POCO F7 review: of power and endurance

POCO returns with its flagship F-series smartphone, the POCO F7. The handset is built on the same legacy as its predecessors, boasting impressive specifications that cater to the needs of power users, all at a highly competitive price point. The POCO F7 price in India is set at Rs 31,999 for its base 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant, while the top-end 12GB RAM with 512GB storage option is priced at Rs 33,999.

Key specs of the smartphone include the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 SoC, a 7,550mAh battery, a large 3D dual-channel IceLoop system, a 120Hz refresh rate AMOLED display, Wild Boost 4.0 optimisation for enhanced gaming experience, and more. The handset is also durable with a top-notch IP69 rating and Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protection on both front and back.

Is the POCO F7 a no-brainer in its segment? Find out in my in-depth review as I take a closer look at everything the device has to offer.

Verdict

The POCO F7 offers nearly all the bells and whistles that a performance-focused user could expect from a mid-range smartphone. The handset boasts a powerful chipset that handles demanding tasks with ease, complemented by a generous battery and long-lasting software support. The display is vibrant and immersive, while the smart AI features boost usability. That said, the daylight camera performance leaves room for improvement, and the absence of an LTPO panel might push some buyers to look elsewhere.

Design

The POCO F7 is available in three colour variants: White, Black, and the standout Cyber Silver Edition. We received the Cyber Silver Edition and Black colour variants for review. The black looks simple with an angular dual-tone finish and green neon lines on the camera module. It is the Cyber Silver Edition, which I personally used for this review, which features a distinctive design and, based on the text on the back panel, appears to be a limited edition. The design is visually busy, with an angular dual-tone layout and a variety of elements printed beneath a smooth layer of glass.

The bottom half of the smartphone sports a relatively clean silver finish with POCO branding etched in the bottom right corner, while the top half contrasts sharply with a bold, industrial-inspired aesthetic. This section incorporates multiple graphics, patterns, mock circuitry, angular shapes, ‘Snapdragon’ logo and pops of neon green and red, all contributing to a design reminiscent of high-end gaming gear or cyberpunk machinery, which may have given its name the ‘Cyber Silver’. While the glass surface feels smooth to the touch, it tends to attract fingerprints and smudges quite easily. The company has thoughtfully included a protective case in the box, but it comes in a solid colour that conceals much of the smartphone’s distinctive design.

The handset boasts IP66, IP68, and IP69 water and dust resistance certifications, and its Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protection should help it withstand minor drops and everyday wear. However, this robust build quality, combined with the large 7,550mAh battery, contributes to a noticeable weight of 222 grams. The heft is immediately apparent when you first pick up the device, and can become more noticeable during prolonged use.

That said, the weight is evenly distributed, and given the target audience, it feels more manageable when holding the device horizontally, particularly during extended gaming sessions, where it doesn’t strain the wrist as much. Additionally, the flat edges offer a comfortable grip and a stable resting position for your fingers, enhancing overall handling. Hardcore gamers would have appreciated an audio jack for wired earphones, but the smartphone only gets a USB Type-C port on the bottom edge for charging and data transfer.

Display

The POCO F7 features a 6.83-inch pOLED display with a 1.5K resolution (2,772 x 1,280 pixels), an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate, and HDR10+ support. Thanks to its sizeable battery capacity, the handset manages without an LTPO panel, which typically enables more granular refresh rate adjustments to optimise power consumption. However, the inclusion of LTPO would have been a welcome addition, especially considering that its closest rival, the iQOO Neo 10, offers this feature.

While the POCO F7 may trail behind some competitors with its 3,200 nits peak brightness, I found the screen to remain perfectly legible in both indoor and outdoor conditions. The display delivers punchy, vibrant visuals with an impressive contrast ratio, ensuring deep blacks and rich colour reproduction that enhance the overall viewing experience. However, when compared side-by-side with the iQOO Neo 10, the POCO F7’s colours appear slightly more subdued. This could be attributed to its default ‘Original Colour PRO’ profile, which prioritises realistic colour reproduction. That said, when viewed against the MacBook Air, the POCO F7’s display appears to carry a slight yellowish tint, giving colours a somewhat artificial feel. Fortunately, users have the option to adjust the colour profile within the settings to match their personal preferences better.

Moving on, the smartphone boasts razor-thin bezels on all sides, a tiny punch-hole for the selfie camera, and Dolby Vision support that enhances dynamic range and provides a more immersive content consumption. Complementing the visuals, the POCO F7 is equipped with dual speakers that are Hi-Res Audio certified and powered by Dolby Atmos, offering rich sound, though not crisp, at the maximum volume to elevate multimedia consumption.

The display also houses the fingerprint scanner for security. While I would have preferred it positioned slightly higher on the screen than its current placement near the bottom, the scanner itself performs flawlessly, unlocking the device quickly and accurately.

