POCO X3 Review: Do the small upgrades make it a great mid-range smartphone in the market?

Small upgrades make it a perfect mid-range smartphone.

POCO was the first manufacturer that started off with a high note by providing great hardware at an affordable price range. The POCO F1 was one such smartphone that had the Snapdragon 845 with liquid cooling technology that was seen on a mid-range smartphone and had a 4000mAh battery.

In 2019, came the POCO X2 which was not truly the successor of the POCO F1, but has great internals that includes a glass build, it was the first smartphone to have a 120Hz display, has a Snapdragon 730G chipset with a larger 4500mAh battery, and had support for 27W fast charging.

The successor to the POCO X2 has come which is the POCO X3. The POCO X3 is not completely a huge upgrade over the POCO X2, but it does come with some upgrades that include a newer look to the display, Snapdragon 732G chipset, a massive 6000mAh battery, has a newer set of camera, and comes with MIUI12.

And this time around the design is not a replica of the Xiaomi Redmi smartphones. So do these small upgrades over the POCO X2 make it a great mid-range smartphone in the market?

Let's find out in the full review.

POCO X3 Design:

The POCO X3 is a new product from POCO with a unique design, unlike the POCO X2 which was a look-alike of the Redmi K30. The new design at the back has a polarizing opinion as instead of the glass back on the POCO X2, the back is made up of polycarbonate on POCO X3.

Another big difference is the layout of the cameras. Both have a circular layout for the cameras but the housing of the cameras is different on the POCO X3. Instead of the vertical alignment of quad cameras, the cameras are arranged in a rectangular mesh surrounded by a circular ring as seen on the POCO X2.

The POCO X3 is available in two colors that include Shadow Gray and Cobalt Blue. The POCO branding is larger and is now found at the bottom. It shines when the light is struck on it at different angles and the back has a slight gloss finish on the polycarbonate black which feels a bit premium. A large strip also runs at the back which looks really good.

Coming to the smartphone, there is an earpiece grill which acts as stereo speakers on top of the display. There is also an LED notification light on the top right corner above the display. 

There is a secondary noise-canceling microphone and an IR blaster on top to control devices like televisions, air conditioners, etc.

At the bottom, there is a loudspeaker vent, a USB Type-C port, a primary microphone, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Moving to the sides, on the right, there are the volume controls with a power button that doubles up as a fingerprint scanner. 

On the right, there is a hybrid SIM card slot where you can use two SIM cards or one SIM card and a microSD card for storage expansion. The buttons provide a clicky feel but still, it is plastic.

The POCO X3 weighs around 225 grams as it houses a massive 6000mAh battery but still the Samsung Galaxy M51 weighs around 215 grams though it houses a 7000mAh battery. Since the weight is good above 200 grams and the polycarbonate back gives it a good grip while holding, unlike the glass backs that tend to slip.

The back of the smartphone has an IP53 rating that means it can resist dust and some splashes of water. On the front, there is a single punch hole camera instead of the dual punch hole camera seen on the POCO X2. 

Other than these nothing is much changed but POCO's direction in giving a unique design to the smartphone has been a good move.

Overall, the polycarbonate back feels a bit cheaper but what you get is a newer design and the Shadow Gray color looks appealing.

Check here: POCO X2 Review

POCO X3 Display:

The POCO X3 has a 6.67 inches Full HD+ display (1080x2400 pixels) and has an IPS LCD panel that is the same display found on the POCO X2 and has a screen to body ratio of 20:9. However, the color reproduction is good and the viewing angles are not bad either.

However, when compared to an AMOLED display, the colors are not so punchier and the visibility in dark or sunlight is not so good. The brightness levels have been improved on the POCO X3 but the display still suffers from good visibility under direct sunlight and in dark the 450 nits brightness does not affect the eyes.

The auto-brightness calibration has been done very well. There are a couple modes like Bedtime Mode, Blue Light filter that you can enable while reading during the night. The color reproduction is good and it also has support for HDR 10 and supports Widevine L1.

Though the display may not be an AMOLED, what it has like the POCO X2, is the120Hz refresh rate. Higher refresh rates help in smooth scrolling between applications and come in handy while playing games. There is a 240Hz touch sampling rate, so touch response feels much better.

The front display has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for protection and the face unlock using the front single camera works well. Viewing contents from Netflix, Youtube was a pleasant experience. The color of the display can also be changed for a cooler or warmer tone according to needs.

Overall, this may not have the best display ut still the support for HDR content and the higher refresh rate makes it a pretty good one to consider.

POCO X3 Performance:

The POCO X3 is the first smartphone in the world to house a Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G chipset. The Snapdragon 732G chipset is a minor upgrade over the Snapdragon 730G that is present on the POCO X2. The Snapdragon 730G has the higher clocked cores at 2.2 GHz whereas on the Snapdragon 732G it is clocked at 2.3 GHz.

