Content
- Video review
- Specifications
- Appearance and equipment
- Software
- cameras
- Performance and Benchmarks
- conclusions
POCO F4 GT is a rebranding of Xiaomi Redmi K50 Gaming Edition ( announcement ) and the second smartphone based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen1 chipset in Russian retail after Motorola Edge 30 Pro ( video review ). Judging by the characteristics, an excellent game phone with physical triggers and a whole lot of nice features. Did any nuances lurk? Read on!
Video review
Specifications
 |
Specifications Poco F4 GT |
|---|---|
| Net | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
| Firmware | MIUI 13 for POCO based on Android 12 |
| Screen | 6.67″, 2400 × 1080 pixels, AMOLED DotDisplay, 120Hz, 480Hz touch, 800nits(typ.), 1920Hz PWM, DCI-P3, HDR10+, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen1 (4nm) GPU: Adreno 730 |
| RAM | 8/12 GB (+3 due to ROM) LPDDR5 |
| ROM | 128/256 GB UVS 3.1 |
| SIM and memory card | 2 x nanoSIM |
| Camera | Primary: Sony IMX686, 64 (→ 16) MP, 1/1.73″, 0.8 (->1.6) µm, f/1.9, PDAF, 4K@60fps Wide angle: 8MP, OmniVision OV8856, f/2.2, 120°, FF, 1080p@30fps Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4, FF |
| Selfie | Sony IMX596, 20MP, f/2.4, FF, 1080p@60fps |
| Battery | 4700 mAh (2350 mAh × 2) |
| Charger | USB-C 120W HyperCharge |
| Wireless interfaces | Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax(6), 2.4/5/6 GHz Bluetooth 5.2 GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, GALILEO IR port |
| NFC | There is |
| Biometrics | Fingerprint scanner in the power button face unlock |
| Sound | Stereo, four speakers |
| Waterproof | Not declared |
| Dimensions and weight | 162.5×76.7×8.5mm 210 g |
Appearance and equipment
The POCO F4 GT comes with a 120W power adapter, a USB-C L-shaped cable, a protective case, a USB-C to 3.5mm headphone adapter, documentation, and a SIM eject needle. The set, frankly, is rich. It is especially pleasant to see this in times of fashion for eco -friendly equipment.
The smartphone is presented in three colors with characteristic names: “Black Ninja”, “Silver Knight” and “Cyber Yellow”. Of course, the branded yellow version looks the most striking and unusual. In all cases, the back is made of frosted glass, which successfully hides prints. The ergonomics of the 210-gram device turned out to be quite good, but it is still worth bearing in mind that this is a rather massive device.
From the interfaces that are spread on the surface of the device, I will note the following points:
- The SIM tray holds two nanoSIM cards. There is no space for memory cards.
- The fingerprint sensor is combined with the power button at the end. Works accurately and smartly.
- Two speakers on each side are responsible for the sound (low frequency + high frequency). They sound good, but are not identical. But the location is excellent: with a horizontal grip, the sound output holes do not overlap.
- Infrared port allows you to control home appliances.
- There are already three microphones on the surface. What for? Officially – so as not to block them during an active gaming session. In fact, a smartphone writes excellent sound when shooting a video (for example, a video from a concert ).
- The photo block has a built-in light indication of charging and missed calls.
The most interesting thing in the end – triggers! At the end of the POCO F4 GT, two physical buttons are mounted, a la “bumpers” on gamepads. Next to the buttons, there are peculiar hecks that allow you to hide the triggers in case of uselessness.
Outside of games, you can assign a number of actions to the buttons from the proposed ones (in the screenshot). In games, on each of the triggers, a display area is set, pressing which is simulated when the trigger is pressed. This works especially well in various action games like COD Mobile and Diablo Immortal, as well as when playing on PSP emulators, etc.
The gaming device got an excellent display. Large 6.67″ 2400 x 1080 dot AMOLED DotDisplay, 120Hz fast refresh rate, 800nit high brightness, and responsive 480Hz touch layer.
Often, AMOLED matrices have significant PWM at low brightness, which can be quite straining on the eyes. However, in the case of POCO F4 GT, the flicker frequency is as much as 1920 Hz, which is why PWM is unlikely to bother anyone.
PWM
Display settings
Software
The smartphone runs on Android 12 in a proprietary MIUI 13 shell for POCO. The hardware has enough power for smooth operation of the device at 120 Hz and a quick response to pressing. I propose to evaluate the aesthetics of the system design by screenshots.
MIUI 13 skin for POCO
cameras
The smartphone does not try to be a camera phone, but provides a good set of sensors: the main Sony IMX686 64 (→ 16) MP with phase detection autofocus, the wide-angle OmniVision OV8856 at 8 MP, the Sony IMX596 selfie at 20 MP and macro at 2 MP. The latter, of course, is more of a gag for quantity than a camera, but oh well.
