POCO F4 GT - Even at full price… worth every penny
The company POCO famous for having brought the flagship killer to the market at the time POCOPHONE F1, a smartphone that based its essence on latest generation hardware, leaving out frills that would only have raised the final price but would not have benefited the user experience. Years later, that philosophy is overturned, proposing a top of the range in all respects, both in hardware and in design and materials, thus raising the bar while maintaining the excellent value for money. So let's discover the new together POCO F4 GT, the western rebrand of the Redmi k50 Gaming Edition.
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Packaging
The packaging of this smartphone incorporates the typical colors of the brand, a bright yellow and a black, offering a very rich endowment. Inside, in fact, we find a silicone cover, a welcome gift considering the particular profile of the device. Then we find the pin for removing the SIM tray, manuals, a 120W power supply, USB / USB Type-C charging and data transfer cable with L-shaped coupling and finally a 3,5mm to USB-C adapter, a sign that the device does not have the headphone jack.
Construction and Ergonomics
POCO F4 GT is definitely not the most ergonomic smartphone on the market, with dimensions of 76,7 x 162,5 mm with a thickness of 8,5 mm and a weight of 210 grams. Overall a smartphone less thick than expected but nonetheless poco easy to handle, net of a square profile, which on the whole does not appear to be a defect, in consideration of the fact that the terminal was born mainly as a gaming phone and therefore with two-handed use.
However, materials well studied and assembled for this POCO F4 GT where laterally it offers us, on the left, the volume rocker and the SIM tray, which can accommodate 2 SIMs in nano format with support for 5G networks but without the possibility of expanding the memory with micro SD, as well as a third microphone to be exploited in landscape mode (typical of when playing), while on the right side we have two buttons that unlock the two magnetic pop-up triggers, which can be customized with the recall of some functions as well as reproducing specific commands during the game, but we also find the power button with integrated biometric sensor for unlocking the device by means of fingerprints.
The reactivity and reliability of this is excellent and in a certain sense preferable as a choice of the brand, which could have inserted it under the display, but in this way uniformity is left without smudging precisely to the reproduction of multimedia content. Moving on to the upper profile, we find ourselves in front of the microphone for the reduction of hiss on call, IR transmitter and one of the two stereo speakers (in reality the company declares 4).
The second speaker is in fact found in the lower profile, accompanied by the main microphone and Type-C port for charging with OTG support. All in all POCO F4 GT is an elegant and discreet smartphone despite the gaming soul, equipping itself with a back cover with valuable elements, such as the LED flash set in a form of lightning and a rectangular photographic module in which RGB LEDs have been inserted, who are entrusted with the task of notification for some situations (call, recharge etc ..) but above all for the transformation from elegant to tamarro in the gaming field of the device.
Hardware
With POCO F4 GT is on the safe side in hardware, relying on the powerful SoC Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, octa-core solution clocked at 3.0 GHz and production process at 4nm, Adreno 730 GPU and 8 or 12 GB of LPDDR5 RAM. The internal memory is a very fast UFS 3.1 whose cuts, coupled to the RAM, are respectively 128 and 256 GB, not expandable. If desired, there is also virtual RAM which adds an additional 3 GB.
With this combination of hardware, the daily user experience is guaranteed, with apps that open and close in a few seconds and in the gaming field, the behavior of the terminal is comparable to that of a latest generation portable console. Power at the highest levels which, however, fails to keep temperatures at bay, despite POCO F4 GT boasts a latest generation cooling technology, but luckily I have never suffered thermal throttling phenomena.
To enhance the overall great experience, we also have an excellent WiFi 6 module, Bluetooth 5.2, Dual Channel GPS and NFC sensor for mobile payments. The stereo audio offered by the two speakers is then impeccable, well balanced in the tones and with a good dose of bass without causing croaking at maximum listening volumes, which are also quite generous. Even in calls, the audio was always crystal clear and clear, even from the ear capsule and then, the proximity and brightness sensors on this POCO F4 GT works very well. Even the navigation and speed of this activity turned out to be at the top of expectations. Finally, as a further positive note, it is worth mentioning the haptic feedback with the vibration motor, whose experience is at the highest levels. Absent instead the FM radio and certification for waterproofing.
Camera
Generally, especially in gaming phones, photographic and video rendering is overshadowed, but this is not the case. On POCO F4 GT we find a main camera with a 64 MP sensor, f / 1,9, the Sony IMX686 which is flanked by an 8 megapixel ƒ / 2.2 wide-angle camera and a 2 megapixel macro camera. The selfie camera, set in a central punch hole, is entrusted to the Sony IMX569 sensor with 20 MP resolution.
So I thought I would get enough shots, but in reality I was pleasantly surprised, with photographic and video performance of the highest level, so much so that videos can be recorded up to 4K at 60 fps, counting on excellent stabilization. I would have expected something more from photos taken in low light conditions, where you need to have a good steady hand, but as an overall judgment, I have always recognized good sharpness and color balance. In short POCO F4 GT is not a camera phone but offers an edge over many competitors in the same price range.
Display
One of the strengths of the tech beast of POCO the display is a 6,67-inch diagonal panel with FullHD + resolution (1080 x 2400 pixels), AMOLED technology and aspect ratio in 20: 9. The top specs do not end there, as we have a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz and touch sampling at 480 Hz. The display supports HDR10 and guarantees full compatibility with the DCI-P3 space. The external protective glass is of the Gorilla Glass Victus type, protecting the smartphone from scratches and small accidental bumps, but above all you can use it even in full sunlight, thanks to the excellent visibility. Of course, we also have the Always On Display and many other graphics customization through software, as well as full support for Widevine L1 DRMs on every streaming platform.
Vibrant colors and true to reality, make the POCO F4 GT perfect for gaming but also for watching content on demand. A truly unique travel companion, so much so that the well-known Display Mate magazine has assigned to the panel of the POCO F4 GT an A + rating.
Software
This smartphone arrives on the market accompanied by the MIUI 13 graphic interface, customized by POCO Launcher, all based on Android 12 and February 2022 security patch. Overall, the software does not differ much from what is seen on Xiaomi / Redmi terminals, if not for some specific optimization for the game. As mentioned before, in fact, the physical magnetic popup keys can be programmed in the various games to have specific functions and replace touch commands, simplifying and maximizing your performance. To summarize the situation, I found a general fluidity and above all the absence of lag / bugs, in short, a good optimization of the resources available by the Chinese brand.
Autonomy
POCO F4 GT is equipped with a 4700 mAh battery which guarantees autonomy that allows you to get to the end of the day without particular efforts, unless you use gaming a lot, in which case you will probably have to give your smartphone a recharge. But the super phone of POCO, is equipped with the fast charging support of 120W, a real record in the mobile sector, obtaining a full energy from 0 to 100% in just 17 minutes, the time of a shower and a coffee.
On offer on Amazon
Conclusions
POCO The F4 GT is sold in Italy for 599 euros, referring to the 8/128 variant, while it rises to 699 euros for the 12/256 GB "pumped" one. These are the official prices, even if we have seen more than greedy cuts in recent days, indeed to be honest at the moment the 12/256 variant you can take home from the Goboo store at a price of 489 euros with free shipping from Spain.
At this price, you win a technological diamond, practically perfect in every area of use. A smartphone that offers a lot at the right price, indeed almost a gift. Concreteness, power and absence of disappointments are characteristics that we do not often find on smartphones and therefore POCO F4 GT is a solution to be seriously considered, even if you are not a gamer.