Cameras

The POCO F7 sports a dual-rear camera setup, which includes a 50MP OIS Sony IMX882 primary sensor and an 8MP ultrawide lens. For selfies and video calling, there’s a 20MP front-facing camera. The handset offers a variety of modes to shoot, including Portrait, Pro, Documents, Motion Capture, and more. The handset also supports 4K video recording at 60fps from the main sensor. These camera specs are typical of a gaming-focused smartphone, and naturally, the results are too.

The smartphone is quick to focus on subjects and processes images swiftly, but the results are rather average for its price point. The camera tends to adopt a contrast-heavy approach, often boosting colours to make images more visually striking. However, this comes at the cost of finer details and sharpness, which appear somewhat underwhelming. Additionally, the handset struggles with exposure balance, particularly in shadowy areas, where it often fails to recover sufficient detail. For portraits and selfies, too, the handset isn’t very impressive in terms of capturing skin tones and facial detailing accurately.

Overall, the cameras are not the strongest suit of the POCO F7. If photography is a priority, we would recommend considering alternatives like the Vivo T4 Ultra (review), Realme 14 Pro+ (review), or Motorola Edge 60 Pro (review), which offer more capable camera systems. The POCO F7 is better suited for casual, point-and-shoot photography where convenience matters more than absolute image quality.

Here’s a quick comparison of the POCO F7’s camera results with the iQOO Neo 10, which is also a gaming-focused smartphone in the price range and offers an identical setup.

Daylight

The results are almost neck-to-neck, but the iQOO Neo 10 manages to outperform the POCO F7 with its brighter appeal. As a result, you will find the iQOO images sharper and more detailed than the POCO’s, noticeable in the trees, buildings, flower pots, and more. Neither smartphone is accurate with colour reproduction and dynamic range, but the iQOO Neo 10 stands out for its visual appeal and superior exposure to details, even in areas that aren’t well lit.

Ultrawide

The POCO F7 gains an edge in ultrawide, primarily due to its colour consistency from the primary camera. The iQOO Neo 10 ultrawide images appear gloomy, resulting in underwhelming details and dynamic range.

Portrait

Portrait shots on the POCO F7 are nothing to write home about. The handset struggles noticeably with preserving details and rendering accurate skin tones. Subject separation from the background often appears artificial, resembling a cutout rather than a natural depth-of-field effect. In contrast, the iQOO Neo 10 delivers more appealing results, offering better detail retention, more natural skin tones, good edge detection, and a smoother, more realistic bokeh.

Selfie

In selfies, both smartphones have their strengths and weaknesses. The POCO Neo 10 excels with its better exposure to the background details and finer details, but struggles with accurate skin tones and dynamic range. The iQOO Neo 10, on the other hand, offers selfies with a reddish tone but appears more natural. The handset also excels in controlling the light and delivering superior details.

Low light (with night mode)

Both smartphones perform better in dimly lit environments when night mode is enabled. The POCO F7 stands out by delivering images with reduced light flare, minimal noise, and superior detail, likely due to its tendency to oversharpen images. The iQOO Neo 10, on the other hand, produces shots that appear slightly hazy and grainy. That said, neither smartphone manages to capture a fully accurate representation of the actual scene.

Software

The POCO F7 runs Android 15-based HyperOS 2 out of the box. HyperOS is heavy on customisation and pre-installed apps – 66 of them, which is the most for a smartphone in its segment. Besides proprietary and Google’s, the smartphone features as many as 19 third-party apps. This leads to a slightly cluttered app drawer, and if you don’t use any of these apps, you can uninstall them for a cleaner software experience. As for the software update policy, the handset will get 4 years of major OS upgrades and 6 years of security patches, which is a first for POCO.

The software experience on the POCO F7 is largely identical to that of the Xiaomi 15, with a few POCO-specific app icons distinguishing it. The interface offers two separate panels for quick settings and notifications, along with the flexibility to choose between an app drawer or a fully populated home screen. It also features a variety of widgets, an app vault for quick access to frequently used apps, and several AI-powered tools. These AI features include text generation to assist with writing, wallpaper image creation, image clarity enhancement, image expansion, object removal, and video compilation. The handset can also transcribe audio to text, provide bilingual subtitles for video calls/ conferences, translate text, and more using AI.

A Xiaomi account and an active internet connection are required to use most of these AI tools. While they do enhance usability, the results may not always meet expectations consistently.

Performance

Performance is one of the key aspects of the smartphone, and it doesn’t disappoint. The POCO F7 is powered by the flagship-level Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 SoC, paired with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage onboard. While it has a fast LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.1 storage type, the phone lacks a microSD card to expand the storage, which has become a norm in the mid-range segment. The Snapdragon chipset has already debuted on the iQOO Neo 10 smartphone, which is one of the best-performing smartphones for the price. The POCO F7 comes close to its counterpart, if not beating it, in our synthetic benchmark and real-world tests.

The POCO F7 features a large 6,000mm2 vapour chamber cooling system to help dissipate heat during intensive workloads. Its effectiveness was evident in our gaming tests, where the device heated up by just 9.8 degrees Celsius after 90 minutes of playing graphically demanding titles such as BGMI, Call of Duty: Mobile, and Real Racing 3. The average frame rates remained respectable throughout, ensuring consistently smooth gameplay.

