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POCO F6 Pro: test / review / photo quality

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Published on: 09-05-2024 / Modified: 14-05-2024
POCO's F-series represents the brand's top-of-the-range, and its Pro version usually comes with a performance boost. This is what we call a flagship killer, designed to hurt the big brands like Samsung.

POCO does not yet enjoy a reputation like Samsung's among the general public, but this perception gradually changes with each new generation. With this new F6 Pro, POCO is taking another step towards greater maturity, which will enable the brand to win the trust of a wider public.

On paper, this new POCO has everything to shake up phones costing over €1,000, but will it be up to the challenge? My test should help you answer that question. The test will be published on the day of the phone's launch, so the page may be empty if you visit it before the launch. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments section

Launch offer

The POCO F6 Pro will go on sale on May 23 with a €100 discount and a trade-in of up to €100. The price without trade-in is €599, rising to €699 after the launch offer

Take advantage: POCO F6 Pro / introductory offer

The POCO F6 Pro is launched at the same time as the POCO F6 available for €389.90 in the introductory offer. The above link is valid for both phones

Video test

To watch the video directly on YouTube: Poco F6 Pro test / YouTube

Manufacturer web site:

https://po.co

Structure of my tests

I test the phones according to a pre-established structure (see below) to provide you with as much information as possible. Unfortunately, this takes a long time. Some tests like network performance tests take several days and for photo tests I sometimes have to wait until the weather is suitable to take pictures in good conditions. I am therefore obliged to publish the tests step by step, so I invite you to come back if the test is not complete at the time of your visit.

Price Poco F6 Pro

The list below shows the prices for the Poco F6 Pro from more than 50 sites around the world. If you are not satisfied with any price, you can subscribe to a price alert to be the first to be notified when the price drops.

Timeline

End of April 2024: I received the POCO F6 Pro before the launch so that I could publish my test on launch day. I've been lucky enough to be one of the (unpaid) testers for a few years now, but don't let that influence my tests. I publish my findings with complete objectivity, and POCO has never asked me to change a single comma in my tests.

The test will be published at the time of launch (estimated mid-May 2024 at the time of writing).

Unpacking

The POCO F6 Pro's box is similar in every respect to that used for other models, with its yellow lettering on a black background. The contents are also fairly classic, with a soft silicone shell, charger (120 watts!) and USB cable

Finish

POCO's F range represents the top end of the market, and this is immediately obvious if, for example, I compare this F6 Pro with a POCO X6. I can't say that the X6 is rubbish, but the difference between the two phones is obvious. I can't say that the X6 is rubbish, but the difference in range between the two phones is still clearly visible

POCO X6:



I've tested every POCO generation since the first model, and this new model should take the brand to a new level. When I first picked it up, I felt like I was holding a phone from another brand, a bit like a mix of OnePlus and Samsung.

The phone is quite imposing, measuring 160 mm by 74.9 and just over 8 mm thick, it weighs 209 grams. It's a little smaller than a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and a little lighter



It has a 6.67-inch screen with a resolution of

1440 x 3200 with an Oled screen and fairly thin borders, the screen occupies 89% of the front panel. I'll come back to the screen later in this review



The phone's perimeter is metal, and the buttons are also metal, positioned in the usual place with just a little relief.



On the upper edge, there's a sound sensor and an infrared emitter, and underneath there's a sim drawer that can hold 2 sim cards, an audio output and a USB C connector.



There is no jack-type audio output on this phone. It's also not possible to use a memory card, but with 1Tb native storage, this isn't necessarily necessary.



The back is made of a smooth polycarbonate-type surface that doesn't let fingerprints show too much...at least not on the white version. If you tilt the phone a little, you'll notice that the surface is partially marbled. Personally, I don't find it very pretty, but to each his own



At the top, there's a rectangular block housing 3 photo sensors and an LED light. I'll come back to the photo section later in this review too.

