We had been waiting for it for a long time and it finally arrived. After having experienced the success that was the POCOPHONE F1 firsthand, I expected great things for the second generation. And so it has been, or at least in large part because. Let me tell you what my experience has been trying the new LITTLE F2 Pro in the last weeks.
Polishing the details, this one will catch you by the design
Almost two years have passed since the release of the first smartphone of this brand that is under the umbrella of Xiaomi. A phone that promised to be the "new Oneplus" giving brutal features for a low price. What was your main problem? Well, really, it wasn't pretty.
However, in this second version Xiaomi has put the batteries and, finally, everything has changed. Not only do we find a phone with an all-screen front, with reduced frames and a measured thickness. It also has a back with personality and a very attractive design, with that circular shaped module that houses the four cameras and LED flash on the bottom. Also, this one is totally body-centric and therefore won't make the phone "dance" on the table like most competitors with vertical camera modules do.
It also has details like the periscope camera (hence it has a clean front) or a power button with that red color so that we can easily identify it. These features mean that, compared to the POCOPHONE F1, the design is no longer a point against it. But, of course, not everything is perfect and, after these weeks, there are three not so positive details that I have to tell you about:
- El rear finishAs you can imagine, it is a true fingerprint magnet. They are so easily marked that it is practically impossible to keep it clean.
- If you were looking for a small phoneAlthough now I will give you more details about this aspect, I can tell you that it will not be your best option.
- Nor is it a light phone. We are talking about 219 g, almost 20g more than the average.
In short, a set of design improvements that, although it has its small points against it, make this POCO F2 Pro an elegant and beautiful smartphone.
A satisfying multimedia experience, but could have been better
As for the multimedia experience, this smartphone will perform well in virtually any situation. Both the screen and its speakers allow us to enjoy series, movies and games with good quality. But once again, there are details where it could have been better.
It is true that this time we no longer have the problem that other Xiaomi phones had when consuming content from streaming platforms, that is, that uncomfortable drop in resolution. In case you are interested in the data, this time we have a panel of 6,67″ Full HD+. Would a higher resolution screen have been nice? Of course, but it's nothing dramatic. As I was saying, everything looks very good on her and, being a Super AMOLED, we can enjoy good colors, deep blacks and a very correct brightness.
Although, if really done something wrong on this screen, that is the rate of 90 Hz refresh rate. In the middle of 2020, where even some lower-end smartphones are including this feature, I expected no less from the second generation of POCOPHONE. Although we will see it in greater detail now, it is a smartphone with great gross power and the lack of this refresh rate means that the gaming experience is not perfect.
The king of "you can't ask for more for less"
Although I have put some fault with this POCOPHONE F2 Pro in other aspects, in the performance section I can tell you that I can't blame it for anything.
It includes the latest of the latest in hardware, with the best snapdragon processor which also gives it compatibility with 5G networks. It has a good relationship in terms of memory, with its 6 or 8 GB of RAM and its two capacities for storage, 128 or 256 GB.
Arrives with MIUI 11 that runs on the latest version of android. It also has the POCO launcher, a launcher that makes everything go very smoothly although, as in the rest of phones with MIUI, it includes several pre-installed applications and a good assortment of menus and settings.
With all these features, we cannot expect anything but excellent performance and it has been. In these weeks of testing, the F2 PRO has been able to handle everything: both simple tasks and long gaming sessions that, together with the cooling system, mean that it doesn't even mess up. It is true that, as I mentioned before, this experience would have been close to perfection with a higher refresh rate on the screen, but it is still quite good.
Although, if this lack of hertz has something positive, it is its effect on autonomy. This phone has a battery of 4.700 mAh that, despite those long days of games, we will be able to reach the end of the day without problems. What's more, in "normal" days of use I have reached almost the end of the second day without having to go through the charger. A connector that, by the way, has 33W fast charge (although this smartphone only reaches 30 W) with which we can charge the device in approximately one hour.
In the section of the biometrics, this one has the pack full of On-screen fingerprint reader and facial recognition. Both work quite well in any situation, but it is true that having to deploy the periscope camera to perform recognition is somewhat tedious. So, despite the correct functioning of both, I have ended up using the fingerprint 90% of the time.
Finally, and before moving on to the cameras, you should know that this device has two small, more or less important details (it depends on the type of user you are):
- Available chip NFC, so you can make payments without problems.
- If you are an audiophile, you are in luck, because it has 3.5 mm jack to connect your wired headphones.
A camera to get to the smallest detail
We come to what is perhaps the most important section for many users, which, of course, is the photographic one. If you like technical data, I can tell you that this POCO F2 Pro has 5 cameras:
- Un main sensor 64 mp, with f/1.9 aperture.
- An wide angle lens 13 mp, with f/2.4 aperture and a viewing angle of 123º.
- Un macro lens 2 mp and f/2.2 aperture, which allows us to get up to 3 cm closer to the element we want to capture.
- Un depth sensor 2 mp and aperture f / 2.4.
- An selfie camera (in that retractable module) of 20 mp and aperture f / 2.2.
These are your 5 cameras. Are you missing something? Yes, I have noticed it too. A telephoto sensor would have come in handy for this smartphone to have one of the camera sets (at least in specifications) on the market. Virtually all manufacturers provide the angular + telephoto duo to all their smartphones and, despite the fact that we will have the option of doing it digitally, it is a detail that plays against this second generation of the POCOPHONE.
Still, not everything is going to be that lens that we don't have. How does he behave on a day-to-day basis? Well, the truth is that it performs well in any situation. During the day we can get good pictures with all lenses. It is true that sometimes it is a bit oversaturated, although it is usually due to the use of artificial intelligence. We also found some edge aberrations when using the wide angle, but nothing terribly noticeable.
But, the lens that has surprised me the most in this set is, without a doubt, the macro sensor. It is true that it is a type of photo that is not used much, but I would dare to say that it is the best I have tried on a smartphone so far. The photos look incredibly good and some are very spectacular. Of course, taking a macro photo is not a "point and shoot" and we have to stop a bit to get the capture right, since it is easy for it to be out of focus if we move.
Then when the light falls, this POCO F2 Pro holds up well, leaving some photos that, despite not being the best, are quite realistic and comply despite the bad lighting conditions.
As for the video, we can record up to 8K resolution although, I can already tell you that if you don't have a tripod, it won't do you much good. One of the most spectacular details of the previous generation was the video stabilization, which made it seem as if we were carrying a gimbal. In this case, despite the fact that the video looks very good and that, when we record in 4K we can activate the "super stabilization", there is a sway when walking that I do not like. We can also record video at 960fps and use the macro mode to record video pretty close to any object.
Price is everything for this POCO F2 Pro
Before giving you my final conclusion, it is necessary that I mention the economic section. The POCO F2 Pro is available in two different models:
- 6GB RAM and 128GB of storage, for a price of 529 Euros (499 euros from Amazon).
- 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage, for a price of 599 Euros.
In short, this POCO F2 Pro is a smartphone that has surprised me again as its predecessor did. It is true that this model has risen in price in relation to what the previous model offered, but it is still an option to take into account.
Your decision should lean towards yes or no based on two factors:
- Do you want a smartphone that is the potential king? Go ahead, this is one of your best options at a reasonable price.
- Do you care a lot about the photographic section? Perhaps you should think of another alternative like Xiaomi's own M10 Lite that, after seeing its results, you will be able to see that it takes better captures.
I hope you liked this review and that it will help you make the right decision to purchase, or not, this smartphone. If you have any questions about it, feel free to leave a comment and I will try to resolve it as soon as possible.