Is POCO F4 5G worth buying under Rs 30,000?

POCO got everyone’s attention when it entered the market back in 2018 with the POCO F1 (review). The phone was disruptive as it offered flagship-grade hardware at an extremely affordable price point. Since then, the brand has managed to launch several impressive devices, including the POCO F3 GT and POCO X3 Pro. However, we never really got a true successor to the POCO F1 flagship killer, until now. The POCO F4 5G is being hailed as a true POCO F1 successor. But is it worth buying given the alternatives available today? Let’s find out.

POCO F4 5G: 4 things that work for it

We recently reviewed the POCO F4 5G and concluded that it is a “competitively-priced, do-it-all phone.” This is a device that promises flagship-grade performance without a premium price tag attached to it. So to put it simply, this is definitely a phone worth buying. But there are 4 things in particular that make the POCO F4 5G worth buying.

Stunning display

The POCO F4 5G goes all out in the display section. It features a stunning 6.67-inch E4 AMOLED display with up to a 120Hz refresh rate. The display gets plenty bright with up to 1300 nits and there is a layer of Gorilla Glass 5 for protection. Essentially, there’s nothing about the display that leaves you wanting more.

Great performer

Powering the POCO F4 5G is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870, which is a speedy, flagship-grade processor. Paired with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage, the Snapdragon 870 chipset ensures it can breeze through pretty much anything you throw at it. In our tests, the POCO F4 5G proved to be a capable phone for gaming, running most games at the highest possible graphics and FPS settings. We also saw no instance of stutter or lag while running day-to-day operations like opening apps, browsing through the UI, and consuming content.

Capable main camera

The POCO F4 5G is equipped with a 64MP primary camera that is supported by OIS. There’s also an 8MP wide-angle and 2MP macro camera to complete the rear camera setup. But it’s the main camera that truly shines for us. The 64MP sensor can deliver punchy and vibrant photos with a ton of detail in daylight. The camera also manages to deliver decent photos in low light conditions with night mode enabled.

Fast wired charging

While the POCO F4 5G comes with a modest 4,500mAh battery that should last a full day, it’s the 67W fast charging support that should excite you. With the included 67W charger, you can top up the handset in no time. The speedy charging capability ensures you will have enough battery and more with just a few minutes of charging time.

If we were to nitpick some of the reasons why you shouldn’t buy the POCO F4 5G, it would be its uninspiring design and bloatware that comes with the POCO launcher. But most buyers are likely to find the premium glass finish and the Nebula Green colourway quite exciting in this price segment.

Overall, the POCO F4 5G delivers on pretty much all fronts, which makes this smartphone worth buying under Rs 30,000. While this segment does have some impressive competitors like the Realme GT Master Edition, Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge, and OnePlus Nord 2, the POCO F4 5G has enough firepower to stand out among the crowd. The POCO F4 5G is an even better deal if you’re able to buy it at its introductory price of Rs 23,999.