This rectangular block seems to be stabilizing at POCO, which had a tendency to change its design with each new generation

Overall, this POCO has a very good level of finish, so the brand has matured well enough to titillate the brands better known to the general public

Specifications

The information below comes from the Device Info HW application. The application provides detailed technical information about the tested phone. I tested the 16Gb LPDDR5/5X RAM version with 1 Tb storage of this POCO F6 Pro, I don't know if other versions will be released later, but it's clearly one of the most generous memory phones among those I've tested. The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra doesn't do any better with its 12 Gb of memory

The screen also looks interesting with its resolution of 3200x1440 pixels on a surface area of 6.67 pixels, so the pixel density is vastly superior to previous models. The screen is capable of using 3 frequencies: 60, 90 and 120 Hz. Wide gamut is supported, including Dolby Vision, HDR10, HLG and HDR10+, so you can stream movies and series on your favorite platforms

It's Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5 compatible, so it's a safe bet that it's equipped with multiple Wi-Fi antennas, but this will be verified in the Wi-Fi test later in this article

Voici ces caractéristiques détaillées du téléphone:

CPU / GPU Performance

The POCO F6 Pro is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen2 CPU like the OnePlus 12R, Xiaomi 13 (Pro and Ultra too), Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra or Honor 90GT. It's not the fastest CPU, but it's a high-end CPU that won't be challenged for a long time. High-performance CPUs generally produce a lot of heat and are power-hungry, and I'll be testing these points further on in the test

On the graphics front, the POCO F6 Pro is equipped with a Qualcomm Adreno 740 GPU like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, which is also a high-performance GPU that will enable you to play any game in good conditions. Here too, you'll need to check that heat dissipation is efficient.

Benchmark Antutu/3DMark

I obtained a score of 1240065 points with Antutu v8, the highest score I've obtained on a test so far. There are even better phones like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, but these are generally more expensive. The CPU score is very good, but it's above all the GPU that makes the difference, with a score that absolutely crushes anything I've tested before. The LPDDR5/5X memory also performs extremely well, with a score that sets this phone well above the rest.

As you can see, this phone is a performance monster, and even if there are more powerful phones out there, I can't really see how I could put it to the test with a game or an application

The phone's temperature rose from 28.9°C to 33.4°C during the test, a fairly moderate increase which seems to indicate that the cooling will be more efficient than the previous generation, but it's the load test (later in this test) that will show whether this is indeed the case





Gaming

To test the performance in game, I download the mobile PUBG game and evaluate the in-game experience, graphics level and depth of vision. This game is quite demanding and should help you evaluating the performance of a phone.

As usual, I've used PUBG Mobile to illustrate the phone's gaming performance, and to no one's surprise, the game runs flawlessly at maximum detail. The POCO's turbo mode allows the game to run at 60 FPS without difficulty, with maximum texture detail. You can even see the outline of the trees before you parachute in

After more than 10 minutes of gameplay, I could feel that the phone's temperature had risen, but not to the point of rendering the phone unusable as was sometimes the case on other high-performance phones.

Mobile network sensitivity

To test the sensitivity to the mobile network, I use a probe which measures the quality of the mobile signal 24 hours a day (eg: cell id, rssi, rsrq, snr, frequency,...) for more than 3 years. I then measure the phone signal under the same conditions to compare them to the probe's reference signal.

Phones tested:



I took 1,246 network sensitivity measurements and obtained an average signal of -99 dBm with the POCO and -93 dBm with my probe. So the POCO F6 Pro doesn't have excellent network sensitivity, which was already the case with some previous models. This doesn't mean that this phone is bad, but if you live in an area with poor network coverage, this phone will lose contact with the network more quickly. For those who live in the city or in areas with good coverage, this problem will be much less significant.

Wifi performance

To test a phone's ability to receive the network properly, I take measurements near my router and then remotely (and always at the same place). This gives me an average in dBm where a value of -90 dBm indicates poorer performance than a value at -30 dBm.


