Poco M7 Pro Review: An efficient device that doesn’t hurt the wallet

2 weeks ago 11

The new Poco M7 Pro was launched in India earlier this week at the price of Rs 14,999 for the 6GB RAM + 128GB Storage variant and Rs 16,999 for the 8GB + 256GB variant. Its predecessor, the M6 Pro, was the most affordable 5G smartphone in India last year. While the M7 Pro demands a small premium, it gets some crucial upgrades in the form of an AMOLED display, a new MediaTek chipset, and a brand-new design. We’ve been using this smartphone for a week to determine whether it can do the job of a reliable daily driver. Here is our review of the Poco M7 Pro.

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Poco M7 Pro Review: Design and Display

Here’s what you get inside the Poco M7 Pro’s retail box:

Smartphone
45W power adapter
USB Type-A to Type-C cable
Opaque silicone case
SIM ejector
Quick start guide

Poco M7 Pro looks nothing like its predecessor. Its plastic back panel has a solid-and-sandstone dual pattern. The matte finish ensures that the panel does not collect smudges or fingerprints. There is no flex to the back panel, which means that the quality of the plastic used in its construction is top-notch. The glass-like camera cutout houses two sensors and an LED flash.

Design and Display

The back panel curves ever so slightly towards the plastic frame of the smartphone. This flat frame has a brushed finish. Its bottom edge houses the SIM tray, USB Type-C port, primary microphone, and primary speaker grille. The volume rocker keys and the side button are positioned on the right edge. Up top lie the secondary speaker grille, 3.5mm headphone jack, IR blaster, and secondary microphone.

design

The 6.67-inch AMOLED display is one of the biggest upgrades on the M7 Pro. Replacing the LCD panel, this 1,080 x 2,400p unit has a 120Hz refresh rate and can reach a peak brightness of 2,100 nits. Its smooth touch response makes for a good scrolling experience. There are no legibility issues to be seen either – the smartphone held up nicely under direct sunlight. The display is surrounded by slim bezels which get slightly thicker around the chin. To top it off, the fingerprint scanner under the display is very snappy and one of the fastest in its segment.

Design and Display

We streamed a bunch of titles across popular OTT platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, and more while reviewing the Poco M7 Pro. The AMOLED display makes a world of a difference while watching movies. The punchy colours, rich contrast, and deep blacks cannot be replicated by any LCD panel. The M7 Pro has a stereo speaker setup, which is a rarity in this price segment. While it is slightly lacking on the low end, it can produce a loud output. We never once felt the need to put on our headphones while streaming media on the device.

Poco M7 Pro Review: Performance and Cameras

The MediaTek Dimensity 7025 Ultra chipset lies at the heart of the Poco M7 Pro. This chipset also powers the newly-launched Redmi Note 14. On the Geekbench 6 app, the M7 Pro returned a single-core score of 951 points and a multi-core score of 2,238 points. This is an improvement over its Snapdragon 4 Gen 2-powered predecessor which scored 863 (single-core) and 1,893 (multi-core) points.

performance

The M7 Pro performs remarkably in everyday use. Routine tasks like video calling, web browsing, media streaming, and IMing are handled expertly. The apps take fractionally longer to load, but that is something to be expected from a budget smartphone with UFS 2.2 storage. However, with multiple apps running in the background the M7 Pro barely ever throws a hiccup. Overall, the smartphone is very reliable and puts in a good shift day in and day out.

Performance and Cameras

The limits of the processor become abundantly clear while gaming. Casual gamers won’t notice any difference as the smartphone handles low-medium graphics pretty well at 60fps. However, that is all you get on the device. Even though the display has a 120Hz refresh rate, gaming titles like Call of Duty Mobile are limited to 60fps. During our time with the device, we noticed that the back panel started warming up after 30 minutes of gameplay.

Handling the OS duties on Poco M7 Pro is the Android 14-based HyperOS. Ideally, you want the new device to run the latest OS version out of the box, but that is not the case here. Poco has promised 2 major OS upgrades for this phone, which will take it to Android 16/HyperOS 2.

hyperos

Talking about the software experience, HyperOS is a big improvement over MIUI. It feels more optimised, which results in a more fluid browsing experience. The customisation options for the lock screen, home screen, Always On Display, fingerprint effects, and other elements breathe new life into the device. There’s a good amount of bloatware apps on the device, but that is something that should be expected from a budget phone.

battery

The M7 Pro packs a massive 5,110mAh battery. This battery pack easily puts any battery anxiety to rest, comfortably lasting an entire day even on heavy usage. During the review period, we used the smartphone for tasks like instant messaging, social media browsing, media streaming, video calling, navigation, and gaming. We were left with a 20-30% charge at the end of each day. The battery supports 45W fast charging, taking 1 hour to fully charge.

Performance and Cameras

The rear camera panel of the M7 Pro houses a 50MP Sony LYT600 sensor and a 2MP depth sensor. Up front, a 20MP selfie camera lies inside a punch-hole cutout. The primary shooter does a good job in outdoor daylight conditions. The pictures captured by the 50MP sensor showcase rich colours and pack a lot of details. The dynamic range and contrast levels are optimum as well. In limited lighting conditions, this camera does a good job of brightening the subject and assigning it the appropriate colours. The images are slightly grainy, but this issue can be resolved by turning on the night mode.

cameras

The 2MP plays its part while taking portrait shots. The M7 Pro does a good job of focussing on the subject and separating it from the background. However, we were not too impressed by the richness of colours and the intensity of the background blur. The 20MP front-facing camera takes good selfies in natural lighting, but in indoor conditions with artificial lighting, the results are on the softer side.

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Verdict

The Poco M7 Pro is a very reliable smartphone under Rs 15,000. If your primary usage apart from calling and texting involves media streaming, you should consider buying this device. AMOLED displays and stereo speaker setups are hard to come by in this segment and the M7 Pro has both of them. There’s also a handy 3.5mm headphone jack onboard, saving you the hassle of buying a pair of wireless earbuds. The Dimensity 7025 Ultra chipset puts up a fine performance, handling everyday tasks with ease. The 50MP primary camera is quite versatile and produces good results in a wide range of lighting conditions.