Even with maximum graphics and frame rate settings enabled in BGMI, the POCO F7 only saw a temperature increase of 6.2 degrees Celsius, while maintaining stable frame rates around 39fps, without becoming uncomfortably warm to hold. In comparison, the iQOO Neo 10’s thermals heated up by 5.9 degrees Celsius and delivered an average frame rate of 38.4fps. The iQOO smartphone might be better, but the difference is only marginal.

Beyond gaming, the POCO F7 remains swift and responsive for everyday tasks such as app switching, multitasking, social media browsing, and more. Animations run smoothly, contributing to an overall fluid user experience. That said, its custom Android skin might feel a bit overwhelming or cluttered for users who prefer a cleaner interface.

Battery and Charging

Talking about POCO F7’s major aspect, the 7,550mAh battery, it is the beefiest you can find in the segment. It is a Silicon-carbon-based battery, which offers more energy density than the traditional Lithium-ion while keeping the handset’s thickness in check. The increase in battery capacity has contributed to a superior PCMark battery test score, which simulates real-world activities on the smartphone. The POCO F7 lasts more than 20 hours, which is roughly 5 hours and 7 hours more than the iQOO Neo 10 and Vivo T4 Ultra, setting a new benchmark in the segment.

However, its battery optimisation during video streaming and gaming is fairly standard. The handset consumed a total of 20 percent battery after streaming video for an hour and playing games for a total of 90 minutes during our testing. This is on par with the iQOO Neo 10, which houses a relatively smaller 7,000mAh battery.

Nevertheless, the POCO F7 delivers a solid backup, with good standby time and efficient optimisation, even under heavy usage. While playing BGMI at the highest possible settings (Ultra HDR + Ultra), the handset consumed just 5 percent battery after 30 minutes, indicating that it can comfortably handle extended gaming sessions without significant drain. For regular users, the POCO F7 should easily last more than a day and a half on a single charge.

The charging speeds on the POCO F7 are a respectable 90W. The brand could have done better with 120W, which has become standard among gaming smartphones. This means that the wait time is slightly longer to juice up the smartphone before you get going. But the difference is not significant. A compatible charger is included in the box, which is capable of recharging the smartphone from 20 to 100 percent in just 45 minutes with ‘Top speed’ mode enabled, which can heat up the device during the process. To give you a perspective, the iQOO Neo 10, which houses a battery rated roughly 500mAh lower, takes less than 30 minutes to achieve a full charge from 20 percent.

POCO has included a bypass charging feature on the smartphone, which powers the internals directly instead of the charging the battery when in use. This helps reduce heat buildup and potentially extends battery lifespan, especially during demanding tasks like gaming. Additionally, the smartphone supports reverse charging at 22.5W speeds that can juice up your laptop, wearables, and other accessories. For charging laptops, however, you’ll need to manually enable ‘Reverse Charging’ from the notification panel each time you connect.

Final Verdict

The POCO F7 price is identical to the iQOO Neo 10 (review), which is also a performance-focused smartphone and shares similar strengths. In fact, the iQOO smartphone excels with its superior daylight photography, good battery optimisation, faster charging speeds, power-efficient LTPO display, and lightweight design. However, it falls short in its durability, with a plastic build and only an IP65 rating. Moreover, the iQOO Neo 10 is equipped with lower RAM and storage configuration on the base variant, weaker low-light photography performance, and a shorter software support commitment.

In these aspects, the POCO F7 emerges as a more well-rounded option. While it may not offer every cutting-edge feature, such as an LTPO display for more efficient refresh rate management or significant advancements in camera performance, it compensates with superior durability, which should make it capable of withstanding minor drops, rough usage, and even adverse weather. The generous 12GB RAM and 256GB storage on the base variant also make it better suited for users who often switch between apps frequently.

The POCO smartphone software may feel somewhat bloated, but it’s enriched by a host of AI-powered tools that enhance everyday usability. Moreover, POCO’s long-term software support ensures the device remains relevant till 2031.

As long as you don’t prioritise cameras, the POCO F7 makes a compelling case for itself in the mid-range performance smartphone market. As part of the launch offer, the handset will be available in India for as low as Rs 29,999.

Editor’s rating: 8 / 10

Reasons to buy:

• POCO F7 can withstand drops, dust, and water with its IP69 rating and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection.
• Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 ensures the phone handles multitasking and gaming effortlessly.
• The massive 7,550mAh battery delivers exceptional longevity, comfortably lasting over a day and a half on a single charge.
• Promised 4 years of OS updates and 6 years of security patches ensure future-proofing.

Reasons not to buy:

• Daylight and portrait shots lack detail and colour accuracy compared to rivals in the same price segment.
• The phone’s large battery and robust build make it noticeably heavy, especially during prolonged one-handed use.
• Comes with an array of apps pre-installed, requiring manual clean-up for a tidier experience.