Wifi signal

I took 102 wifi signal measurements with the phone placed on the router and obtained an average signal of -20.95 dBm, which is a good sensitivity score. The signal is also very stable, with a maximum deviation of 1 dBm.



Download/Upload speed

To test the speed in Wifi, I connect to my router in 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz (if available) and use the Ookla application to measure the speed.

GPS performance

To test the accuracy of the GPS signal, I use two positioning applications to evaluate the difference between the actual position and the position indicated by the phone. This test is done outdoors with nothing to obstruct the signal. An accuracy level of up to 3 meters can easily be corrected by an application (e.g. Google Maps).

The POCO F6 Pro is able to use two frequencies (dual band) for GPS, giving it an advantage in terms of location and signal accuracy. The phone detected over 75 satellites during the test and used over 45 to obtain a good quality signal. Theoretical accuracy is 3 meters, but if I compare my actual position with that detected by the GPS, I find that the actual accuracy is more like 2 meters. It also hooks up to the network very quickly:

I detected frequencies E1 and E5a for Galileo, B1/B1C/B2A for Beidou, L1 for Glonass and L1/L5 for GPS

The POCO F6 Pro therefore offers a good GPS experience, with above-average signal quality and the phone's speed enabling it to adapt quickly to changes.

Battery range

To test battery life I developed an application that measures the battery level minute by minute until the battery is empty. This application consumes about ten percent of the phone's resources and I do a test with 100 brightness. This test aims to reproduce a contemplative use of a phone (e.g. surfing the internet, reading articles, spending time on social networks). These results are not valid for intensive gaming/streaming use.
Battery life



I achieved a battery life of 704 minutes with brightness at 100% and 1569 minutes with brightness at 50%. I was positively astonished by this score, as this is a power-hungry phone, but the good result can be explained by the nature of this test, which doesn't push the CPU beyond 10%. In the lines that follow, you'll see the effect of a fully loaded CPU and the result on the battery. In normal use (if that's something that can be envisaged with this phone), you'll get a battery life of around 2 days.

Charging speed



The POCO F6 Pro comes with a 120-watt charger, but to be able to compare my test results, I'm using a 100-watt UGREEN charger. It took me 63 minutes to charge the battery from 1 to 100%, so the charging speed with the charger supplied with the phone will be better. This test shows that even with another charger, this phone is one of the fastest on the market. It takes 10 minutes to reach 20%, 23 minutes to reach 40% and 38 minutes to reach 60%. As usual, the last 20 percent are much slower

Energy efficiency

To test the energy efficiency of this phone, I pushed each component to the limit for several minutes to measure the consumption in watts of each of them while observing the impact on the battery (consumption, heat,...)



I measured an average consumption of 11.52 watts for the CPU when pushed to the maximum. The CPU temperature rises from an average of 22°C to almost 40°C. The increase is significant, but for this first part of the test, I didn't feel any excessive heat on the back of the phone. Most of the heat dissipates from the top right-hand corner next to the camera, leaving the back of the phone unaffected by this excess heat.

I measured an average consumption of 5.68 watts for the GPU, clearly the most power-hungry GPU I've had the opportunity to test. GPU use doesn't have much influence on battery or CPU temperature when used on its own. I haven't found it possible to retrieve the GPU's temperature specifically

If I push the CPU and GPU hard at the same time, I get a consumption that caps out at around 15 watts, which means there's a small loss between the maximum consumption of each separate component and the total consumption. When the CPU and GPU are used at the same time, the CPU temperature soars to 60°C after 6 to 7 minutes of testing, while the battery temperature rises from 30 to 41°C. Performance always has an impact on the heat emitted by the phone, and this is also felt quite strongly here

The load test reduced the battery percentage by 8% where I'm usually at 4 or 5%. My calculation is theoretical, but when pushed to its maximum, the phone consumes just over 1% of its battery per minute. I should add that if it's pushed to the maximum in this way over a long period of time, it could reach a critical temperature that will put it on standby to protect it from overheating. In principle, if you're playing a greedy game, you'll very rarely find yourself in a situation where all the phone's resources are monopolized to the extreme, as in this test.

