Xiaomi Poco M3

Xiaomi produces a lot of variety for the affordable smartphone segment, Poco is one of their lines that also caters to this segment. The Xiaomi Poco M3 is a retro-looking smartphone due to its colours, with a bare design and a few different colour options.

Poco M3 Internals and OS

This smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm SM6115 Snapdragon 662, an octa-core processor that has 4 cores at 2.0GHz and another 4 at 1.8GHz. The graphics processor integrated along with this is the Adreno 610 and there is 4GB of RAM. All this combined gives it ample performance power for mid-level operations. There is 128GB of built-in storage that can be extended via a microSDXC card slot.

Another reason this device performs well is due to the Android 10 base layer and a new variant of the Xiaomi user interface, MIUI 12. MIUI 12 has a new control deck for quick access to settings that one can change easily with toggles. It has way better animations than the last iteration, as well as app drawers. One can also engage the Focus Mode so they use their smartphone lesser and there is a dark mode too for lesser eye strain. Aside from this the file management system that was already really good has been improved even more and there is also Mi Share a super-easy file-sharing system.

Android 10 features Machine Learning, this enables it to learn the user's usage patterns over the initial few weeks and then optimise the smartphone based on it. Over time this makes for better management of resources.

Display and Camera

For interfacing, there is a 6.53-inch display that is based on IPS LCD technology. It has 16M colours represented and has a resolution of 1080x2340pixels, meaning it is a FullHD screen. The pixel density comes to 395pixels per inch which is pretty decent for a smartphone in this class. To keep all this safe from the front the Poco M3 has Gorilla Glass 3.

One of the main uses of this crisp display is the camera system. For the price, it is a good setup, with the primary sensor at 48MP that is combined with a lens of f/1.8. Aiding this is a 2MP depth sensor that has a lens of f/2.4 and another similar mix for macro shooting. Combined with the app this allows one to shoot multiple modes such as panorama, HDR and more. This camera module can shoot video at 1080p that has a frame rate of 30fps.

On the front, there is the selfie camera that has a resolution of 8MP that works with an f/2.1 lens. This shoots a bit wide so one can get a group selfie with some ease as well.

Connectivity, Sensors and the Rest

The Xiaomi Poco M3 has wireless abilities based on WiFi, Bluetooth, Data, FM Radio and DualSIM. With GPS and infrared as well. Physical connectivity is managed via a USB Type-C 2.0 and an audio jack for headphones. The USB port also features USB on-the-go, meaning it can be used to connect to smaller USB devices for reading in the absence of a computer.

For functional feedback that runs the various smartphone apps, there are sensors built into this device. The sensors include an accelerometer, compass and a proximity sensor. There is even a fingerprint sensor that is mounted onto the side of the device.

Energy is supplied by the 6000mAh battery, which is a very large capacity for a smartphone that has this level of specs. This battery is based on the Li-Polymer cell technology which can be packed into a thinner form meaning the smartphone's overall form factor is slimmer too. Given there is a reverse charging option, this size of a battery could also be helpful to charge a friend's dying smartphone or other portable devices.

Comments

The Poco range delivers for people who do not want to burn through their money or have a smaller budget to start with. This smartphone has more than ample specs for a mid-range user. It may not be great for gaming or other such processing heavy tasks but is good for a regular content creator.

The price of the Xiaomi Poco M3 is in the lower end of the mid-range, making it accessible to a lot more people. One can choose this device in either blue, yellow or standard black.