POCO F4 Review: A refined version of POCO F3 with several minor improvements

At the end of June, POCO officially launched the POCO F4 and POCO X4 GT. Among them, the POCO F4 is the successor to the POCO F3 and is also a mid-range smartphone with a balance in various aspects from specifications, performance, to camera. So what's new with the POCO F4? How is the performance of POCO F4? Does POCO F4 capture beautiful photos? How long does POCO F4 battery last? Let's find the answers through the review of POCO F4 below!

Note: The article is referenced from the GSMArena website.

See more: 

• First Impressions of POCO F4: Price 9.7 million, Snapdragon 870, 120 Hz display
• Review of POCO X4 GT: Powerful Dimensity 8100, ultra-smooth 144 Hz display
• Review of POCO F3 after over 1 year: Performance still very durable over time

The design of POCO F4 is quite eye-catching yet exudes sophistication and premiumness

First, let's see what's inside the box of POCO F4. POCO remains generous by equipping users with all the necessary accessories including: a protective case, a 67 W fast charger, a USB Type-C to 3.5 mm adapter, and a screen protector.

Compared to POCO F3, POCO F4 has undergone some design changes. Overall, POCO F4 weighs only 195 g and is 7.7 mm thick. The square frame of POCO F4 provides better grip for users. POCO F4 comes in three simple color options: Midnight Black, Moonlight Silver, and Nebula Green.

The back of POCO F4 is made of glass, adding a touch of sophistication to the device. What stands out on the back is the camera module with a unique design. The 3 cameras of POCO F4 are arranged triangularly within a circular glass panel.

The front of POCO F4 features a hole-punch display measuring 6.67 inches with a familiar Full HD+ resolution. This display has very thin bezels, combined with the optimized size of the camera, providing a great viewing experience within the segment.

If you want to learn more about the appearance of POCO F4, you can visit the link below to read our hands-on article about POCO F4.

Read more: Hands-on with POCO F4: Only 9.7 million VND, Snapdragon 870, 120 Hz display

High-Quality Display on POCO F4, Supports Dolby Vision Standard

POCO F4 features a 6.67-inch E4 AMOLED panel similar to the one on POCO F3, but this panel is upgraded with Dolby Vision support. The POCO F4 display is a hole-punch type, with the punch hole for the selfie camera claimed to be one of the smallest in the market. The POCO F4 display is protected by Gorilla Glass 5.

The display on POCO F4 has a refresh rate of 120 Hz, with a touch sampling rate of 360 Hz. The display also supports HDR content, achieving HDR10+ and Dolby Vision certifications. In brightness testing, POCO F4 reaches a maximum brightness of 1,000 nits. Additionally, POCO F4 has a minimum brightness of only 2.2 nits - one of the best among most OLED displays today.

POCO F4's display supports DCI-P3 color gamut. Users can easily choose from three color modes: Vivid (default, DCI-P3), Saturated (DCI-P3 with increased saturation), and Standard (sRGB). Overall, POCO F4 accurately displays the DCI-P3 color gamut, except for slight deviations in green and gray colors.

The display offers two refresh rate options: 60 Hz and 120 Hz. With 120 Hz, the system automatically detects the tasks being performed to adjust the refresh rate accordingly for better battery saving. In some games that support a 90 Hz refresh rate, the display will also automatically activate this frequency to match the game being played. Some games are gradually supporting higher refresh rates like 120 Hz, and the author believes that POCO F4 can handle them well.

POCO F4 delivers a relatively impressive battery life, with rapid charging capabilities

The battery capacity of POCO F4 remains unchanged compared to POCO F3 at 4,500 mAh, but the charging power has been increased to 67 W. In GSMArena's battery test, POCO F4 achieved 101 hours. This includes the total battery life when performing 3 tasks: chatting on 3G, continuous web browsing, and continuous video playback.

Despite not standing out in terms of battery life, POCO F4 is equipped with fast charging of up to 67 W. According to POCO's announcement, POCO F4 can be fully charged in just 38 minutes. GSMArena tested this specification of POCO F4, and the result showed that POCO F4 charged from 0% to 55% in the first 15 minutes. After 30 minutes, POCO F4 reached 92% battery and completed 100% in 38 minutes - consistent with POCO's claim.

