Six months after launching the POCO M3 model, POCO has launched an upgraded version, M3 Pro. The standard M3 version does relatively well among many entry-level 4G phones, so can the M3 Pro fit among entry-level 5G phones?

The POCO M3 Pro 5G is currently available on Aliexpress for only $ 169. Use 10M3PRO coupon code to get another $ 10 off!

We got the phone early to check out the brand’s latest entry-level 5G phone.

POCO M3 Pro 5G review: design

The appearance of the M3 Pro is different from that of the M3 and, of course, changes have been made once again. The lens module is still a triple vertical camera setup, but the large black rectangle design has been removed. The M3 Pro has a new rear cover design, with two rounded rectangles near the lens and a POCO logo on the inside.

POCO Review M3 Pro 5G 13 The leather-like material on the back cover has been replaced with a mirror reflective cover, which is a fingerprint magnet. Although this back cover model is quite unique and beautiful, I still prefer the standard M3 design because it leaves a deeper impression. The fingerprint sensor is still on the body side. And the M3 Pro not only comes with a 3.5mm headset jack and IR blaster, it also includes NFC, which is not present in the standard version of the M3. However, we still came across some minor drawbacks, such as omitting the dual speakers found in the standard version.

POCO M3 Pro 5G Review: Display

Still, the M3 Pro offers the much-needed screen updates. Although still a 1080P LCD screen, the refresh rate has increased to 90Hz and the water leak screen has also been replaced by a perforated screen. The hole size is larger, but the shadows around it are better controlled. The screen looks pretty ordinary, but considering it’s just a 5G access phone, having a 90Hz screen is already ahead of many other phones in the same price range.

POCO M3 Pro 5G Review 10 So our rating from this screen is: It basically meets the needs of a customer in this price segment

POCO M3 Pro 5G Review: hardware and games

The POCO M3 Pro uses SOC Dimensionity 700 MTK, which is one of the entry-level 5G chips available, so it makes sense to use it. The phone gets a score of 329087 on AnTuTu, while in the Geekbench 5 single-core test it scores 558 and in the multi-core test around 1734.

Antutu Geekbench 09 POCO M3 Pro 5G Review 09 This rating is slightly better than the M3’s Snapdragon 662, but by no means. As it is an entry level chip, the gaming performance is not very good. PUBG has no way to enable HDR Graphics and extreme frame rate, and in HD Graphics you can’t enable Ultra frame rate, which means if you want to play PUBG at 40fps, you have to enable Balanced Graphics or Graphics Smooth. The good news is that it still works flawlessly with balanced graphics.

Genshin Impact and Brightridge turned too much into this chip, and even with Genshin Impact on Medium Graphics and Motion Blur turned off, the frame rate is not high. And even though the temperature is only 42 degrees Celsius, there is still a decrease in CPU frequency in the later stages. Genshin 08 POCO M3 Pro impact review 08

Genshin POCO M3 Pro 5G Impact Review 08Brightridge is on average only 12fps with the highest special effects. While playing these games on an entry level phone is not recommended, it is still possible to play some games that do not require high performance like PUBG.

POCO M3 Pro 5G review: camera performance

Main camera

Fashion portrait

One of the most pleasant surprises is the portrait mode. Thanks to the help of field lens depth, typos are rare. Even if the subject is not a person, the depth of field knowledge can be accurately identified.

As for video, the M3 Pro only supports at 10fps at 1080P and 720P, but image stabilization is present. So daily registration will not be a problem.

POCO M3 Pro 5G review: battery life

As for the battery, the POCO M3 Pro is the same as the M3, it only supports 18W charging power, but the box comes with a 22.5W charger. The 18W charging power is still slow to fill the 5000mAh battery. Half an hour is up 35% and one hour at 67%. It takes 116 minutes to fully charge to 100%. SOC’s weak performance also means more energy savings. Half an hour of Tik Tok uses 7%, half an hour of online video consumes 6%. 23 minutes of PUBG drains 5% and half an hour of Genshin Effect is only about 10%. This level of battery life is good for a full day.

So the M3 Pro is POCO’s first entry-level 5G smartphone this year.

What do you think of it? Did the phone meet your expectations?

Compared to the M3, the main upgrade point of the M3 Pro is support for 5G and a high refresh rate of 90Hz. Although 5G may not be of much use to some users now, if you plan to use the phone for two or three years, 5G support can be a differentiator.