Poco M4 Pro 5G Delivers Flagship Features at Budget Price

Poco's track record with budget phones has been hard to ignore. Last year, the M3 earned recognition as one of the best affordable devices on the market, and now the company is back with the M4 Pro 5G, a phone that aims to prove the formula still works when you add 5G connectivity to the mix.

The M4 Pro 5G arrives in Poco's familiar yellow box, packed with a TPU case, charging brick, USB-C cable, and SIM tool. The phone itself is a large device—roughly the same footprint as its predecessor—but Poco managed to fit a slightly larger 6.6-inch display inside. The screen is a 90Hz LCD panel with a hole-punch notch rather than the teardrop cutout still common in this price category. The display runs at 1080 x 2400 resolution with 399 pixels per inch, 450 nits of brightness, and support for DCI-P3 color. It's a solid panel for the money, though it lacks HDR support. The phone uses Gorilla Glass 3 for protection and comes with a factory screen protector already applied.

The build quality is respectable. The frame is plastic with a textured finish, and the back cover is also plastic—a step down from the TPU finish on the M3, and it picks up smudges and dust easily, which is why using the included case makes sense. The two-tone design and Poco logo on the back look more refined than last year's model. The camera module is visually prominent but houses only two working cameras, plus an LED flash, AI branding, and a red dot. The phone includes dual speakers and dual microphones, a rarity at this price point, along with a 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom. A hybrid dual-SIM tray with microSD card support sits on the left frame, and the power button with fingerprint sensor and volume controls are on the right. A silicone rubber gasket around the SIM tray suggests some level of IP protection.

Under the hood sits the MediaTek Dimensity 810, a 6nm 5G chip with an octa-core processor—two 2.4GHz Cortex-A76 cores and six 2.0GHz Cortex-A55 cores—paired with a Mali-G57 MC2 GPU. The phone comes in two configurations: 4GB RAM with 64GB storage, or 6GB RAM with 128GB storage. Both use LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.2 storage. Performance is adequate for daily tasks without throttling or excessive heat. Gaming works fine if you're willing to dial down graphics and accept 30 frames per second. The 5,000mAh battery easily lasts a full day with normal use—calls, streaming, browsing—and the 33W fast charger gets you from zero to 50 percent in roughly 30 minutes. A full charge takes about an hour. The phone runs Android 11 with MIUI 12.5, which is largely unchanged from recent Poco devices. The software includes ads in some apps, particularly the Cleaner utility, though these can be reduced by disabling recommendations in settings.

The camera system represents a meaningful upgrade. The main sensor is a 50MP Samsung ISOCELL with a 1/2.76-inch size, f/1.8 aperture, phase-detection autofocus, and Night Mode support. The ultrawide is an 8MP Sony IMX355 behind an f/2.2 lens, though it lacks Night Mode. The front-facing camera is 16MP, up from 8MP on the M3 Pro 5G. Daytime photos from the main camera show good color, contrast, and dynamic range, though fine detail is modest. The 2X digital zoom produces acceptable results, likely using some algorithmic upscaling. Night Mode photos are noticeably better than standard low-light shots. Ultrawide photos in daylight are among the best in the budget class, with minimal barrel distortion and low noise, but they deteriorate significantly after sunset. Selfies remain a weak point—colors and contrast are decent, but images look soft on larger displays. Portrait mode uses AI for depth detection and produces good results in daylight. Video maxes out at 1080p at 30 frames per second with electronic stabilization; stick to the main camera for acceptable quality, primarily in daylight.

Audio quality stands out. The dual stereo speakers deliver loud, punchy sound across music streaming services, though the bottom speaker is slightly louder than the top. Highs and lows are well-represented, though the midrange is less impressive. Wired headphone output requires pushing volume to around 70 percent, while Bluetooth audio sounds good at 40 percent. Connectivity includes Bluetooth, NFC, an IR blaster, and support for Google Pay, though a software bug causes an NFC notification icon to persist when the feature is enabled. The phone officially didn't show a 5G symbol on T-Mobile in Southern California, but LTE+ speeds matched those of a Pixel 6. The M4 Pro 5G also includes IP53 certification for dust and splash resistance, a step up from the M3.

At a higher price than its predecessor, the M4 Pro 5G asks whether the additions justify the cost. The answer leans yes: you're getting an ultrawide camera, IP53 protection, NFC, and faster charging. For someone whose smartphone is their primary computing device and budget is a concern, the M4 Pro 5G delivers the essentials—solid design, a bright display, reliable battery life, adequate performance, and cameras that work well enough for social media. It's a strong budget option for 2021, though not without compromises in low-light photography and selfie quality.