POCO F4 boasts impressive performance with Snapdragon 870

Here are the specific specifications of POCO F4:

• Display: 6.67-inch size, 4th generation Super AMOLED panel, Full HD+ resolution (1,080 x 2,400 pixels), 120 Hz refresh rate.
• Rear Camera: Main 64 MP, ultra-wide 8 MP, macro 2 MP.
• Front Camera: 20 MP resolution.
• CPU: Snapdragon 870 5G.
• RAM: 8 GB, 12 GB.
• Internal Storage: 128 GB, 256 GB.
• Battery: 4,500 mAh, supports 67 W fast charging.

POCO F4 is powered by the Snapdragon 870 chip - the same chip found in the POCO F3. Although there is no upgrade in the chip, the Snapdragon 870 remains one of the top-performing chips currently, favored by many users. Derived from the Snapdragon 865, the Snapdragon 870 boasts higher CPU clock speeds, with a maximum clock speed of up to 3.2 GHz, coupled with one of the most powerful GPUs - Adreno 650.

An upgrade on the POCO F4 that contributes to long-term stable performance is the LiquidCool Technology 2.0 cooling solution. The cooling area on the POCO F4 is over 400% larger than that on the POCO F3. As a result, the performance of the POCO F4 will be more stable, especially when playing heavy games for extended periods. Below are the results of some performance benchmark tests conducted on the POCO F4 using performance scoring software, indicating that the Snapdragon 870 seems to have no rivals in the mid-range segment.

The Adreno 650 GPU is one of the best GPUs you can find not only in the mid-range segment but also in the smartphone market as of now. This GPU handles graphics tests smoothly.

Finally, GSMArena's reviewer tested the stability of the Snapdragon 870 chip on POCO F4. After the Wild Life Stress Test, POCO F4 demonstrated good stability, reaching an stability score of 81.9%. This is a commendable result for a powerful chip like the Snapdragon 870, coupled with the Adreno 650 GPU on POCO F4. A minor drawback is that during the test, the POCO F4 emitted considerable heat, and overheating may occur if the ambient temperature exceeds 25°C.

Summing up, performance is the aspect that users will find most satisfying on POCO F4 despite not featuring the latest chips. The performance offered by POCO F4 is a harmonious blend of CPU and GPU power, coupled with its cooling ability, allowing the device to maintain high performance over extended periods.

POCO F4's camera is upgraded with OIS for image stabilization, promising better photo quality

POCO F4 features 3 cameras with specifications similar to POCO F3, but the macro camera resolution has been reduced to 2 MP. The highlight of POCO F4's camera is the wide-angle lens equipped with OIS for stabilization. POCO F4 has a triple camera setup, with a 64 MP main camera, 8 MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and 2 MP macro camera. The front-facing camera boasts a resolution of up to 20 MP.

Equipped with the OmniVision OV64B 64MP 1/2' sensor with Quad-Bayer filter, Poco F4 introduces POCO's first OIS-enabled camera. The camera app on POCO F4 will feel familiar to those using the MIUI operating system. It's intuitively designed, with quick toggles for switching between front and rear cameras with a simple swipe gesture.

• Daylight photos captured by POCO F4

By default, photos taken with POCO F4 will have a resolution of 16 MP and the image quality is well-regarded. The captured photos retain plenty of detail and are lightly processed to reduce noise, resulting in balanced images. The dynamic range of POCO F4's camera is outstanding, with good contrast in the photos. The author praised the device's ability to reproduce colors accurately.

When capturing in nitpicking mode, the sharpness is further improved, potentially delivering the best image quality the sensor can offer. Additionally, at the edges of the photos, the author noticed a slight decrease in sharpness compared to the center, possibly due to the lens or the 25mm focal length. Overall, the author is satisfied with the image quality of the main camera on POCO F4 and believes that most users will share the same sentiment.

• Photos taken while zooming and captured at 64 MP resolution

POCO F4 does not feature a telephoto camera, so the zoom capability relies heavily on the device's processing algorithms. When testing zoom at 2X, the author found that the image quality remains quite good compared to regular photos.

