Poco F5 5G First Impressions: A Game-Changer?

Poco has just launched a new F series phone in India called the F5 5G. It's a follow up to last year's F4 5G (Review) and it promises big improvements in terms of performance and battery life. The Poco F5 5G is very similar to the Redmi Note 12 Turbo which was recently launched in China. The headlining feature of the new F5 5G is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 SoC. Prices are slightly higher compared to last year's model, with the 8GB variant of the F5 5G costing Rs. 29,999, while the 12GB variant is priced at Rs. 33,999. Both variants feature 256GB of storage. Here's our first impressions.

The Poco F5 5G does not feel very heavy and is nice to hold, despite its sharp and angular design, thanks to the rounded edges. The plastic frame feels sturdy but the glossy back panel doesn't really give a premium vibe, at least in this black colour. It's also made of plastic and this is instantly noticeable the moment you hold it. Thankfully, the rear camera bump is minimal so the F5 5G feels quite sleek overall.

The back profile of the Poco F5 5G is not very flattering, at least in this black finish

You get the standard selection of physical ports on the Poco F5 5G, including a headphone jack on the top. The Poco F5 5G is IP53 rated for basic moisture resistance, and there are stereo speakers with the Dolby Atmos enhancement.

The Poco F5 5G has a similar display as the F4 5G, with an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate, a full-HD+ resolution, and support for Dolby Vision HDR playback. It's the same size too measuring 6.67 inches diagonally. The bezels are thankfully evenly slim all around and the maximum brightness is now a bit higher at 1,000 nits. You even get Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for scratch protection. 

The new Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 should be really interesting as it's said to use a similar architecture as the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, and promises better performance compared to older SoCs such as the Snapdragon 870 seen in the Poco F4 5G. This SoC succeeds the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, which we haven't seen in many phones for some reason. 

You get all the necessary accessories in the box

The Poco F5 5G has a 5,000mAh battery which is a nice upgrade from the F4, and supports the same 67W fast charging. The charger is bundled, and you even get a transparent case in the box. The phone runs MIUI 14 based on Android 13, and Poco has promised two years of Android updates and three years of security updates. So far, my unit has already been inundated with notifications from some of the stock apps such as GetApps, and this is even before I've even opened a single preinstalled app. 

Finally, we come to the cameras. The Poco F5 5G features a similar setup as last year's model with a primary 64-megapixel camera with optical stabilisation (OIS), an 8-megapixel ultra-wide, and a 2-megapixel macro. For selfies, you get a 16-megapixel front camera. We hope the camera quality has improved from last year's model, which struggled in low-light situations. 

The Poco F5 5G has evenly narrow bezels all around the display

The Poco F5 5G seems to be a decent upgrade over its predecessor as far as the SoC and battery capacity go. I think the design could have been better as the F4 5G looked a lot more premium in my opinion. We'll have our final verdict for you in the full review. Additionally, if you want to want us to compare it with any particular phone or check anything specific, do drop us a comment.