job of rapidly charging the battery. I used to be in a position to cost this cellphone to about 95 p.c in an hour.

Is the Poco M2 Pro price shopping for?

I feel the Poco M2 Pro is an efficient addition to the sub-Rs. 15,000 smartphone section, and I’ve no hassle recommending it. In numerous methods, you could possibly consider it as a Redmi Note 9 Pro (Review) with faster charging at the same worth. Plus, it needs to be so much simpler to purchase in comparison with Xiaomi’s flash sale system. The M2 Pro presents good construct high quality, a pointy show, stable battery life, and good efficiency. The cameras are usually not too dangerous both, supplied you are taking pictures through the day.

However, in contrast to the Poco X2 (Review), I do not see the M2 Pro disrupting this worth section just because it is so just like the Redmi Note 9 Pro which has been promoting right here for a while now. The Realme 6 (Review) continues to be a stable various, because it’s nonetheless the one cellphone with a 90Hz show beneath Rs. 15,000.

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All stated and completed, the POCO M2 Pro may not have a definite identification of its personal, but it surely does have fairly just a few issues going for it. The quick charging assist is a plus level as is the POCO launcher. Overall, it’s a stable price range smartphone that can impress you with its efficiency, premium design, and show.