If you're a fan of cheap phones, then new Xiaomi releases are always worth paying attention to. That's especially the case here, because the brand has two new affordable smartphones, and one is a successor to the handset that currently tops our rankings of the best low-cost devices.
These two new phones are the Poco F3 and Poco X3 Pro, the latter of which is the aforementioned prodigal son, as it's an improved version of the Poco X3 NFC. These two low-cost devices have launched globally, and we'll be getting them into our labs for testing very soon.
We'll run you through the specs below, so you can see if these cheap Xiaomi phones are of interest to you, and how much they'll set you back.
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- Check out our Moto G10 review
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Poco X3 Pro
The Poco X3 Pro has quite a bit in common with its X3 NFC sibling, but with some small improvements here and there.
The phone has a 6.67-inch Full HD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch input rate and HDR 10. It uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 chipset, which we haven't seen in a smartphone before and sounds top-end judging by its 800-series name. That's paired with either 6GB or 8GB RAM depending on which option you opt for.
There are four rear cameras, with a 48MP main leading the charge followed by a 8MP ultra-wide, 2MP depth-sensing and 2MP macro snapper. There's a 20MP selfie camera on the front too.
The battery is a bit bigger than your average phone at 5,160mAh and it features 33W fast charging. Wired audio fans will appreciate the presence of a 3.5mm headphone jack here.
We have the UK price for the Poco X3 Pro right now. If you want it with 128GB storage and 6GB RAM, you'll be paying £199 (roughly $275, AU$360), and for 8GB RAM and 256GB storage that's £249 ($345, $450).
Poco F3
The Poco F3 is a more advanced smartphone than the X3 Pro, in a few key ways.
The display seems the same, as it's also 6.67 inches with a FHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate, but its touch input is 360Hz, so it should be a bit better for gaming. It also has MEMC, which is a way of automatically upgrading the framerate of content to match the refresh rate.
The processor is a Snapdragon 870, which is a slightly lower spec version of the Snapdragon 888 that many top-end 2021 phones have, and should provide loads of processing power. It's paired with 6GB or 8GB RAM, and it's worth pointing out the Poco F3 is compatible with 5G networks.
Onto the cameras: there's a 48MP main, 8MP ultra-wide and 5MP telemacro camera, the latter likely being the same as the one in the Xiaomi Mi 11. The front-facer is the same as the Poco X3 Pro, at 20MP.
The battery is 4,520mAh, again with 33W fast charging. There's no 3.5mm headphone jack though.
If you want to buy the Poco F3, in the UK it'll cost you £329 (around $450, AU$590) for 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, and £349 (about $480, AU$625) for 8GB RAM and 256GB storage.
When we get both the phones we'll test them out to see how good they are, and we'll also update you on pricing in other regions if and when it's announced.