Both have a similar Adreno 618 GPU and are built on the 8nm process. The Snapdragon 732G has 2x2.3 GHz Kryo 470 Gold cores (based on ARM Cortex A76) and another 6x1.8 GHz Kryo 470 Silver cores (based on ARM Cortex A55). The GPU is clocked 15 percent higher on the Snapdragon 732G.

So coming to daily usage, all normal activities like calling, streaming videos, or switching between applications feel a breeze to use. The 120Hz refresh rate enables smooth scrolling and when it comes to heavy games like Call of Duty, Asphalt 9 on the POCO X3 runs smoothly at the highest graphics settings.

There is some amount of stutter at the highest graphics settings but still, the 15 percent increased GPU performance gives it an edge. The dedicated GameTurbo further increases the gaming performance by tweaking the CPU and GPU a little bit.

With the higher refresh rate combined with a 240Hz touch sampling rate, the touch responsiveness feels much better while gaming and the controls feel easy to use. There are two variants namely 6GBRAM and 64GB storage and another 6GB RAM and 128GB storage where storage speeds are of UFS 2.1.

To combat the heat, like the POCO F1, the POCO X3 also comes with a LiquidCool technology that maintains the thermal temperature well under control in case of gaming for longer hours. Then the glass is made up of polycarbonate which dissipates a good amount of heat when compared to a glass back.

Moving to benchmarks, the difference between the Snapdragon 730G and 732G is very close. On Antutu v8, the POCO X3 scored 282076 which is slightly higher than 281272 on the POCO X2, and in Geekbench 5.1, the 569 in single-core and 1761 in multi-core tests are better than the 547 in single-core and 1656 in multi-core tests in POCO X2.

When it comes to performance and gaming, the POCO X3 is an excellent offering in the mid-range segment.

POCO X3 Software:

The POCO X3 runs on MIUI12 with a POCO launcher built on top of Android 10. The aim of the POCO devices is to provide an ad-free experience and it is nothing different on the POCO X3. However, MIUI12 brings a whole lot of improvements to the table.

For the first time, MIUI is cleaner and provides a software experience almost close to Stock Android. There are a couple of third-party applications pre-installed by not like a Redmi smartphone which is filled with bloatware.

There is a system-wide dark mode, Android 10 based navigation gestures, Digital Wellbeing, Quick Replies, Second Space to secure data, and the GameTurbo Mode for enhanced gaming. Then the look of the icons in the home screen and app drawer can be customized and offers various customizations to the layout and look also.

The GetApps is one such application which is annoying and shows a couple of third party applications to install and some annoying ads which can be turned off from the Recommendations in the settings. You can also uninstall some third-party applications.

There are no Super Wallpapers which is present on flagship Xiaomi devices. There is a new Control Center or the notification toggle that resembles look almost close to iOS and there are some new animations in the display. 

MIUI 12 also offers a dedicated app drawer and has all the organized applications under different categories.

There is the newer Floating Window and the Notes app has been organized quite well with all the subtasks and sublists. The display does stutter a bit due to the higher 120Hz display and amid-range chipset underneath, however, it is well lesser compared to the POCO X2.

Overall, it may not provide the software experience like OneUI or OxygenOS but the MIUI12's refreshing look and the presence of the POCO launcher makes it appealing to use.

Check also: Realme 7 Pro Review

POCO X3 Camera:

The POCO X3 gets an upgraded set of cameras compared to the POCO X2. The POCO X3 has the newer 64MP Sony IMX682 sensor instead of the 64MP Sony IMX686 sensor on the POCO X2. Technically, on paper, it does seem a bit of a downgrade, but what you get is another 13MP ultrawide camera over the 8MP ultrawide camera on the POCO X2.

The other two cameras remain the same. The new X look of the cameras at the back is s different design and will create a polarizing opinion. The quad-camera at the back are:

• 64MP f/1.8 Sony IMX682 sensor
• 13MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera with 119-degree field of view
• 2MP f/2.4 macro camera
• 2MP f/2.4 depth camera for portraits.

The newer 64MP Sony IMX682 sensor in the main camera does a good job when it comes to image shot during the day. The images have a good amount of detail and the dynamic range is also good for the price range. This is the similar camera setup found on the Realme 7 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy M31s.

There is no sort of over-exposure in the images and the contrast is good too. The noise seems to be very less but the images tend to over sharpen a bit. Turning on the HDR, the colors look more saturated and true to life. 

At night, the images have a good amount of details and the dynamic range is good enough. The colors look a bit over-saturated and the noise is quite present there. 

The Night Mode improves the dynamic range and also improves the long exposures in the images. It also reduces noise to a larger extent. For both the day and night, AI is enabled by default.

The 64MP mode takes some images with good details and generates 16MP images by default using pixel binning. However, the images do look a bit softer and the noise in the images is well maintained. These 16MP images crop some subjects into the frame to reduce noise and provide a better dynamic range.

The secondary camera which is a 13MP ultrawide camera is an upgrade over the 8MP ultrawide camera on the POCO X2. This one has a larger 119-degree field of view and also improves upon the dynamic range and has a wider aperture with slightly lower noise.

