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POCO F3 and X3 Pro launched: Affordable flagships starting under $300
- POCO has launched the POCO F3 and POCO X3 Pro.
- The X3 Pro carries the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 processor.
- The POCO F3 is a rebranded Redmi K40.
POCO has added two new affordable flagships to its kitty in the form of the POCO X3 Pro and the POCO F3. While the former debuts a new flagship Snapdragon chipset, the latter offers even faster performance while keeping in line with POCO’s typical value positioning. Eagle-eyes readers might also recognize the POCO F3 as a rebranded Redmi K40.
So how do the two new POCO phones stack up against each other? Read on for a complete breakdown of their specs, features, and pricing.
POCO X3 Pro: The first phone with the Snapdragon 860 SoC
The POCO X3 Pro is the brand’s latest affordable flagship that debuts the new Snapdragon 860 SoC, Qualcomm’s third 800-series processor for 2021.
The chipset has a Qualcomm Kryo 485 octa-core CPU clocked up to 2.96GHz as well as an Adreno 640 GPU making it closer to the two-year-old Snapdragon 855 than Qualcomm’s latest.
Other than updated silicon, the POCO X3 Pro also boasts a 120Hz 6.67-inch LCD display with an impressive 240Hz touch sampling rate. The latter is a measurement for the number of times a touchscreen can sense input from your finger in a second, and should aid the phone’s gaming credentials.
In the imaging department, the POCO X3 Pro packs a 48MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide sensor, a 2MP depth camera, and a 2MP macro sensor. The camera setup also enables an Ultra-wide Night Mode, Dual Video Mode, video cloning, and long exposures.
On the front, the POCO X3 Pro gets a 20MP selfie shooter placed within a centered punch-hole. It also features a night mode and supports AI face unlock on the phone.
Other defining traits of the POCO X3 Pro include a sizeable 5,160mAh battery, 33W fast charging with a 33W in-box charger, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a hybrid dual SIM slot. You also get a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, NFC, USB-C, an IR blaster, and support for Bluetooth 5.0.
The company’s marketing suggests that in some budget-conscious regions, the POCO X3 Pro might be positioned as the POCO F1 successor over the slightly more premium POCO F3. This brings us to POCO’s second launch.
POCO X3 Pro: Hot or not?
POCO F3 specs
Alongside the POCO X3 Pro, the company has also announced the POCO F3. The phone follows along as a natural successor to the exceptionally popular Pocophone F1 with its keen focus on performance at a value-conscious price. Not so surprisingly, the smartphone is a rebranded Redmi K40 that launched in China last month.
Buyers get a Snapdragon 870 processor under the hood paired with up to 8GB of RAM. It’s a step up from the Snapdragon 860 on the X3 Pro as it supports 5G connectivity and is an overclocked version of the previous Snapdragon 865 flagship chip.
Just like the Redmi K40, you get a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The triple camera array consists of a 48MP main + 8MP ultra-wide + 5MP tele-macro sensor setup. A 20MP sensor sits over at the front.
The battery on the POCO F3 is a tad smaller than the X3 Pro at 4,520mAh. However, it also gets 33W fast charging with a 33W charger in the box.
You can see a full spec comparison between the POCO X3 Pro and the POCO F3 in the table below.
