Poco M5 Review: Best Performance Under Budget

Poco recently launched a budget mid-range phone, Poco M5 in Nepal. It is the successor of the Poco M4.

The Poco M5 price in Nepal is Rs. 20,499 for the base 4/64GB variant while the higher 6/128GB variant is priced at Rs. 23,999. The phone is available at mobile retail stores all over Nepal.

Poco M5 brings strong hardware with a new Helio G99 chipset, a 90Hz FHD display, and a 50MP camera. It is the best budget mid-range phone?

Poco M5 Review

Design

• 163.99x 76.09 x 8.9 mm
• 204 g
• Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)

Our review unit of the Poco M5 is in yellow color. It does look flashy and the big camera band makes the design loud.

The horizontal camera strip on the back looks like that of the Pixel but larger.

The back panel has a leather-like texture finish which gives it a good grip and gives off a premium vibe. However, it is made up of plastic and has a unibody design. The plastic back curves towards the side frame giving it a flush design.

As good as it looks from the back, the outdated waterdrop notch and thick bezels don’t earn any style points from the front.

The M5 is on the heavier side as it weighs 204g but it has a good weight distribution. So, it doesn’t feel heavy on the hands and is decently thin at 8.9mm.

The fingerprint sensor is embedded in the power button and it works well. But, you need to press the button to unlock the phone when the screen is turned off.

The top of the phone features a 3.5mm headphone jack, and the right side hosts the power button and the volume rockers. On the bottom, it has a Type-C port, a mic, and a speaker grille. Lastly, the SIM slot is placed on the left side.

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Display

• 6.58 inches IPS LCD
• 1080 x 2408
• 90Hz

The 1080p 6.58-inch FHD LCD display on the Poco M5 is pretty good. It has 500 nits of max brightness and I did not have any problem using the phone outdoors.

The LCD panel is not exactly the most vibrant display I have used for the price. But, it is just enough for watching videos on YouTube and Netflix. Furthermore, it does support Widevine L1 which enables FHD playback on Netflix.

The 90Hz resfresh rate has been optimized really well on the Poco M5.

This has to be one of the best high refresh rate panels I have used for the price. The 90Hz works really well and the 240Hz touch sampling rate further enhances the touch response. You can either set the refresh rate at 90Hz or 60Hz. When set at 90Hz, the display drops to 60Hz in some apps like YouTube and the Camera app. I also noticed the panel drop down to 30Hz in some instances.

Performance

• MediaTek Helio G99 (6nm)
• 64GB 4GB, 128GB 6GB RAM

Poco M5 rocks a new chipset from MediaTek, the MediaTek Helio G99 chipset.

It is not exactly a new chipset but an overclocked version of the Helio G96 chipset used on more expensive phones like Redmi Note 11S. The G99 is better than the G96 in terms of performance and is much more efficient as it is a 6nm chipset.

In GeekBench the G99 managed to score 544 in Single-Core and 1925 in Multi-Core. In contrast, the Helio G96 in Redmi Note 11 Pro 4G  scores 511 and 1729 respectively. Likewise, it scores 1239 in the 3D Mark WildLife test which is a GPU-bound benchmark. The Helio G99 chipset can even go head to head with the Snapdragon 695 chipset used on the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G.

It is very smooth in daily usage and it can also handle heavy AAA games.

Poco M5 is also a very good performer when it comes to gaming. For gaming, I tested PUBG Mobile at Smooth+ Ultra and HD+ High settings. I was easily able to achieve an average fps of 40 with zero lags and stutters at Smooth graphics whereas the game ran at an average fps of 30 at HD settings without any hiccups.

Likewise, I tested COD Mobile at Low + High and Meidum+ High settings. I was easily able to achieve an average fps of 59.3 in both settings. COD Mobile runs without any issues on the Poco M5.

So, Poco M5 is the best phone in terms of performance for the price tag,

ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy A04s Review: Good Camera Poor Performance

Camera

• 50 MP, f/1.8, (wide), PDAF
• 2MP, f/2.4, (depth)
• 2MP, f/2.4, (macro)

Poco M5 gets a triple camera setup with a 50MP main sensor, a 2MP depth sensor, and a 2MP macro sensor. On the front, it has an 8MP selfie camera.

MAIN CAMERA

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The photos from the main camera are average at best. The photos are not sharp enough and the dynamic range is not impressive. Likewise, the color is on the neutral side. I also noticed that the main camera tends to overexpose the brighter areas in high dynamic range situations.

MACRO CAMERA

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The 2MP macro camera takes low-resolution photos with washed-out colors and low contrast. It is also quite hard to nail the right focusing distance.

PORTRAITS

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The portraits are above average with good sharpness and fine details. The colors look boosted and the dynamic range is decent. The blur effect is convincing enough but it does struggle with complex areas like hair.

SELFIES

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The selfies captured in good lighting conditions turn out pretty good. They have good detail and look sharp. The face tone looks natural and the skin tone is also nice. But, the background might get washed out if there’s too much light.

VIDEOS

Poco M5 can capture videos up to 1080p 30fps. The dynamic range is above average and the color is neutral. The exposure shift was noticeable which makes the footage unappealing. Likewise, the videos lack proper stabilization.

Battery & Speaker

• 5000mAh
• Fast Charging 18W

Poco M5’s  5000mAh battery can provide very good battery life. With moderate usage, it can provide up to 6-7 hours of screen time. I was easily able to use the phone for more than a day.

In terms of charging, it comes with a 22.5W charger but it only supports 18W fast charging. It takes exactly 2 hours to fully charge the Poco M5.

Likewise, the single down-firing speaker of the Poco M5 is decent only. It gets pretty loud but it starts to distort at max volume.

Software

• Android 12
• MIUI 13 for Poco

Poco M5 runs on Android 12 with MIUI 13. The M5 doesn’t pack bloatware and the OS optimization is pretty good.

It’s the usual MIUI that we get on Redmi phones. The Android 12 version of the MIUI 13 doesn’t bring any visual overhaul. It looks the same but it is better optimized.

Should You Buy Poco M5?

For the price, Poco M5 is a very good phone with good display and excellent performance.

The Poco M5 focuses on providing good performance for the price with a good display and a good battery life. The camera and charging could have been better though. However, it is a very good budget phone and it undercuts most of its competitors.

If you are looking for a budget phone with top-notch performance then this should be on top of your list.

ALSO READ: Poco Mobiles Price in Nepal: Features and Specs

So this is my Poco M5 review. What do you think of the Poco M5? Let us know in the comments!

Also, watch our review video of the Poco M5 in Nepali.