Design

• Curved screen edges
• Eye-catching black and yellow colourway
• IP68 water resistance

The Poco X7 has a bold design, and I appreciate the design decisions Xiaomi has taken here.

First, the Poco X7 features its now iconic yellow and black colourway, with the Poco name shining through the vegan leather. Love it or hate it (I love it), it’s an eye-catching design that helps to set this budget brand apart.

Now, the Poco X7 is also available in green and silver, but given it is the same price, the black and yellow colourway is the standout option. Although I’ve not tested the green and silver versions, it seems the faux-leather will be harder wearing, as the other colourways use a glossy plastic that’s bound to scratch up.

That said, the Poco X7’s plastic frame also looks like it could be susceptible to breakage, though Xiaomi makes some strong claims about “strengthened frame corners” and a new, thicker PCB with composite aluminium to protect against drops and other damage. It also features flagship Gorilla Glass Victus 2 screen protection, which is another useful touch when it comes to protecting your device.

Accordingly, the rear panel also hosts the camera housing. At a glance, the Poco X7 appears to be equipped with four cameras, but a closer inspection reveals that there are actually three cameras and one flash, the latter designed to fit seamlessly into the overall design.

There’s more on the camera quality a little later, but the camera housing itself is decent, rimmed with the same golden bronze as the Poco logo, and all fitting together smoothly. I also like that the cameras and their housing don’t protrude too far from the Poco X7 body; it’s quite compact, which fits the smartphone’s style.

Something I wasn’t expecting to see on a smartphone at this price point was a curved screen. I must admit that I’m not a huge fan of curved screens (tricky to add screen protectors, dust build-up feels worse, more susceptible to damage), but the gentle curves of the Poco X7 are decent enough. In that, the factory-fitted screen protector is a small but welcome feature to save my often poor application attempts.

So, the Poco X7 isn’t going to win design awards, but it also has some good features that help it at least appear like a unique device.

Screen

• 6.67-inch 120Hz “CrystalRes” AMOLED
• 1.5K resolution (2712 x 1220)
• HDR10 certified

I’m fully impressed with the Poco X7’s screen. Xiaomi opted for a 6.67-inch “CrystalRes” AMOLED display with a 1.5K resolution, and it really shines through (literally!).

With a High Brightness Mode rating of 1,200 nits and a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, the X7’s screen is easily visible in almost any lighting condition. I had no trouble at all using it to read messages and play games in bright sunlight.

One issue I did have was actually at the opposite end of the scale: minimum brightness. I don’t know about you, but I’m a late-night Reddit scroller just before bed, but found I couldn’t adjust the backlighting as dim as I wanted. It’s not a major issue, as this is more of a niche concern, but it’s worth considering.

Even without premium LTPO tech, I can’t fault the 120Hz screen’s responsiveness at all. I found the screen easy to use, snappy, and smooth during transitions, even when switching between larger and more resource-heavy apps.

Cameras

• Triple camera setup
• Pointless macro lens
• 20MP selfie camera

The Poco X7 has three cameras: a 50MP main snapper, an 8MP ultrawide, and a 2MP macro. While it’s clear that the Poco X7 doesn’t really deliver a top-tier camera experience, I’m mostly content with its output.

Switching on the Poco X7’s AI shooting mode appears to primarily enhance contrast and saturation, but it also helps add some definition to the target.

However, I also found that switching on the AI mode illustrated that the regular camera mode is a little washed out and doesn’t always accurately capture the scene. That said, the flip side is that the AI mode cranks everything up to the point where you wouldn’t use this for regular shots, either.

In the images below, the reality lay somewhere between the two; it wasn’t as vibrant on a sunny and slightly cloudy day, but neither was it lacking any real depth of colour.

I found the zoom mostly useful, though once you start analyzing the shot in detail, it looks like certain aspects have been sharpened a little too much. This is without the AI enhancements, too. Still, I was content with the overall output.

One real downside is the macro cam. To get the macro cam to focus, you must move the camera extremely close to the subject. In doing so, you often obscure the subject with shadow. It’s almost pointless, especially with a measly 2MP resolution.

The front-facing selfie camera is, again, useful but not spectacular. As with all things photography, light levels are important here, and it works well in the right circumstances. However, note that for some reason, this camera comes with some smoothing and other “beautifying” settings switched on, so be sure to turn those off before you start snapping away.

