Last year I chose Poco F6 as the best value smartphone because at a price of under RM2000, you can have a phone with a near-flagship chip and also quite satisfactory performance. In early 2025, Poco X7 appeared with it as a mid-range device. If Poco's flagship device is worth it, will their mid-range devices follow in the same footsteps?
Specifications
Poco X7
6.67″ AMOLED screen, FHD+, 120Hz
Dolby Vision
Dimensity 7300 Ultra processor (4nm)
4x 2.5 GHz Cortex-A78
4x 2.0 GHz Cortex-A55
Mali-G615 MC2 Graphics Chip
8/12 GB LPDDR4X RAM
12 GB Virtual
256/512 GB UFS 2.2 Storage
Main Camera 50MP, f/1.5, OIS (Wide Angle)
8MP. f/2.2 (Ultra Wide)
2MP, f/2.4 (Macro)
Front Camera 20MP, f/2.2
Battery 5110mAh
45W (Wired)
Dual-SIM 5G/SIM Telephony
Audio Stereo Speaker
Dolby Atmos
Network WiFi 6,
Bluetooth 5.4
NFC
Infrared Yes
Waterproof IP68
Under-screen Fingerprint Scanning System
Face Scanning
Selling Price RM1199 (8/256 GB)
RM1399 (12/512 GB)
Screen
The screen is 6.67″ AMOLED with a 120Hz refresh rate but not of the LTPO type and curved on the top and sides. I am not a fan of curved screens because the content will overflow to the sides and with this device having a thin body, it makes it less comfortable in the hand.
The AMOLED screen provides satisfactory clarity especially when the device is used outdoors. Every touch is detected with haptics that do not disappoint. Although the X7 is a relatively affordable device, it comes with HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support. Dolby Vision content on Max and Netflix can be streamed without any issues.
Biometrics
The under-screen fingerprint scanner system is of the optical type but is located quite low. This is an issue that I have seen on affordable mid-range devices. Fingerprint and face scanning times are fast and not disappointing.
Design
The device has a sturdy metal frame with rounded sides. Poco is not yet ready to change to the all-flat design popularized by Apple before being adopted by other manufacturers such as Samsung and Oppo. As I said above, due to the curved glass panel, the device feels thin in the hand making it less comfortable to use without a frame.
On the model reviewed, the back panel is made of vegan leather with a rough texture. This makes the back panel non-slip and does not collect dirt easily. There are two side speakers that fire to the sides on the X7 providing a balanced stereo audio system.
On the top there is an infrared emitter. Meanwhile, below there is a USB-C charging port and also a tray for two nano SIMs. There is no support for a micro SD card provided on this device but in Malaysia NFC support is provided. This allows the device to be used to make cashless payments and top up NFC Touch N’ Go cards.
The camera bump on the back is large but not very high. It is larger than the bump on an iPhone 16 Pro Max. A metal ring surrounds the bump and the four camera lenses and flash. Because this bump is large but not high, the device can be placed on a table without feeling like it is wobbling.
The entire body of the device also passes the IP68 standard. It is amazing that a device priced under RM1500 has stereo speakers, a Dolby Vision screen, stereo speakers, waterproof capabilities and an under-screen fingerprint scanner.
Usage – HyperOS
HyperOS is based on Android 14 which is a bit strange because the Poco X7 Pro launched with HyperOS 2 based on Android 15. Why not just standardize the operating system on both devices? This operating system looks cheerful with various interesting additional features such as adding virtual RAM up to 12GB.
The use of HyperOS is smooth even though it is only equipped with a Dimensity 7400 Ultra chip which still uses only Cortex A78 and A55 cores. The application installation process is moderately fast because it is only equipped with UFS 2.2 memory. Here you can see why the X7 is sold at an affordable price.
The negative thing that can be touched on is the number of installed fat applications. The HyperOS system also likes to suggest the installation of applications that are most likely not needed. The good news is that the ads for these applications can be turned off in the device settings screen. Another issue is that it does not have many AI features that are a trend of other manufacturers. As a hardcore user of Circle to Search, its absence on the X7 is also very regrettable.
Poco promises support for 3 versions of Android and 4 years of security patches for the X7 which I think is reasonable for an affordable device.