The colors look good but not as punchier as that in the main camera and the dynamic range is also good. However, the subjects in the images do look softer and there is a lot of noise present. Since it has a wider aperture, it captures more subjects in the frame. 

At night, the ultrawide camera does a decent job with color reproduction but there is a lot of noise present. The dynamic range is above average but better than the 8MP ultrawide camera on the POCO X2. There is no dedicated Night Mode which is a big miss but still, the long exposure needs to be improved.

The third camera is a 2MP macro camera that can focus as close as 4cm and the details are just above average. The dynamic range is good but it is better to use the main camera for those close-up images. The colors do look a bit washed out and this camera is simply just for adding the numbers.

The 2MP depth sensor does a good job when it comes to portraits as the details are good and the subject separation from the background is good. The edge detection works really well and zooming into the portraits, the details are good and the color reproduction works well.

You can also adjust the background blur and the dynamic range is good. There is no telephoto camera but you can use the main camera as 2x zoom to get those images and the dynamic range is good on it. The Realme 6 Pro and the Redmi K20 are priced similarly and do provide a telephoto camera.

On the front, the POCO X3 gets the 20MP f/2.2 camera and misses out on the 2MP depth sensor found on the POCO X2. The selfies come out good and the dynamic range is good. The skin tones look natural when you turn off the beauty mode that gets enabled by default. 

The noise in the images is lesser and the contrast is good. However, there is some over sharpness in the selfies. The portraits from the front camera come out good but not as good as POCO X2 as you do miss out on the 2MP depth sensor. Still, it is good and but at night, it is above average.

In terms of videos, the POCO X3 can shoot 4K video at 30fps. The video footage comes out good and the EIS works perfectly well in bringing the stabilization. The dynamic range is good but the level of noise is clearly seen in the videos. 

Switching to 1080p at 30 or 60fps, the videos come out much better as the EIS kicks in, resulting in better dynamic range and the color reproduction is also good with a natural look in the background. 

Similarly, the 4K video from the ultrawide camera has above average details but switching to 1080p videos, the color reproduction is good but the dynamic range is not so good. There is Ultra Steady Mode for some stabilized videos and improves upon the noise also.

The front camera can shoot only 1080p videos at 30fps. The videos from the front camera come out well but still have some amount of noise. 

There are a couple of other camera and video modes like Pro, Night, 64MP mode, Vlog mode for vloggers, Hyper-Lapse, new night filters like Cyberpunk and Gold vibes, Front and Back, Long exposure, and AI watermark.  

Overall, the cameras feel slightly step above the camera on the POCO X2 and feels really good on the POCO X3.

POCO X3 Battery Life:

The POCO X3 also gets a larger 6000mAh battery which is 1500mAh more in capacity than the 4500mAh battery on the POCO X2. With normal usage, the smartphone easily lasted for two days continuously without charging and had some amount of battery left when the display was set to 60Hz.

Switching to the 120Hz display, the smartphone lasted well for one and half days with moderate to heavy usage and with heavy usage that includes playing heavy games like Call of Duty for 3-4 hours, watching Netflix, and scrolling webpages with the display set to 120Hz, the smartphone had 10-15 percent left in the tank.

With MIUI12, the optimizations to the battery have been improved and the standard screen on time recorded is 6-7 hours. There is a new Ultra Power Saving Mode that can turn the display black and white and reduces the notifications thus allowing some essential applications for usage.

However, to top up the smartphone, POCO has bundled a 33W fast charger inside the box which is slightly faster than the 27W fast charger on the POCO X2. The POCO X3 charges from 0 to 100 percent in 1hour and 30 minutes which is fast but slower than the Realme 7 Pro's 65W charging, but here you are charging a larger 6000mAh battery.

Overall with MIUI12 optimizations, a slightly larger battery, and support for fast charging, the POCO X3 is perfect for all the power users out there.

POCO X3 Audio Quality:

The POCO X3 gets a set of stereo speakers that includes the top earpiece and the loudspeaker vent at the bottom. The sound output is good and the levels of loudness are excellent. But at the highest volume settings, the sound does feel distorted, but still, the sound output is really good.

There is support for Dolby Atmos which enhances the sound output further. The POCO X3 has a 3.5mm headphone jack and the sound output through it is really good. The audio on the POCO X3 is really improved from the single speaker on the POCO X2.

Verdict:

Overall, the POCO X3 offers a lot and seems to be the right upgrade over the POCO X2 as it has a larger display that has 120Hz refresh rate, a newer design at the back, a slightly upgraded chipset that is the Snapdragon 732G, and has a massive 6000mAh battery with fast charging.

Now you get a better software experience with MIUI12 and the presence of POCO launcher on top means to provide an ad-free experience and the stereo speakers with a massive display make a good combination. 

However, you do miss some of the features like an AMOLED display, the back is made up of polycarbonate, and the software experience is not as good as RealmeUI or Stock Android. However, if you look past all these features and consider all the strong points, the POCO X3 is a perfect mid-ranger to consider.