With the 64 MP photo mode, it's not just a typical upscale algorithm; POCO F4 has also processed the image to deliver optimal quality. In this mode, details are quite preserved, while other aspects like contrast, color saturation, and dynamic range remain comparable to automatic shooting. The 64 MP mode provides higher detail for cropping, especially in the center of the image.

• Portrait photo taken with POCO F4

Despite lacking a depth sensor, users can still capture portrait photos on POCO F4 thanks to AI algorithms. GSMArena's reviewer highly praised POCO F4's processing capabilities in portrait mode, noting its excellent background blur, accurate subject separation, and near-perfect edge detection.

Subjects captured in portrait mode are well processed, especially in terms of sharpness. Skin tones and lighting balance are natural when captured with POCO F4. It's worth noting that when ISO exceeds 500, indicating low light conditions, the sharpness of the image will significantly decrease.

• Photos taken with the ultra-wide-angle and macro cameras on POCO F4

The ultra-wide-angle camera on POCO F4 is highly praised, with reviewers noting it as one of the best in its class. The photos exhibit high detail, natural color tones, and well-adjusted sharpness. Colors and white balance are close to reality, with noise reduction effective enough to be barely noticeable. Additionally, the dynamic range on POCO F4's ultra-wide-angle camera is truly impressive. Another positive aspect is that POCO F4 automatically corrects corner distortion when shooting, leaving little to criticize about this feature.

The macro camera on the POCO F4 is the only component with lower resolution than the POCO F3. Despite that, its detail level is sufficient, with good contrast and noise reduction. Users can confidently use photos taken with this camera for social media without worrying too much about image quality.

• Low-light photo taken with the POCO F4

The POCO F4 features a Night mode for photography, which is automatically activated by default. This mode works with both the wide and ultra-wide cameras. The system determines when to use this Night mode and at what shutter speed. In low-light conditions, most photos are taken using this mode.

Photos taken in Night mode exhibit well-balanced brightness, good contrast, and relatively low noise. The OIS stabilization effectively reduces shake, allowing users to capture images at lower shutter speeds.

When Night mode is turned off, photos will appear darker due to the absence of software intervention, noise levels will increase, and colors may lose some vibrancy. Overall, when capturing photos in low-light conditions with the POCO F4, users should enable Night mode and let the device process automatically for the best quality.

• Photo taken with the selfie camera on the POCO F4

The selfie camera on the POCO F4 is also highly praised, with good photo quality, excellent contrast, and colors that closely resemble reality. This camera also has a good dynamic range, with controlled noise levels. As it uses a Quad-Bayer filter, photos taken will have a 5 MP resolution which is then upscaled to 20 MP.

The portrait mode of the selfie camera works well in good lighting conditions, with the background appropriately blurred while the subject is completely separated from the background.

• Video recorded with the POCO F4

The POCO F4 supports recording 4K resolution videos at 60 FPS with the wide-angle camera. Meanwhile, the ultra-wide-angle camera can only record at 1080p resolution and 30 FPS. The electronic image stabilization (EIS) feature will be automatically activated during video recording. The audio captured during video recording is stereo sound at 320Kbps quality, which is quite good for a device in the mid-range segment.

4K video recorded with the wide-angle camera exhibits excellent quality, with consistent sharpness and detail, well-handled noise, and realistic colors. However, contrast slightly decreases compared to captured photos.

Even in low-light conditions, 4K videos shot with the POCO F4 will not disappoint users. The videos display true brightness, good sharpness, and the author appreciates how the POCO F4 reproduces colors in low-light video recordings.

How much does the POCO F4 cost? Is it worth buying?

In summary, although the POCO F4 is just a minor update compared to the POCO F3, I believe the POCO F4 will continue the success that the POCO F3 has achieved. With a starting price in the international market starting at 399 EURO (around 9.7 million VND), I consider this to be a very attractive price for a smartphone with strong specifications, a beautiful display, and impressive cameras.

What about you guys? What do you think about this POCO F4? Leave your comments below the article for me and everyone to know! Thank you for taking the time to read my article.

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