Poco M3 Review, Pros and Cons – POCO needs no introduction when it comes to bringing impressive smartphones at reasonable prices. After two years, it will now become a separate company that is no longer a subsidiary of Xiaomi.
POCO is adding another member to its M series, namely POCO M3. As a successor to the POCO M2, the modern Poco M3 smartphone gains a completely redesigned look and texture. A major change is the magnificent camera module that intriguingly resembles the OnePlus 8T CyberPunk edition. Even, the placement of the logo corresponds to the position of that OnePlus phone. Let’s move on to the detailed review of the POCO M3 and, therefore, continue reading to know each and everything.
Table of Contents
Poco M3 Review
Highlights
- The Poco M3 offers a next-level rear layout crafted with leather material alongside a sophisticated camera board.
- A triple-camera setup will ensure that you take splendid photos with excellent clarity.
- A set of dual speakers is a new addition, usually found in premium segment devices.
- The fingerprint reader mounted on the side of the POCO M3 offers the ease of unlocking as soon as you pick up the phone.
- An enlarged 6000mAh battery for intensive gaming and long battery life.
Design and Display
POCO intensified the game with appreciable craftsmanship for its latest M3 model. On a good note, the POCO M3 smartphone delivers to the market in three fabulous flavors – Power Black, Cool Blue, and POCO Yellow. Packed with a monstrous 6000mAh battery, although the device turns out to be a little sturdy, the plastic back keeps the weight below 200g.
On the same note, the texture of the back of the leather provides an improved grip without the problem of a fingerprint scanner. The extraordinary rear construction makes the M3 stand out from the crowd at an attractive price.
Switching to the screen, the company adjusted a 6.53 inches FHD+ IPS LCD panel without showing any significant changes compared to its predecessor. However, you now have thinner bezels, slightly curved edges, and rounded corners. These subtle differences take the media experience a step further. Leaving the above things aside, the phone features Widevine L1 support, as well as blue light certification. The phone covers with Corning Gorilla 3 glass to survive accidental drops.
Memory and Internal
Regarding performance, the M3 switched to the Helio G80’s Snapdragon 662 chipset built into it compare to its previous generation model. However, the Snapdragon 662 disappears easily in front of the Helio G80 SoC according to the Antutu benchmark scores. Still, POCO claims that the current chipset outperformed the Snapdragon 665 based on Antutu scores. On paper, you should be able to enjoy endless gaming sessions alongside a quick general experience.
Equipped with the latest MIUI 12 UI from the company in addition to Android 10, you are guaranteed a lot of unique things like moving windows, interesting animations, material design, and more. Although in-app ads and bloatware can be annoying to some users.
To ensure that applications and games that require a lot of memory do not show reloads, the device is made with LPDDR4X 4 GB of RAM paired with 64 GB or 128 GB of UFS 2.2 internal storage. In addition, you can count on support for an external SD card for greater data expansion capacity.
Camera
When you dive into optics, a 48 MP triple-camera in a rectangular shape covering most of the back. In order to cut costs, Poco skipped the ultra-wide-angle lens this time that we saw earlier on the Poco M2. In addition to the main 48 MP snapper, the company launched a 2 MP macro and a 2 MP depth sensor lens. Thanks to Poco for integrating remarkable features into the camera application, such as RAW images, 30 fps slow-motion recording, AI Night mode, etc.
Initially, the 8 MP selfie camera housed in a waterdrop notch does a good job in sufficient lighting conditions. You can click on decent AI-enabled portraits with multiple filters.
Battery and Others
The POCO M3 phone leaves a mark especially in the battery department, where we have a huge 6000mAh Li-Po battery unit. Equipped with an 18W fast charger, the device becomes the oldest phone in its price range. There is no problem with low battery notifications frequently, as you can easily get your phone up and running for at least 2 days with normal use. Both the top and bottom of the M3 shine with dual speakers, which can be a big attraction for music lovers.
In closing, POCO M3 is listed on several shopping sites with the expected price of $150 (11,000 INR) tag. Apparently, the price is excellent for offering tough competition to other competitors.
Poco M3 Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the Poco M3 smartphone.
| Specifications | Poco M3 |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G |
| Announced | November 2020 |
| SIM | Dual SIM |
| Dimensions | 6.39 x 3.04 x 0.38 inches |
| Weight | 198g |
| Size | 6.53 inches |
| Display | IPS LCD 400 nits brightness 19.5:9 ratio ~395 ppi density 60Hz |
| Protection | Gorilla glass 3 |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels |
| OS | Android 10, MIUI 12 |
| Chipset | 11 nm – Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 |
| CPU | Octa-core 4×2.0 GHz Kryo 260 Gold 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 260 Silver |
| GPU | Adreno 610 |
| Card slot | Yes (dedicated slot) |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Internal | 64GB, 128GB |
| Camera | 48MP (wide) 2MP (macro) 2MP (depth) LED flash, HDR, panorama 1080p@30fps |
| Selfie | 8MP (wide) Panorama 1080p@30fps |
| Loudspeaker | Yes (dual speakers) |
| 3.5mm jack | Yes (24-bit/192kHz audio) |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 5.0, A2DP, LE |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS |
| NFC | No |
| Infrared port | Yes |
| Radio | Yes |
| USB | USB Type-C 2.0, USB On-The-Go |
| Sensors | Side mounted fingerprint, accelerometer, proximity, compass |
| Battery | Li-Po 6000 mAh battery 18W fast charging Reverse charging |
| Colors | Cool Blue, Poco Yellow, Power Black |
| Expected Price | USD 150 (11,000 INR) |
Poco M3 Pros and Cons
Down below you can see the list of pros and cons (advantages and disadvantages) of the Poco M3 smartphone.
Pros
- Premium design and layout on the back.
- Dual speakers.
- Huge 6000mAh battery.
- Custom UI MIUI 12.
- Adequate prices.
- Type of storage UFS 2.2.
- Dedicated micro-sd card slot.
- Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
- USB On-The-Go is present.
- 18W fast charging.
Cons
- Plastic back.
- Bloatware is present.
- Ultrawide camera is missing
- Average performance with Snapdragon 662 chipset.
- The heating problem can appear during gaming and multi-tasking.
- Average camera performance in low light.
Conclusion
The POCO M3 smartphone is a major update that brings several interesting changes. Although the Snapdragon 662 scores lower than the Helio G80 and is normally based on the price range, which allows for better battery life. The refurbished rear panel completely changes the game and makes the phone unique. So, the POCO M3 passes with praise in our analysis and you can buy it.
