The X7 Pro is POCO’s attempt at overhauling the X series, while still catering to the performance-minded buyers locked to a budget. But their lofty wish was generally fulfilled at the expense of minute compromises like a jaded design. This time, the focus is on wiping out these shortcomings while maintaining its core in the sub-Rs 30,000 price segment.
POCO X7 Pro
Rs 27,999
What Is Good?
- Gorgeous design with a sturdy frame
- Consistently high performance
- Superb display for content consumption
- Long battery life
- Good pricing
What Is Bad?
- Camera struggles with adjusting the exposure
- Feature-packed yet bloatware-ridden OS
- BGMI and Call of Duty: Mobile can’t attain stable 90fps
But has POCO really cooked the impeccable recipe in the shape of the X7 Pro to set a new landmark in the segment in which formidable opponents like the Vivo T3 Pro and the Nothing Phone 2a already left a huge mark? Find out in my review.
Pricing and Availability in India
The POCO X7 Pro can be grabbed from Flipkart and the brand’s online store. You can avail a bank discount of up to Rs 1,000 using select credit or debit cards. Here’s the pricing:
| Variant | Price |
| 8GB+256GB | Rs 27,999 |
| 12GB+256GB | Rs 29,999 |
Design and Build Quality
The X series has always been centred around performance more than anything else. It looked as though the design attribute sat last on their priority list.
| Design | Specifications |
| Colour options | POCO Yellow (Reviewed), Nebula Green, Obsidian Black |
| IP rating | IP66 + IP68 + IP69 |
| Port and Button placements | Bottom: Primary microphone, USB port, speaker grille, and SIM card tray
Top: Secondary microphone and speaker grille Right Side: Power button and volume button |
However, with the X7 Pro, it is evident that the brand has ditched this mindset in the past and injected much-required sophistication in its design.
In days of using the X7 Pro, I felt more inclined to oppose my protective nature by flaunting the phone in its bare form instead of swaddling it with a protective case. Simply, the dual-tone rear panel and golden bezel ring around the cameras have contributed to nurturing this rebellious phase in me, as the cover would hide these beauties from the world to appreciate.
Apart from its head-turner design, its back profile feels amazing in touch, if you graze your thumb over it. It is because the back estate is covered in vegan leather. But be alerted that the vivid yellow part of the panel can potentially be stained if you go ham over it with your curry-soaked fingers.
I want to come clean: The big player that truly suppressed my anxious nature is the X7 Pro’s build quality. The smartphone never made me feel that I was lugging around a delicate piece of technology in my hand. On the contrary, it has convinced me that the phone can brave tough times with you without showing any sign of backing down despite feeling lightweight on hand.
I also love that POCO has integrated the IP66, IP68, and IP69 ratings in the X7 Pro, adding more truth to my belief. These ratings imply that you can take it for a swim and shoot some underwater stunts. But before diving in, be sure to read the terms and conditions thoroughly. These ratings are also a pattern we are starting to see with more brands like OPPO, OnePlus, and Realme.
Display and Audio
Lately, almost every brand has launched smartphones with curved screens in the mid-range segment. POCO has gone against the tide to keep the sparks of flat screen ignited with the X7 Pro, and I immensely respect that since the curved display may make your phone look extraordinary, but it carries many risks worth keeping you on your toes.
But what actually looks incredible is the X7 Pro’s display, owing to its superb picture quality. I was delighted to watch Luffy marching towards the ultimate treasure in the One Piece series, thanks to tastefully tuned vibrancy with on-point colour consistency.
| Display | Specifications |
| Size | 6.73-inch |
| Type | AMOLED |
| Resolution | 1.5K |
| Refresh rate | 120Hz |
| Peak brightness | Claimed: 3200 nits, Tested: 1981 nits |
| Minimum brightness | 21 nits |
The addition of HDR10+ and Widevine L1 certification makes the display even more spectacular since the duo ensures you have a blast arranging your private movie marathons by binge-watching films and series at their best quality on streaming services like Netflix.
Indoors, I hardly saw myself pulling the brightness slider above the 40 per cent mark to scroll reels on Instagram while outdoors, I could comfortably check the photo gallery to see whether I took the right shot under the direct sunlight. That said, the lowest brightness value is on the higher side, it may annoy you when you want to use the phone at midnight.
The audio quality was equally admirable as the stereo speakers were loud with a balanced audio signature.
Performance and Software
The X7 Pro’s operation is steered by the newly unveiled Dimensity 8400 Ultra processor and its debut with this phone has moved me significantly. If we just pull up benchmark scores, the phone is giving relatively older flagships a run for their money, that too at a price where budget-conscious customers don’t have to burn a hole in their wallets.
| Hardware | Specifications |
| Processor | Mediatek Dimensity 8400 Ultra |
| RAM | Up to 12GB LPDDR5X |
| Storage | 256GB UFS 4.0 |
| Storage test | 189797 |
| CPU Throttling test | 74% of its maximum performance |
| Geekbench 6 | Multi-core: 6304, Single-core: 1604 |
| Software version | Xiaomi HyperOS 2 based on Android 15 |
| Connectivity details | 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth v5.3, and USB Type-C |
| Number of Software Updates | 3 years of OS updates and 4 years of security patches |
Opening up the graphical setting of BGMI stung me a little since I was anticipating that I would hunt my opponents at 90 fps or above at the lowest quality. But the highest frame rate I could achieve was 60 fps. The POCO X6 Pro supported this mouth-watering frame rate since it saw the light of day. So, it’s weird not to witness this on the newer model.
