Over the last couple of years, most brands have redefined the very definition of the industry term ‘mid-range smartphone’ that not long ago conjured up images of cheap phones and essentially compromise. Not anymore. Brands like POCO have upped their game in the ultra-competitive Rs 20,000 – 25,000 segment. The POCO F4 5G is the brand’s latest weapon in an armoury of seriously capable devices that battle it out in this segment. The F4 5G rides heavily on its zippy chipset and a display that should please gamers and binge-watchers alike. Is that enough firepower to make an impact in the 2022 version of the mid-range battle?

Green is the flavour of the season

Another new smartphone, another brilliant shade of green. We’ve been seeing an array of green smartphones land in 2022. POCO F4’s Nebula Green is the newest addition; we think it’s quite cool. This is almost a metallic version of mint green and lends a distinctive vibe to this device. It’s also available in Night Black. The F4 is a rebadged version of the Redmi K40s. It’s the same minimalist design language with an edgy camera module that stands out in a crowd. We dig the glass matte finish but most of all it’s the heft that impressed us the most. At 195 gm, the phone feels good in your hand. It’s comforting to see more smartphones staying under the 200 gm threshold. The POCO manages this with a large display. 

Immersive appeal

The 6.67-inch FHD+ AMOLED display (2400 x 1080 pixels) packs 394 pixels per inch (PPI) and is one of our favourite features of this device. Colours are vibrant and the 120Hz refresh rate adds to its binge-watch creds (it’s also certified with Dolby Vision and HDR10+ for those Netflix marathons). The display peaks at 1300 nits which is mighty impressive at this price point. Visibility is not a challenge even under harsh sunlight.

Speed? No problem

POCO is betting big on the F4’s firepower. At its heart is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 chip. The device comes in three hardware variants – 6GB+128GB/8GB+128GB/12GB+256GB. We checked out the top-end variant and it aced everything we threw at it. Asphalt 9 was a fun ride and multi-tasking was quite effortless. The device clocked an impressive 3254 on our Geekbench (multi-core) benchmark test. There’s a 4500 mAh battery under the hood that should comfortably last you a whole day. POCO has bundled a 67W fast charger that takes your device from 0 to 100% in just over 40 minutes.

A serious contender

The POCO F4 5G comes with a 20MP selfie shooter and a triple rear cam. It’s driven by a 64MP primary lens with OIS. There’s also an 8MP ultra-wide cam and a 2MP macro lens. We’ll say this, the F4 is one of the better shooters in this price band with a decent lowlight performance. It’s one of the many features that makes the F4 a serious contender at this price point. If there’s one crib, it’s the raft of pre-installed apps but that apart, the POCO F4 scores high on the features that matter. It looks good and feels good in your hand and handles most everyday tasks without a fuss. 

The POCO F4 5G comes in  Nebula Green and Night Black and three storage variants: 6GB+128GB at INR 27,999, 8GB+128GB at INR 29,999, and 12GB+256GB at INR 33,999. As part of first sale day offers, consumers can get an instant discount of INR 1,000 and SBI card holders get a discount of INR 3,000