We tested POCO M8 Pro 5G: These are the reasons to buy it

The mid-range smartphone segment has changed beyond recognition in recent years. Phones costing seven to eight thousand today offer features that would have been sufficient for a flagship a few years ago. POCO M8 Pro 5G is precisely such a case – on paper, it looks almost suspiciously good. But how did it perform in practice?

Finally, a phone that lasts

The first thing that stands out about the POCO M8 Pro is its IP68 resistance. In the price category around seven thousand crowns, this is definitely not standard. The phone will safely survive rain, accidental spills, or a fall into a puddle. The construction combines a plastic back with an aluminum frame, and the front is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

At a weight of 207 grams, it’s no lightweight, but the weight distribution is pleasant, and the phone sits stably in hand. The matte finish on the back also doesn’t pick up fingerprints as aggressively as glossy competitor variants – at least for the black color we tested.

A display you can’t miss

POCO opted for a 6.83-inch AMOLED panel with 1.5K resolution and a 120 Hz refresh rate. At first glance, nothing revolutionary, but when you look at the details, you’ll understand that this is one of the best panels in its class. A maximum brightness of 3200 nits means that content remains readable even in direct sunlight without squinting.

Support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+ is also a welcome feature, ensuring streaming services look exactly as they should. Widevine L1 certification guarantees playback in the highest quality on Netflix and other platforms. For more sensitive users, there’s also 3840 Hz PWM dimming, which reduces eye strain during long viewing sessions.

Snapdragon 7s Gen 4: performance with reason

At the heart of the phone is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4, manufactured using a 4nm process. It’s not a flagship chip, but for everyday use, it offers more than enough headroom. Applications launch quickly, multitasking works smoothly, and the system responds fluidly.

Mobile gamers will also find what they’re looking for here – Call of Duty: Mobile runs on high settings, and PUBG or Mobile Legends also run without issues. For more demanding titles like Genshin Impact, you’ll need to opt for medium details, which is consistent with the price category.

Battery from another world

This is where the POCO M8 Pro truly excels. The 6500 mAh capacity is among the largest on the market, and in practice, it means easily one and a half days of intensive use. With lighter usage, you can even get two days without a charger.

And when it’s time to recharge? 100W charging can get the phone from zero to 100% in approximately an hour, with 40% in the tank after just 15 minutes.

Camera: the main sensor carries the load

The camera setup is built around a 50Mpx main sensor with an f/1.6 aperture and optical image stabilization. Daytime shots are sharp, with pleasant colors and good dynamic range. Surprisingly, the phone performs quite well in low light conditions too – OIS genuinely helps.

The 2x zoom works thanks to a crop from the main sensor, and the results are usable for social media and general documentation. The 8Mpx ultrawide lens is more of a filler – it’s suitable for landscapes in good light, but it lags behind the main camera in quality. The 32 Mpx selfie camera holds its own for video calls and quick self-portraits.

HyperOS 2: it works, but…

The phone runs on Android 15 with the HyperOS 2 overlay. The system is swift, animations are fluid, and basic controls are intuitive. POCO promises four years of major updates and six years of security patches, which is a good value for a mid-range device.

The catch? Xiaomi still hasn’t figured out how to elegantly handle pre-installed apps. Notifications from Get Apps or Mi Browser can be annoying until you manually disable them. It’s nothing that can’t be resolved, but for an eight-thousand-crown phone, one would expect a cleaner out-of-the-box experience.

What about the competition? Especially its own

Paradoxically, the biggest rival to the POCO M8 Pro is not Samsung or Motorola, but its stablemate POCO F7. It offers a significantly more powerful Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, a better aperture for the main camera (f/1.5), and currently costs 8,190 CZK for the 12/512 GB version – which is less than the higher variant of the M8 Pro.

In favor of the M8 Pro is the fact that it was introduced a year later. This means it will receive one year longer software support. The older F7 also has a completely flat display, which has been returning to phones of all price categories in recent years, but if you prefer a slightly curved panel, you will automatically prefer the newer POCO M8 Pro 5G.

Who is the POCO M8 Pro for?

The POCO M8 Pro 5G targets users who want maximum features for a reasonable price. A large and high-quality display, excellent battery life, fast charging with an adapter included in the package, and IP68 resistance – all of this for the current price of 7,300 CZK (8/256 GB version) represents a strong offer.

If you’re looking for a phone for the next three years and don’t want to spend on flagships, this is one of the most sensible choices. Compromises exist – the ultrawide camera could be better, and HyperOS requires some tweaking – but the overall package for the price actually looks quite good.

Are you interested in the POCO M8 Pro, or would you rather opt for the more powerful F7?