Review POCO M3: More than you imagine, less than you expect
The company POCO wanted to take a completely independent path from Xiaomi and the latest smartphone presented under the wing of the Chinese technological giant is the POCO M3, an absolutely economical device, which during the launch phase has already gathered consensus in terms of sales, promising an unparalleled quality / price ratio. Those who bought it perhaps thought they had made the deal of the century, already savoring the sweet words that are often wasted on everything in reviews, or BEST BUY. We have tried it thoroughly and now we can tell you how this is going POCO M3 and whether it is worth betting on it in the entry level segment of the market.
The unboxing experience is quite satisfying and you immediately understand that probably the target audience of this phone is that of young people, proposing a sales package that stands out for a bright yellow color, as are the colors to which it is proposed. the smartphone, in fact a yellow, a blue and a classic black. Going beyond these statements, inside the sales box we find the following equipment:
- POCO M3;
- Plastic film pre-applied to the display;
- Wall power supply, with European socket and 10V - 2.25A / 22.5W max output;
- Type-C charging and data transfer cable;
- Pin for removing the SIM tray;
- Transparent soft TPU cover with reinforced edges and Type-C input protection cap;
- Quick guide and warranty manual;
SAR values: Head (0,597 W / Kg), Body (0,807 W / Kg - distance of 5 mm).
POCO M3 is an inexpensive smartphone and does nothing to hide identity by offering a one-piece shell, entirely made of double-processed polycarbonate. In fact, on the back we find a knurling that theoretically should guarantee an anti-fingerprint effect, but in reality these are still imprinted, while the profiles have a smooth and opaque processing. In any case, the grip is guaranteed even in single-handed use, counting on measures equal to 162,3 x 77,3 x 9,6 mm for a weight of 198 grams, this justified by the presence of a large 6000 battery. mAh, which supports fast charging at 18W.
I have already mentioned it and therefore I speak directly to you about autonomy, which is always guaranteed for more than one day. Personally, I managed to reach over 9 hours of active screen and still have a good percentage of battery available. This is definitely a plus for POCO M3 which could prove to be the best choice for all of those poco accustomed to using the smartphone, taking home whole days without having to recharge. Using the supplied power supply, the complete recharge takes place in about 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Returning to the rear, here we find a photographic module consisting of 3 optics and an LED flash, inserted in a plastic band, rather visible as is the brand logo while apparently the sensor for unlocking via fingerprints is absent, which in reality it was housed below the power button that we find on the right profile of the smartphone, below the volume rocker. A design note that does not hurt and that gives a premium look to the POCO M3, which vanishes, however, with the speed of unlocking which is not exactly the most lightning fast tested on smartphones in this price range. Moreover, with the use of the supplied cover, this creates a slight step that compromises the reliability of the fingerprint recognition.
On the left profile instead we find the SIM tray, which can accommodate 2 SIMs in nano format as well as a micro SD to expand the internal memory (maximum support 512 GB), without having to give up the functionality of the Dual SIM. As for connectivity, I was never able to hook up the 4G + signal but only the traditional LTE, with peak speeds that do not exceed 60 Mbps, more than satisfactory in any case in internet browsing, downloads and more.
On the upper frame awaits the second microphone for noise reduction in calls, the 3,5 mm jack for earphones, the IR transmitter in order to use POCO M3 as a remote control and two small holes that serve to let out the audio emitted by the speaker, the second to be precise as the main one we find it on the underside of the smartphone, in which there is also space for the main microphone and the Type input -C with OTG support but no video output.
Oh yeah, POCO M3 offers stereo sound through two separate speakers and overall the listening experience of TV series, videos and music in general was not disappointing, net of low frequencies not particularly present and a maximum listening volume not just generous.
Unfortunately, the company has not invested particularly in attention to detail and a plastic strip that separates the display from the back cover is clearly visible, which runs along the entire perimeter of the smartphone, but above all the plastic protective film on the display, pre applied by the company, it was positioned incorrectly, creating a bubble at the top as well as being decentralized with respect to the display, so much so that it almost risked covering the selfie camera.
Moving on to the front of the device, we find ourselves in the presence of a 6,53-inch screen of IPS nature and Full HD + resolution (2340 x 1080 pixels) in 19,5: 9 format, 395 ppi, which covers 90,34% screen-to-body ratio, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. POCO M3 makes use of the TÜV Rheinland certification against the blue light of the screen as well as the possibility at the software level to calibrate contrast and color temperature, but also to use the dark mode, reading mode, night and day mode, or in case of automatic brightness deactivated , the system will automatically adjust the brightness in the event of intense ambient light, for better viewing in this condition.
