Poco X5 Pro Review: Capable Mid-Ranger Struggles to Justify Premium Pricing

Poco arrived in 2018 as Xiaomi's answer to OnePlus—a sub-brand built to compete in the flagship space. Five years later, the company has recalibrated entirely. It now lives in the mid-range, chasing volume over prestige. The X5 Pro, released in early 2023, is the latest expression of that shift, and it arrives at an awkward price point that undermines what is otherwise a competent phone.

The X5 Pro costs Rs 22,999 at launch, climbing to Rs 24,999 for the higher-spec variant with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. That's a meaningful jump from its predecessor, the X4 Pro, which debuted at Rs 18,999. Bank offers can bring the price down to Rs 20,999, but even discounted, the phone finds itself squeezed between the Redmi Note 12 Pro series and the Realme 10 Pro+—both of which offer comparable or superior value. The question becomes not whether the X5 Pro is good, but whether it justifies asking more for less.

The hardware tells a familiar story. A 6.67-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate sits atop a Snapdragon 778G processor paired with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. The battery is 5000 mAh with 67W fast charging. The camera setup includes a 108MP main sensor, 8MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro, and a 16MP front camera. The phone carries an IP53 rating for dust and water resistance and runs Android 12 with MIUI 14. On paper, it reads as solid mid-range fare.

In hand, the phone impresses in specific ways. It is remarkably light and slim despite the large battery, making it comfortable to hold for extended periods. The display is genuinely excellent—bright enough to watch films outdoors without constant squinting, with colors that pop and blacks that hold depth. Audio quality is equally strong, whether gaming or streaming music. The Snapdragon 778G, though not new, handles demanding tasks without strain. Asphalt 9 ran at high graphics settings without stuttering. Genshin Impact played smoothly at default settings. Benchmark scores placed it ahead of the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ in multi-core performance, though the difference was marginal enough to be academic.

The camera is where expectations were lowest and results most surprising. The 108MP main sensor captures outdoor and low-light scenes with crisp detail and accurate color reproduction. Selfies avoid the over-processing that plagues many mid-range phones. Portrait mode creates clean separation between subject and background. Indoor video, shot during a casual outing, retained good color saturation and natural skin tones despite imperfect lighting. But the phone has a clear weakness: it struggles with bright reds, which appear washed out or burnt, losing detail in the process. The ultra-wide camera suffers a dramatic quality drop compared to the main sensor. These are not fatal flaws, but they are real limitations.

The software situation is harder to defend. Shipping with Android 12 in 2023 feels behind the curve. The phone will receive only two major Android updates—versions 13 and 14—plus three years of security patches. That's a modest commitment for a device at this price. MIUI 14 runs smoothly, but the Poco launcher overlay confuses more than it clarifies, and users accustomed to stock Android or basic MIUI may find it an unnecessary complication.

Battery life easily stretches past a full day of mixed use—gaming, video, music, messaging—even with 5G enabled. The 67W fast charging tops the battery quickly, and an 80 percent charge is sufficient for a full day of typical use. This is one area where the phone delivers without compromise.

The design is where Poco's positioning becomes visible. The triple camera is aligned similarly to the Redmi Note 12 Pro, with the Poco branding positioned prominently next to the lens cluster. The phone comes in a distinctive yellow, but the review unit in blue blends into a crowded field of mid-range phones in the same color. The plastic body and frame, while lightweight, signal cost-cutting that contradicts the premium pricing. The flatter design, borrowed from recent flagship trends, is less comfortable to grip than curved alternatives.

The central tension is unavoidable: the X5 Pro is a capable device that does most things well, but it does nothing exceptionally. At Rs 22,999, it cannot justify its cost against the Redmi Note 12 Pro series, which feels more refined and offers better value even at higher list prices. With bank discounts factored in, the gap narrows, but the Redmi still edges ahead. For existing Poco users upgrading from older models, the X5 Pro makes sense. For everyone else, the math does not quite work.