Back when Poco launched the Poco F1 in August 2018, it shook the entire smartphone industry. A true flagship killer, it packed top-tier specs at a fraction of the price. Fast forward to today, Poco is still trying to live up to that legacy.

The new Poco F7 Pro follows the same formula—offering near-flagship performance while cutting corners in just the right places. But this time, there’s a twist: it’s no longer the best Poco has to offer. Enter the Poco F7 Ultra, the new king of the lineup. But does that mean the F7 Pro has lost its relevance? Let’s find out.

Design and Display: A Familiar, Yet Slightly Bland Look

Poco has gone for a dual-tone aesthetic this time around. The top portion of the rear panel has a glossy, reflective finish, while the bottom half is matte. It’s an interesting contrast, though personally, I’m not a fan. Luckily, Poco includes a black silicone case in the box, which tones it down a bit. The phone is available in three colors—black, silver, and blue.

At 6.67 inches, the AMOLED display remains unchanged from its predecessor. It’s a crisp 3,200 x 1,440 panel with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. The peak brightness of 1,800 nits ensures excellent visibility under direct sunlight. Unlike some flagship devices, this isn’t an LTPO panel, so it doesn’t dynamically adjust the refresh rate down to 1Hz to save power. Still, it’s a fantastic display with slim, even bezels and an Always-On feature, just like the Xiaomi 15 series. The under-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is well-placed and works reliably.

Performance: Still a Powerhouse

Under the hood, the Poco F7 Pro is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, paired with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. While this is last year’s flagship chip, it still delivers stellar performance. Xiaomi is also targeting gamers with this phone, adding features like Super Resolution (which sharpens character outlines, though it only works with Genshin Impact for now) and Smart Frame Rate (which helps maintain high frame rates while keeping temperatures in check).

In Genshin Impact, the phone reached up to 90fps but occasionally dropped to 50-60fps after extended playtime. The device never got unbearably hot, but it did become uncomfortably warm. In 3DMark’s Wild Life Extreme stress test, the performance dipped by 26% as temperatures peaked at 48°C. Still, day-to-day usage was buttery smooth. In Geekbench 6, it scored 2,141 (single-core) and 6,332 (multi-core), which is in line with other Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered devices, though its multi-core performance is slightly lower.

Camera: Decent, But Not Class-Leading

Xiaomi has made a significant change here—gone is the useless 2MP macro camera from last year’s model. Instead, the Poco F7 Pro now sports a more practical dual-camera setup: a 50MP main sensor and an 8MP ultra-wide lens. The selfie camera gets a minor upgrade to 20MP.

Photos from the main camera look sharp and detailed in good lighting, though colors lean slightly towards the saturated side compared to something like the Pixel 9 Pro XL. The ultra-wide camera, however, is noticeably weaker. Images appear softer, and details get smeared, especially in low light. Speaking of night photography, the main camera does a decent job, brightening up dark scenes without making them look artificial. But if there’s ambient light present, it tends to preserve the natural look better.

Battery Life: A Big Upgrade, But Slower Charging

Battery life is where the Poco F7 Pro truly shines. It now packs a massive 6,000mAh battery, up from last year’s 4,800mAh. This directly translates to significantly better endurance. In PCMark’s battery test, it lasted 11 hours and 25 minutes—up from 7 hours and 58 minutes on its predecessor. That’s a huge jump!

However, there’s a trade-off. Charging speed has been downgraded from 120W to 90W. While still fast, it’s a noticeable step back. There’s also no wireless charging, but at this price point, that’s not surprising. Xiaomi probably made this decision to differentiate the F7 Pro from the new Ultra model, but it still feels like an arbitrary limitation.

Final Thoughts: Still a Flagship Killer, But With a Catch

The Poco F7 Pro is a solid device, but it no longer feels as special as its predecessors. It still offers fantastic performance, a great display, and impressive battery life. But some of the excitement is missing. Maybe that’s because Poco itself has changed. With the introduction of the F7 Ultra, it feels like the Pro model has been slightly nerfed to make the Ultra look better.

That said, at S$669 for the 256GB model and S$729 for the 512GB variant, the Poco F7 Pro remains an excellent deal. You get near-flagship specs, solid cameras, and fantastic battery life for a fraction of the price of premium flagships. If you’re looking for the best bang-for-your-buck phone, this is still a top contender. Just don’t expect it to be the best Poco has to offer anymore.