Photo camera test

To test the quality of photos produced by a phone, I do a technical test (resolution, sharpness, chromatic aberration,...) in studio (identical conditions) to evaluate the technical part objectively. From the second half of 2020, I built my own laboratory to take completely objective technical measurements. I then take pictures in real conditions to see how the camera performs. I then evaluate these photos according to my criteria but I publish the photos so that you can evaluate the result according to your criteria.

Hardware

The POCO F6 Pro's main sensor is a 50-megapixel Omnivision OV50K Light Hunter 800. It's a large sensor (1.55 inches) that I haven't yet been able to test in another phone. I've never been very impressed with the quality of Omnivision sensors, but it's come a long way in recent years. This sensor may therefore be the first Omnivision sensor capable of competing with Samsung or Sony in the photographic arena

The 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle secondary sensor will no doubt once again be a Sony IMX 355 sensor, but the information is not listed in the phone's technical information.

Photo quality

Photo quality (indoor/studio)

The studio test is carried out under the same conditions so that the results can be compared on an equal basis. I calibrate my lighting for each test to obtain the same brightness and colour temperature. This test is a preliminary analysis of the technical qualities of a camera. Most phones fail this test, so you should also read the results of the other tests in the following paragraphs.

Omnivision main sensor



I tested all available modes (normal, night, pro,...) for this sensor to obtain the photo gallery below. Studio testing often puts sensors in difficulty because of the high light levels, but I find that this Omnivision sensor copes quite well. The first thing that struck me was the color temperature. Studio shots are usually too cold and dark, but this sensor manages to produce warmer color images despite the cold light. The photo is still underexposed, but colors are better rendered, and sharpness is also good



I use this model with banknotes to better analyze the sharpness of photos, and as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, the sharpness produced by this sensor is good. The text on the Canadian banknote is perfectly legible, but this is also the case for peripheral banknotes without any significant loss of sharpness.

My first contact with this sensor is therefore fairly positive, and I'm curious to see what it will be able to produce under the sun.



8-megapixel secondary sensor



The secondary sensor is an ultra-wide-angle sensor, so image distortion for close-up objects is highly visible (and predictable). Exposure levels for this type of sensor are not bad, and neither is color rendition. Sharpness, on the other hand, is acceptable in a limited area in the center of the image



The same is true of this photo: sharpness is not very good, and this time even the center is not spared from blurring. The letters on the Canadian banknote are already blurred, and it's even worse on the periphery. It's almost always the same with this type of sensor, and this lack of sharpness in the center leads me to believe that it's not a Sony IMX 355, as I've had better results with this sensor on other phones

Outdoor photo quality

Main sensor: Omnivision OV50K



For this outdoor test, I tested all available modes (HDR, AI, night, 50 MP,...) in this phone's photo app, I also tested GCAM v8.1 to see if the result would be different. I saw virtually no difference between POCO's native application and GCAM, even when using GCAM's HDR+ mode.

I thought the studio images in the previous test were too warm, and this is also the case outdoors. The whole picture seems to be covered in a yellowish haze, regardless of the configuration used. To illustrate my point, I'll compare this photo with one taken at the same time with the Samsung Galaxy A25, which I was testing at the same time



The Samsung Galaxy A25 produces images that are a little too cold, which further accentuates the difference between the two phones. This comparison also brings me to another important point, this time concerning HDR.