The main camera allows you to get even “tinted”, but nice shots with good detail and blur. However, there are enough nuances. The smartphone tends to overestimate the exposure, the use of HDR in dynamic scenes sometimes leads to artifacts, the color balance is changeable, and the focus floats back and forth with a lack of light, which makes it not always easy to take a good shot. The nature of the photos on the wide-angle and selfie cameras is similar to the results of the main module, except that their detail is noticeably lower.
Main camera
Main camera: zoom
Base camera: standard and portrait modes
Main camera: 60MP vs. 16MP detail difference
Main and wide-angle cameras
Main and wide-angle cameras: standard and night modes
Selfie camera: standard and portrait modes
Video recording is limited to 4K@60fps for the main camera and 1080@30fps for the front and wide angle. Of the pluses, I note a quick focus, good stabilization and excellent sound recording quality (that’s where three microphones came in handy). As a weighty fly in the ointment, the inability to switch between cameras during shooting and the software limitation of shooting time in 4K format (both 30 and 60fps) are eight minutes. Typically, such restrictions are introduced as protection against overheating, but the smartphone does not have time to warm up during this time: after the auto-completion of the video, you can immediately start writing the next one. Why all these difficulties? Dont clear.
Camera app
Performance and Benchmarks
The POCO F4 GT is powered by the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen1 chipset with the Adreno 730 graphics core. Data processing is based on 128/256 GB of permanent memory in UFS 3.1 format and 8/12 GB (+3 GB can be added programmatically due to ROM) LPDDR5 RAM .
To obtain the most stable behavior of the device under high loads, you should, firstly, update the firmware to the current one (comparison of different firmware in our video review ). Secondly, select the “Productive” mode in the battery settings. Thirdly, add (if not added itself) the application to the game launcher. Fourth, during the game, make sure that the “Productive” mode is selected in the launcher. The latter not only affects performance, but also unlocks the 480 Hz touch layer frequency (the rest of the time it works at a lower frequency).
Although even in this scenario, I happened to observe overheating when passing the 3DMark Wild Life graphics stress test. As for the usual throttling test, the device loses almost half of its peak power in it. In turn, in the AnTuTu test, the smartphone knocked out as much as ~ 959 thousand points, but overheated when restarted.
Throttling test*
*Screenshot order:
- Standard mode.
- Productive (battery).
- Productive (battery) + game launcher (balance).
- Productive (battery) + game launcher (performance).
AnTuTu
In games, we also happened to observe not the most adequate behavior. Firstly, when writing this material, the results in some places differed from what we got during the video review shooting (on the same firmware 13.0.3 RU). In my case, COD Mobile ran flawlessly at 55-60fps during a 30 minute gaming session. In the video review – at 45 fps. Tacticool after warming up gave out 45-60 fps at maximum graphics settings.
It would seem that this is a critical blow for a gaming device, but here’s the thing: in recently released projects, such a disaster is not observed. At maximum graphics settings, APEX Mobile produced a stable 60fps, and Genshin Impact – 35-45 fps without friezes (you can evaluate the gameplay in dynamics in our video review – link with timecode ). Apparently, we are watching the next series of the show “Then they will finish it!”. I don’t know, though, who is POCO, game developers (perhaps not all projects have learned to work with a fresh chipset), or maybe all at once.
If we talk about the gameplay in general, with the exception of some (described above) problems, playing on POCO F4 GT is not only possible, but you can enjoy it. In addition to excellent sound, comfortable dimensions and a high-quality display, the gameplay is greatly brightened up by the bumpers mentioned above. Running in the same Diablo Immortal with an attack hung on the trigger is many times more comfortable than in the standard version. The thumb is used only for skills, which makes it much less tiring.
Autonomous operation of POCO F4 GT is provided by a 4700 mAh battery. With a complete 120 W adapter, it charges from 0% to 100% in 20 minutes in idle mode. That’s really fast charging! To achieve this speed, you need to activate the “Fast charging” option in the settings (disabled by default).
Talking about the operating time in the case of a gaming device is not the most rewarding thing. Let me just say that in 60 minutes of YouTube (Wi-Fi, 100% brightness, 1080p) it took 9% of the charge, and in 30 minutes of COD Mobile (Wi-Fi, 100% brightness, maximum graphics) – 8%. I also note the L-shaped plug of the charging cable.
conclusions
The POCO F4 GT offers an excellent display, solid stereo sound and vibration feedback, moderate photo capabilities, good sound-to-video recording quality, frantically fast charging, flagship hardware, and physical triggers. The latter take some of the load off the thumbs and perform well in shooters, various action games and when playing on emulators.
Of the nuances, it is worth paying attention to the limitation of the duration of video recording in 4K and not the most stable performance in individual game projects. The latter, I would like to believe, will be promptly corrected (whether) in subsequent updates.
© Dmitry Pivnev. mobile phone