POCO X3 Pro vs. POCO F3 spec comparison
| POCO X3 Pro | POCO F3 | |
|---|---|---|
Display | POCO X3 Pro 6.67-inch LCD FHD+ 120Hz refresh rate 240Hz touch sampling rate HDR10 Gorilla Glass 6 | POCO F3 6.67-inch AMOLED FHD+ (2,400 x 1,080) 120Hz refresh rate 360Hz touch sampling rate HDR10+ Gorilla Glass 5 |
Processor | POCO X3 Pro Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 | POCO F3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 |
GPU | POCO X3 Pro Adreno 640 | POCO F3 Adreno 650 |
RAM | POCO X3 Pro Min: 6GB LPDDR4X Max: 8GB LPDDR4X | POCO F3 Min: 6GB LPDDR5 Max: 8GB LPDDR5 |
Storage | POCO X3 Pro Min: 128GB UFS 3.1 Min: 256GB UFS 3.1 microSD card support (up to 1TB) | POCO F3 Min: 128GB UFS 3.1 Min: 256GB UFS 3.1 No microSD card support |
Power | POCO X3 Pro 5,160mAh battery 33W fast wired charging In-box 33W charger No wireless charging | POCO F3 4,520mAh battery 33W fast wired charging In-box 33W charger No wireless charging |
Cameras | POCO X3 Pro Rear: 1) 48MP main 1/2-inch sensor, 1.6μm, ƒ/1.79 Auto-focus 2) 8MP ultra-wide 119-degree FoV, ƒ/2.2 3) 2MP macro Fixed focus (4cm), ƒ/2.4 4) 2MP depth sensor Fixed focus, ƒ/2.4 Front: 1) 20MP, ƒ/2.2 | POCO F3 Rear: 1) 48MP main 1/2-inch sensor, 1.6μm, ƒ/1.79 Auto-focus 2) 8MP ultra-wide 119-degree FoV, ƒ/2.2 3) 5MP "telemacro" Auto-focus (3cm - 7cm), ƒ/2.4 Front: 1) 20MP, ƒ/2.45 |
Audio | POCO X3 Pro Dual speakers 3.5mm headphone jack | POCO F3 Dual speakers Dolby Atmos No headphone jack |
Connectivity | POCO X3 Pro USB-C Dual-SIM or Single SIM+microSD Wi-Fi 5 Bluetooth 5.0 NFC support IR blaster | POCO F3 USB-C Dual-SIM Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.1 NFC support IR blaster |
Bands | POCO X3 Pro 2G: GSM: 850, 900, 1,800, 1,900MHz 3G: WCDMA: 1/2/4/5/8 4G: LTE FDD: 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/20/28 4G: LTE TDD: 38/40/41 (2,535 - 2,655MHz) | POCO F3 2G: GSM: 850, 900, 1,800, 1,900MHz 3G: WCDMA: 1/2/4/5/8 4G: LTE FDD: 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/20/28/66 4G: LTE TDD: 38/40/41 5G: n1, n3, n5, n7, n8, n20, n28, n38, n41, n77, n78 |
Security | POCO X3 Pro Side-mounted fingerprint sensor Face unlock (insecure) No IP rating | POCO F3 Side-mounted fingerprint sensor Face unlock (insecure) No IP rating |
Software | POCO X3 Pro Android 11 MIUI 12 for POCO | POCO F3 Android 11 MIUI 12 for POCO |
Dimensions and weight | POCO X3 Pro 165.3 x 76.8 x 9.4mm 215g | POCO F3 163.7 x 76.4 x 7.8mm 196g |
Colors | POCO X3 Pro Phantom Black, Frost Blue, Metal Bronze | POCO F3 Arctic White, Night Black, Deep Ocean Blue |
Price and availability
The POCO X3 Pro will be available in Phantom Black, Frost Blue, and Metal Bronze colorways. Meanwhile, the POCO F3 gets Arctic White, Night Black, and Deep Ocean Blue color options.
The X3 Pro brings a great value-for-money proposition. Its 6GB RAM +128GB storage option is priced at €249 (~$296), but POCO will sell it for an early-bird price of €199 (~$237). Its 8GB RAM + 256GB storage variant will cost €299 (~$356), with an early-bird price of €249 (~$296). Availability for the POCO X3 Pro starts on March 24.
For the Indian market, the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage option comes in at Rs 18,999 (~$262) with an 8GB RAM option priced at Rs 20,999 (~$289). Both options will be available on Flipkart from April 6.
Meanwhile, the POCO F3 comes in a bit more expensive, starting at €349 (~$416) for the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage model. It also gets an early bird price of €299 (~$356).
The phone’s 8GB RAM and 256GB storage option starts at €399 (~$475) with an early bird price of €349 (~$416). It’ll go on sale starting March 27.
At these prices, the new POCO entrants will compete with the likes of the Xiaomi Mi 10S, Motorola’s upcoming Moto G100, and others.