POCO has just presented a new smartphone dedicated to video games, the POCO F4 GT. Powered by the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 from Qualcomm, it promises an excellent gaming experience at a more affordable price than its competitors.
The gaming smartphone market today welcomes a newcomer: the POCO F4 GT. Launched last February in China as the Redmi K50 Gaming Edition, Xiaomi’s new smartphone promises top-flight performance thanks to a processor Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, backed by LPDDR5 RAM, UFS 3.1 memory and cooled by LiquidCool 3.0 cooling technology. The system accommodates two steam chambers on a total surface of 4,860 mm², that will allow you to play your favorite video games for long hours. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is famous for being a chip that heats up smartphones, so such a cooling system will not be too much to keep it cool.
The screen is of course also suitable for gaming. We find a 6.67-inch AMOLED FHD+ panel with 120Hz refresh rate and a 480Hz sampling rate. It features high-frequency PWM dimming that helps protect your eyes during long gaming sessions, and promises true-to-life colors both in-game and in video thanks to a depth of 10 bit color.
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The POCO F4 GT charges at full speed
In addition to being fast in game, the POCO F4 GT promises to recharge at full speed thanks to the 120W fast charging, the same as on the top-end Xiaomi 12 Pro. Thereby, its 4700 mAh battery can be fully charged in just 17 minutes. In-game, the recharge time increases slightly to 27 minutes, but it’s still better than most smartphones on the market.
On the photo side, like most of its competitors, the POCO F4 GT makes a lot of concessions to maintain an attractive price. We find a configuration at three cameras with a 64 MP IMX686 main sensor, an 8 MP ultra-wide-angle sensor and a 2 MP macro sensor. The quality of the shots will therefore not be comparable to the best photophones on the market, but it should remain more than correct.
The POCO F4 GT offers magnetic triggers for more precision in game
The most interesting feature of the smartphone is on its edge. Indeed, the POCO F4 GT is equipped with physical triggers. Xiaomi calls them “magnetic triggers”, and those should appeal to the gamers the phone aims to appeal to. They would be able to withstand 1.5 million pressures, enough to ensure several years of gaming sessions without worrying about the durability of your smartphone. They can be activated and deactivated with two mechanical buttons.
Finally, the POCO also announces that its device has four speakers, which is not common on a smartphone. The stereo audio experience should therefore be good, but we will have to wait for the tests to be sure.
Price and availability
While most gaming smartphones are placed at a price approaching the 1000 euro mark, such as the ASUS ROG Phone 5s Pro, the POCO F4 GT is much more affordable. The smartphone is offered from 599 euros for the version with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storageand 699 euros for the configuration with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage.
However, as with every launch, the price is being reduced for a limited period. From April 26, 2022 3 p.m. to April 29, 2:59 p.m. the POCO F4 Pro will be marketed at only 499 euros or 599 euros, depending on the configuration chosen, on the official Po.co website (and a little later in the day on Amazon). 3 colors are available: Absolute Black, Space Silver and the famous POCO Yellow.
It can also be noted that the POCO F4 GT comes with a free 2-month YouTube Premium subscription, after which customers can choose whether or not to subscribe. Screen repair is also free for the first 6 months after purchase.