Benchmarks
The Dimensity 7300 Ultra chip used by Poco X7 is still a mid-range chip equipped with four Cortex-A78 and Cortex-A55 cores that are quite old and a Mali G615 GPU. I compare this chip with Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 (Realme 13 Pro+ 5G), Dimensity 7300 Energy (Realme 13+ 5G), Dimensity 7300 (CMF Phone 1), Dimensity 7020 (Infinix Note 40 Pro) and Dimensity 8200 Ultimate (Infinix GT 20 pro).
AnTuTu 3D
Poco X7 – 686,014
Realme 13+ 5G – 741,709
Realme 13 Pro+ 5G – 613,504
CMF Phone 1 – 644,913
Infinix Note 40 Pro – 450,320
Infinix GT 20 Pro – 933,015
Geekbench 6
Poco X7 – 1026/2936
Realme 13+ 5G – 921/2127
Realme 13 Pro+ 5G – 899/2763
CMF Phone 1 – N/A
Infinix Note 40 Pro – N/A
Infinix GT 20 Pro – N/A
Geekbench 6 AI
Poco X7 – 822/816/1637
Realme 13+ 5G – 621/594/1095
Realme 13 Pro+ 5G – 327/342/699
CMF Phone 1 – 1044/2927
Infinix Note 40 Pro – 1120/3338
Infinix GT 20 Pro – 1244/3516
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
Poco X7 – 850
Realme 13 + 5G – 855
Realme 13 Pro+ 5G – 809
CMF Phone 1 – 851
Infinix Note 40 Pro – N/A
Infinix GT 20 Pro – 1736
The benchmark scores recorded are only modest but comparable to other chips in the same class. The device can It runs various common applications and games well as long as they are on medium settings. It has no issues running Mobile Legends Bang Bang, Asphalt 9 and COD Mobile. As I said above, the virtual RAM expansion feature of up to 12GB allows for more apps to run simultaneously. However, due to the UFS 2.2 storage, app installation is not as fast as on flagship devices with UFS 4.0.
Camera
The main camera consists of a 50MP wide-angle lens with OIS , an 8MP ultra-wide lens and a 2MP macro lens. This is matched with a 16MP selfie camera placed in the camera hole. The quality of the pictures taken is as below. Looks beautiful and sharp in good lighting situations.
Night mode pictures are only average but still looks clear because of the OIS system. Night mode only looks a little blurry when using the ultra-wide lens which is not equipped with OIS. Overall the Poco X7's camera performance is decent for an affordable mid-range device.
Audio
With both speakers firing to the sides, the audio The sound is balanced, aided by the Dolby Atmos and Xiaomi Sound systems. Atmos audio is currently only supported on TWS accessories. The speaker is loud and clear with audio quality that doesn't hurt your ears even at the loudest audio settings.
Battery
The 5110 mAh battery is big enough for the device to last all day. On average if a full charge is done at 7am, there is still around 15% left at 10pm in moderate usage. In heavier usage, a SOT of around 8 hours can be achieved. Recharging the battery can be done in around 70 minutes which is satisfactory for a battery of this size and 45W charging support. A charger is provided with every purchase so owners don't have to worry about buying it separately.
What's in the Box
Here are the components that come with each purchase.
1x Poco X7
1x Plastic protective frame
1x USB-A to USB-C cable.
1x 45W USB-A charger
1x User manual and safety manual.
1x SIM pin
Conclusion
Poco X7 is a mid-range device equipped with a screen that supports Dolby Vision, a fairly fast mid-range processor, a satisfactory camera, good stereo audio and IP68 waterproofing. It is a device that sells for between RM1199 and RM1399 which I feel is worth it for the features provided.
The disadvantage is that it still uses Android 14 while its "big brother" Poco X7 Pro already uses Android 15. The battery capacity is large but the charging of only 45W is slow compared to the Realme 13+ which supports 80W. However, for a device at this price tag, the shortcomings that exist can be forgiven.
PROS
120Hz AMOLED screen with Dolby Vision support.
Mid-range chip that still manages to provide a good experience
Large battery lasts all day.
IP68 water/dust protection.
Attractive price for the features offered.
CONS
Only 45W charging.
Still running Android 14.
Macro camera not very useful.