Poco X3 Pro long-term review

Conclusion

Let's just say it outright: in its price range, the Poco X3 Pro is the best performing phone there is. So from that point of view, of offering the most performance bang for your buck, Poco has done it again, and it's definitely got another winner on its hands.

However, things aren't quite that simple. The X3 Pro's camera performance is middling, and if you have an X3 Pro-like budget but the camera image quality is of the utmost importance to you, then you'll be much better served by the Redmi Note 10 Pro, while sacrificing some performance and smoothness in the process. Then again, that phone also has a better screen than the X3 Pro, so in the end, it's all about how much you personally value each individual feature.

If you can shell out a tad bit more cash and find it in one of many revolving promos, the Poco F3 will give you even better performance - to a level that was flagship only last year, thanks to the Snapdragon 870 SoC, which can still hold its own even today when compared to the Snapdragon 888 - and the 870 has none of its newer sibling's overheating/throttling issues either.

The Poco X3 Pro is a mid-range phone all-round, with one standout feature - the chipset, and thus, the performance. As the Snapdragon 860 was a flagship back in its day, it was designed to eke out the most it could get out of its transistors, and this shows. You can feel the performance delta between the X3 Pro and the X3 NFC in day-to-day use, and it's not one of those very subtle things either - it is quite a noticeable difference.

Otherwise, the phone has decent innards that don't stand out as much - although the mere presence of dual speakers shouldn't be taken for granted at this, or any other price point save for the top of the line models. There are still brands (looking at you, vivo) that don't seem to think this is an important feature to have, but we strongly disagree. The Poco X3 Pro's vibration motor is a step above budget implementations but not really up to flagship level, while battery life is very good but short of outstanding. Spot the theme here?

It is, overall, a good mid-range package, elevated to new heights by its standout performance. Not a one-trick pony per se, more like a pony with many decent tricks and one that's quite unexpected given its price. Hopefully that makes sense in pony-land; we confess we don't really know a lot about ponies.

So if you need the most performance that you can get for a price around what the X3 Pro sells for, this is the one to get for sure. But if you value other things slightly more, then it simply can't deliver features that stand out as much as its speed. But that's the point, a cheap phone can't be all things to all people. For those who agree with what it has to offer, it's a great device that will not disappoint.