When this mode is activated, it has to combine several photos to capture details in dark / light areas. HDR doesn't seem to play this role well on the POCO, the increase in blue in the sky is not visible. The POCO takes what it sees and renders it unaltered. In itself, this isn't a bad thing, as the sky looked more like the POCO photo than the Samsung one. The POCO photo is therefore more natural, but HDR has been used so much by all brands that the public's expectations are different

This difference in color temperature can be corrected with the "pro" mode, but I doubt that the average consumer will bother to go through this to improve photos. Fortunately, this kind of problem can be corrected with a better configuration, so perhaps POCO will fix this problem in a future update.
The good sharpness noted in the previous test is confirmed, and photos are more detailed than those taken by the Samsung, especially in the more distant part of the photo. The contrast of the leaves is also better

This Omnivision sensor therefore needs some changes in its configuration to be able to compete with other sensors in its price range. The comparison with the Samsung was a little unfair, as the Samsung costs considerably less, but as luck would have it, I tested both phones at the same time



8-megapixel secondary sensor



The secondary sensor differs from the main sensor in that its color temperature is more accurate, HDR is more effective, but sharpness is not as good (which is typical of this type of sensor). Here, too, I tested all the available configurations and GCAM, which sometimes explains the differences in hue from one photo to another. As a general rule, I find that GCAM's HDR works better here than that of the native application, the difference being quite visible in the clouds. This reinforces my point in the previous paragraph about configuring the photo application



Test photo / night

Omnivision main sensor



The POCO F6 Pro features a night mode that lets you combine several photos into one. To take a night shot like this, 2 to 3 seconds of exposure time are needed, followed by a second to combine the image. Processing is quite fast and the result is quite good. The level of detail is good, and the sharpness processing is not too aggressive. Exposure time is also good, the photo is not abnormally bright and the overall hue is not too warm, as is often the case. Strong light sources generate a halo, but this is not distracting.



Ultra-wide-angle sensor



Sensors of this type are very rarely at ease with night photography, and this one is no exception, but for an unusual reason. Unlike other sensors, the exposure time is quite correct, but the light sources are transformed into rays that pass through the entire photo. There is a reflection effect that follows the curvature of the lens, and this is only visible in night shots

Video quality

Stabilisation



The POCO F6 Pro has a fairly effective video stabilization mechanism. The jolts of walking are almost totally absorbed, I just notice a small vibration with each step and this vibration is almost not visible on a phone screen. Again, I expected this phone to be capable of filming at 60 fps, but at 30 fps, it manages to stabilize the video correctly.

Video normale conditions

Video / Day



The POCO F6 Pro is capable of filming in 4k and 30 fps, I'm surprised that a phone in this price range isn't capable of filming in 60 fps. The result is quite similar to what I've seen with photos, as color temperatures are too warm and HDR doesn't seem to work. Video is fairly fluid, exposure calculation is fast, sharpness is good and focusing between moving leaves and the horizon works well. I think the microphone is optimized to reduce wind noise because wind noise was clearly more audible on the Samsung Galaxy A25 I tested at the same time

Video / Night



Night video quality is average and for a phone in this price range, that's probably a bit too little. Exposure time is good, but could have been a little higher, and sharpness is not sufficiently pronounced either. Focusing speed, on the other hand, is quite good, and I didn't really notice any loss of focus where the phone had to look for where to place the focus.

External audio quality

This test is intended to give you an overview of the volume and sound quality during calls and when listening to music through the external speakers.

Music / external speakers



The sound from the external speakers is of average strength, with a gap between the speaker below the phone and the one above. The sound is quite pronounced on the highs and perhaps not enough on the lows, but overall the sound is of good quality.

Calls



Call volume is above average, especially on the external speaker, so this could be useful if you have weakness in your ears. Sound quality is good, softened and not too high-pitched on the internal speaker. On the external speaker, the sound is higher-pitched and saturates a little at maximum volume, but the voice remains perfectly intelligible.

Audio quality (headphones)

To test the quality of the phone's audio output, I connect the device's audio output to a measuring tool, then play sounds on all frequencies and measure the differences between the original sound and the sound produced by the phone. In this way I measure the phone's ability to correctly reproduce all sounds.
I wasn't able to test this phone as usual, as it doesn't have a jack output, so I'm going to give my objective opinion, which shouldn't be far from the truth after all my phone testing. At maximum volume, the POCO F6 Pro produces a sound of average power, probably around 92 dB, but when pushed to maximum I hear a distortion that disappears as soon as the volume is turned down a notch or two. The sound is fairly well balanced between high and low frequencies, and vocals are also well rendered.