Jumping on enemies in Call of Duty: Mobile made me realise that the brand didn’t optimise the phone thoroughly around the new processor. It was visible that the game supports functioning at 120 fps on the settings page, but I never saw a stable 120 fps on the fps meter. Almost half the time, it would run at 60 fps and miraculously sometimes let you relish a few minutes of 90 fps-charged fun. Hopefully, this is something that can be fixed with an update.
Everything aside, the X7 Pro was a smooth operator in my daily usage since it encountered no hiccups while juggling between video consumption, social media browsing and casual gaming.
The X7 Pro runs on Xiaomi HyperOS 2, based on Android 15. Whether shuffling through various apps or scrolling through the menu, each animation appeared so smooth that you would mistake it for Dhoni swiftly stumping out the batsman without them knowing. Moreover, the UI offers many customisation options while packed with AI-powered features. These features are mostly cloud-based and they work as intended, but they could be improved.
That said, what needs sweeping is the bloatware and its accompanying notifications. On top of multiple pre-installed apps, not a single day will pass when you haven’t been exploded with a barrage of spammy notifications.
Camera
As I have been using the X7 Pro to capture my eventful days, I believe that POCO’s old mindset visible in the design department has lived on and carried to the X7 Pro’s dual camera module.
| Camera | Specifications |
| Primary Camera | 50-megapixel Sony LYT-600 with OIS |
| Secondary Camera | 8-megapixel, ultra-wide angle |
| Selfie Camera | 20-megapixel |
| Video recording capabilities | Up to 4K at 60fps, OIS/EIS stabilisation |
There were plenty of moments when the primary camera could click detailed photos with saturated but eye-candy colours. The HDR tuning was generally on point. However, exposure was one aspect that significantly prevented the X7 Pro from attaining the perfect all-rounder title. Either it is the focus issue or the post-processing wasn’t tweaked well, which led to the emergence of this issue.
The portrait mode was another victim of the exposure problem. I managed to get some outstanding shots with amazing edge detection, but replicating them multiple times became a greater challenge than Rohit Sharma avoiding a duck in test cricket.
The ultra-wide camera was no different from the primary camera in my usage since you could also notice the mishandling of exposure here. Besides, its lower resolution prevented it from collecting more details from any frame.
The low-light performance was much more dependable because the main sensor generated images quite close to how the scene appeared in real life. The colours were close to natural and the photos were crisp in quality. The ultra-wide camera also succeeded in retaining most details from the setting but its bigger aperture might have caused it to capture less light.
By the way, both cameras operated at slower shutter speeds whenever I tried taking photos in dimly lit conditions, leading to blurry images when the subject moved a bit.
In daylight, the front camera is pretty reliable for taking your next profile picture on LinkedIn. However, its quality suffers a major drop when you attempt to click your selfies in a not-so-well-illuminated area as it invites more noise in the image.
Battery and Charging
With the blessing of silicon-carbon technology, POCO has packed a massive 6,550mAh battery in the X7 Pro’s chassis while not impacting its lightweight structure. In my eyes, this is in the ballpark of a bonker feat.
| Battery | Specifications |
| Battery | 6,550mAh |
| Charging adapter | 90W fast charging, charger-in-the-box |
| Charging time | 51 minutes |
| PCMark battery test | 17 hours and 17 minutes |
Another terrific thing is that this technology empowered the X7 Pro to survive my moderate usage with flying colours. To give you a context, my typical day revolves around scrolling through Instagram reels, watching an hour-long podcast about Japanese culture, and a bit of gaming.
The X7 Pro clocked in 17 hours and 17 minutes on the board in our PCMark Battery test, placing itself in the league of bigshots. But this score was still shy of overshadowing our invincible force, the Vivo T3 Pro, which led the race by almost five hours.
The 90W charger took 51 minutes to charge the X7 Pro from null to 100 per cent.
Verdict
The POCO X7 Pro should be your first pick if you have these three criteria before buying a smartphone: No possibility of stretching the budget, a well-built phone with a stunning design, and absolutely no sacrifice on performance to get every necessary feature in place. But, in its current stage, BGMI and Call of Duty: Mobile settings need to be more optimised.
As bonuses, you get a superb display for memorable movie nights and a long-life battery, ensuring no interruptions in your taxing work of sharing memes with besties.
That said, you need to be aware of its setbacks before bringing your thumb over the purchase button: While the cameras can take praise-worthy shots, they struggle to achieve adequate exposure. The OS is feature-packed with some smooth animation but can get on your nerves by sending multiple spammy notifications your way.
The Vivo T3 Pro suits you if you want a well-balanced phone with great optics. If your priority is a clean UI which doesn’t bug you, the Nothing Phone 2a is made for you. For all performance needs, the X7 Pro will suffice for you.
