Poco M5 Review
thesixthaxis.comPoco has made a name for itself in the sub-£200 budget mobile market. Handset prices have come down as quality parts get cheaper and easier to make, as shown beautifully by Poco’s range of mid-range phones. So, how does the M5 stack up against its competition in this market space?
While we’re not really comparing the Poco M5 to Apple or Samsung’s latest and greatest, the M5 does look like the budget phone that it is. The plastic, leather-effect back isn’t quite to my taste and the raised edges feel similarly cheap. The plastic case it comes with is an off-clear colour that probably would have looked better had it looked less milky.
When I reviewed the Poco X3 Pro, I noted that its included case had a flap that cover the charge port that, while preventing dust getting in, was a little too finicky and made charging a pit of a pain. Well, be careful what you wish for, because Poco went the other way on this model and the flap refuses to stay shut. Were it not a review model, I’d have cut the flap off because it has been driving me up the wall!
While we’re talking about looks, we may as well address the biggest issue that the phone has: its max brightness leaving a lot to be desired.
The Poco M5 comes with a 6.58” IPS LCD display, which runs at a meagre 500 nits. While that’s blindingly bright when in a dark room, it’s not particularly bright for a modern phone and it struggles in light outdoor environments. As a heavy Pokémon Go player, this is a major disappointment — games you need to play outside aren’t great when you can’t see what you’re trying to catch!
It’s also worth noting that you’re looking at performance of around 45fps and a 90Hz refresh rate in most other mobile games. While this isn’t the greatest performance in
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