Screen quality

To test the screen, I use a colorimetric probe that measures the color accuracy of a screen, as well as other parameters to see if a screen is able to correctly reproduce an image. I also test the brightness level to determine if the screen will be able to display an image in full sunlight.

Colorimetry



The POCO F6 Pro's screen isn't superbly configured from the outset. The default mode (PRO) results in a delta E of 4.7, with colorimetric deviations sometimes quite significant in certain colors. Fortunately, you can quickly improve the situation. Instead of choosing Pro mode, select Advanced mode, then select P3 for color space and adjust green (down one notch) and blue (down four notches). With this configuration, I obtain a delta E of 1.06 with white at 0.8 for a temperature of 6427K

Grays are also very faithful with a delta E of 2.06

This screen is capable of using a frequency of 120 Hz for maximum visual comfort (with the possibility of choosing between 60/90/120) with the added bonus of a very high frequency of 3840 Hz for PWM (Pulse Width Modulation). I've never been sensitive to this kind of problem, but it's clearly one of this screen's strengths



Brightness / Contrast

In normal mode, I measured a brightness of 486 cd/m², and by activating sun mode I was able to exceed 700 cd/m². With this level of brightness, you'll be able to use this phone under the sun without any problem, without any great loss of legibility

Contrast

I measured a contrast ratio of 22358:1 with a minimum black brightness of 0.006 cd/m². So that's an excellent contrast level and a very low black luminosity that will allow you to reduce the brightness if you use the phone in the dark.

Accessories Poco F6 Pro

Compare Poco F6 Pro with the others

Test / Review conclusion

The POCO F6 Pro has been designed to tickle the high-end of other brands by offering excellent performance for a lower price. If I evaluate this phone on that basis, it's clearly a success because it offers performance equivalent to a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra for a much lower price. There are a few phones capable of doing better, but they're more expensive and the performance gain won't let you see the difference even if you're a hardcore gamer. This POCO therefore offers an excellent price/performance ratio.

The level of finish is one of the best in the POCO range, but it probably still lacks a little something to be categorized as a premium phone comparable to Apple phones or the top of the Samsung range

The POCO F6 Pro's screen is another of the product's strengths, ticking all the boxes with its high PWM frequency, 120 Hz display, brightness, wide gamut, default colorimetry and excellent contrast. The screen occupies almost 90% of the phone's front panel, so we're close to a borderless experience here.

This phone has clearly been designed to be described with superlatives, as the battery charging is one of the fastest on the market. With its 120 watts of fast charging, you'll quickly be able to bring the battery down to an acceptable level. This will be particularly useful for hardcore gamers, who will undoubtedly need to be able to recharge the battery quickly to avoid interrupting a long game. Intensive use of the phone will cause the temperature to soar, but the heat is evacuated through the upper right corner of the phone, reducing the discomfort caused by the heat.

This phone manages two frequencies for GPS and therefore offers good performance for grip and accuracy, the wifi signal and speed are also of a very good level thanks to the combination of several wifi antennas

I was a little curious about the photo quality, as I'd never tested this Omnivision sensor before, but I was a little disappointed because the color temperature is too warm and HDR doesn't seem to be doing its job. Fortunately, these are things that can be corrected, and I hope POCO will make some changes in a future update

The mobile signal, on the other hand, is below average and is probably this phone's biggest weakness. This won't really be a problem if you use the phone under good network coverage, but for those living in rural or poorly covered areas, the phone will lose signal more quickly.

Strengths

Raw power

Battery charging speed

Screen quality

Ultra-fast memory

16 Gb RAM

Huge storage capacity

GPS accuracy and speed

Finish

Weaknesses

Photo colorimetry

HDR not very interventionist

Mobile signal sensitivity

Alternatives to this product

OnePlus 12R, Xiaomi 13, Samsung Galaxy S23

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