POCO M4 announced: Almost everything you need in a budget phone

POCO is no stranger to offering great value-for-money smartphones, as mid-tier devices like the POCO F4 and POCO X3 Pro delivered solid bang for buck in the last year or two. The company has also offered its low-end POCO M series for a while now, and it’s back with another entry.

The POCO M4 is the Xiaomi-affiliated brand’s latest M-series phone, and the first thing you’ll notice about it is the rather interesting rear design. Expect a matte polycarbonate back in blue, yellow, or black, along with a black polycarbonate camera window stretching across to the left and right edges. Otherwise, a flat panel is available up-front along with a waterdrop notch and a fairly substantial chin.

Dive under the hood and you’ll find a MediaTek Dimensity 700 5G processor that’s one of the lower-tier 5G SoCs on the market. Other core specs include 4GB to 6GB of RAM, 64GB to 128GB of expandable storage, a 5,000mAh battery, and 18W wired charging via the included 22.5W charger.

The phone is as pedestrian as it gets in 2022 when it comes to camera capabilities, featuring a 13MP+2MP rear pairing (main and depth) and a 5MP selfie snapper in the notch. So don’t expect an ultrawide camera or macro lens here. Oddly enough, Indian listings for the phone show a 50MP+2MP rear camera setup, suggesting regional differences.

Other specs worth knowing include a 6.58-inch 90Hz LCD panel (FHD+, unspecified Gorilla Glass), 5G+5G dual-SIM support, Bluetooth 5.1, a side fingerprint scanner, camera-based face unlock, MIUI 13 for POCO atop Android 12, and Wi-Fi 5.

POCO M4 pricing and availability

POCO hasn’t officially revealed pricing and availability details as of writing, although a Flipkart listing points to a Rs 10,999 (~$138) promotional price in India right now. The listing also notes that the normal price is Rs 15,999 (~$201). Otherwise, the phone will be available in 4GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB flavors.

We thought the POCO M3 was a good deal at the time due to its massive 6,000mAh battery, great build quality, and top-notch stereo speakers. POCO is clearly sacrificing battery capacity in favor of a 5G SoC and high refresh rate with the POCO M4, so it’s not quite a clear-cut upgrade across the board. But you should still keep an eye on this device if you need a cheap phone.