We are not talking about a display that amazes, but from the point of view of color rendering, I cannot complain, indeed considering the good work that the company has done on the frames, whose lower chin also appears rather contained, the immersion of vision is guaranteed and satisfying. Moreover, a small joy, but only half, is the certification of the Widevine L1 DRMs that will allow us to view HD content on streaming platforms, such as Netflix, but unfortunately this benefit has not been implemented on Amazon Prime Video.
In any case, the touch screen was always quite fluid, while in the upper frame we find the ear capsule and the proximity and brightness sensors, the latter result perhaps a bit too conservative, while below we have the presence of a notch a drop that incorporates the selfie camera. No notification LEDs therefore while at the level of system unlocking, in addition to the aforementioned fingerprint sensor, we can also use the camera for face recognition, which overall works very well even in low light conditions, albeit also in this case the speed of unlocking will not be one of the strong points of the phone.
The first smears of this POCO M3s begin when we enter the theme of performance, guaranteed (for better or for worse) by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 processor, octacore solution with Kryo 260 structure, maximum clock at 2.0 GHz and 11nm production process, which is flanked by the Adreno GPU. 610. The RAM uses the only available cut of 4 GB of the LPDDR4X type, the minimum syndicable now even on entry levels, while the storage in our case is 128 GB of the UFS 2.2 type. There is also the variant with 64 GB but in this case the memory will be of the UFS 2.1 type, although the speed differences are not noticed in the least, considering that overall the performances are almost sloth.
I defined this smartphone for sofa use, therefore not suitable for those who usually use the smartphone in a frenetic way, as the opening of applications is not at all reactive and poco quick. However, this must be said POCO M3 does not recognize any lag or jamming, so much so that we can also have a good gaming experience, with titles such as Call of Duty Mobile, Real Racing 3 etc ..
So do not expect a responsive and fluid smartphone, but you can instead count on an updated software, based on Android 10 with November 2011 patch, via MIUI 12.0.5 interface with further customization via POCO Launchers 2.0.
I do not go into this area, as we know the MIUI 12 interface practically by heart, considering as a positive aspect the fact that as far as POCO M3 differs from the top of the range of Xiaomi or Redmi, the system applications and functions are identical. I conclude by saying that the attention from the point of view of updates is particularly felt in the company, so much so that during my use I have already received two updates. As for connectivity, on the other hand, POCO M3 uses a dual band WiFi module, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS with connection of Galileo satellites and FM radio, which never hurts, although the presence of the NFC sensor would have really made a difference.
Another aspect that disappoints is the photographic sector and its performance also in the video field. We are talking about 3 optics on the rear, of which the main one with a 48 MP sensor (Samsung S5KGM1ST sensor) with f / 1.79 aperture that uses Pixel Binning 4 in 1 and equipped with autofocus, while the other two sensors both have a resolution of 2 MP and f / 2.4 aperture, performing macro photography function (HI259 sensor) and depth of field calculation (OmniVision OV02B1B sensor).
Videos can be shot at a maximum resolution of 1080p 30fps, but the absence of any form of stabilization, both optical and digital, is particularly noticeable, considering a remarkably shaky result. Even for photos, for a good yield, you need to have a fairly steady hand, but overall it is precisely the color management that is not convincing. In low light, we have a strong digital noise cast with colors mixed together but even in the daytime things don't improve significantly.
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To be clear, it seems to have returned to what Xiaomi offered a few years ago. Unfortunately, an ultrawide lens is missing, which would have at least offered a sop, but I must instead promote the bokeh effect, much better than many other smartphones in circulation. Therefore they do not save from insufficient or barely sufficient results, the presence of a night mode and automatic HDR.
The same considerations must be made for the selfie camera, an 8 MP unit (OmniVision OV8856 sensor) with opening f / 2.05, which cannot go beyond the shots that can be shared on social media, but forget to post night self-portraits, as it will not be needed the virtual LED flash of the screen to nothing.
PROJECTED IMPACT
POCO M3 at its launch also reached prices of poco above 100 euros, while at the moment it seems that there are few stocks available for the product, which therefore make the official list price rise or rather propose to other stores, which is around 150 euros for the 64 GB variant and 170 euros for the 128 GB one. Given that the expandable memory without giving up the Dual SIM is a feature to be taken into consideration, the most focused version for the purchase is perhaps the 64 GB one, even if at the current price it becomes difficult to recommend with eyes closed, also because a few euros more you can take home the same POCO X3 NFC. Overall we are talking about an entry level smartphone that offers almost infinite autonomy, Widevine L1 support, stereo speakers, Dual SIM and micro SD at the same time that if taken at the right price it really has no rivals. POCO M3 does not offer that "poco"Provided you find it at the right price.