As said, the Poco X7 isn’t what I’d reach for if I wanted a budget smartphone snapper. The 50MP IMX882 main sensor is useful, and the 20MP front-facing camera gets the job done, but I wouldn’t rely on the Poco X7 to deliver quality when it matters.

Performance

• Mediatek Dimensity 7300 Ultra processor
• Good for everyday use, but not powerful
• 256GB or 512GB of storage

Xiaomi has given the Poco X7 a great budget-focused chipset: the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Ultra. Now, you’re not going to get mindblowing performance from this SoC, but it performs satisfactorily. The Poco X7 also has two memory configurations; I’m testing the slightly more expensive 12GB RAM/512GB storage version, but there is also an 8GB/256GB storage option.

I’ve found the overall performance of the Poco X7 useful. In that, the Dimensity 7300 Ultra chip hasn’t stopped me from doing anything I normally would. Transitions between resource-heavy games and apps are seamless and without issue, and I haven’t noticed any issues with apps slowing down or otherwise.

In terms of raw numbers, however, the Poco X7 isn’t particularly strong.

It scored 1,031 on the Geekbench 6 single-core test, bringing it line with similarly priced phones like Xiaomi’s competing Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G. It’s a similar story in the multi-core department, with the X7 scoring 2836, although it falls short of competing phones like the Motorola Edge 60 Fusion and Nothing Phone 3a.

Similarly, its 3DMark Wild Life result fell behind the Nothing Phone 3a, though again, it’s very much in line with most of the competition. It’s also worth highlighting how much additional power you get by spending the additional £50 on the Poco X7 Pro.

But that’s all numbers, right? As said, I found the actual experience with the Poco X7 absolutely fine.

Sure, you’re not going to be running Genshin Impact or Honkai Star Rail at 60 FPS with ultra textures, but I’d expect most folks buying a smartphone at this price point to realise that. Those are very demanding games and require the requisite hardware. What the Poco X7 delivers in performance matches its price.

Software

• HyperOS running on Android 14
• Up to three years of software support

I must admit it has been a while since I’ve used a Poco phone. So imagine my surprise when confronted with HyperOS and its enormous tranche of pre-installed apps. And not only that, apps that have notifications switched on that start pinging you for attention once you start using the phone, and other system apps that display ads when you open them.

Just no, absolutely not.

No smartphone should have this volume of apps installed, especially apps that you can’t easily remove from the device. I get it; Xiaomi has partnerships with certain apps and wants to push its own Mi Browser over Chrome or otherwise. But I’ve never had Google Chrome ping me about random advertising while I’m not even using the browser.

Similarly, the Xiaomi App Mall is a potentially useful alternative to the Play Store, but it’s just not something I have to put up with, so I didn’t use it.

Xiaomi promises up to three years of operating system updates, which is pretty good and becoming the standard for these budget smartphones. However, there is a slight catch: as the Poco X7’s version of HyperOS is based on Android 14, you’re already one operating system update behind the rest of the world.

Even the beefier Poco X7 Pro is running Android 15, meaning that when the needed update comes around, you’ll still be behind the curve and likely one year down on your smartphone software support.

Positively, HyperOS is smooth. I found no faults when opening apps, moving between screens, transitioning, and so on.

HyperOS’ appearance is also boosted by the quality of the screen, making it appear vibrant and engaging; it almost helps you look past this backwards approach to modern Android smartphones that absolutely holds this budget device back.

Battery Life

• 5110mAh battery
• 45W fast charging

Battery life is one of the Poco X7’s big plus points. Sporting a 5110mAh battery with 45W fast charging, the Poco X7 has good battery life that delivers strong performance. I’m also pleasantly surprised to find an actual 45W charger in the Poco X7’s box, too.

It delivered 33% charge in 15 minutes, jumping to 60% at the 30-minute mark, which is great for when you’re heading out and need some charge in a pinch. The Poco X7 hit full charge after around 62 minutes. That’s a little longer than I was expecting, given the rapid jump between the 15 and 30 minute mark, but reaching full charge in just over an hour is still great.

I was also fairly happy with its overall battery management. I spent half an hour playing Wreckfest at full brightness and saw a 9% battery drop, which is decent given the hardware and brightness. Similarly, an hour’s worth of 1080p60 HDR streaming saw a 10% drop.

The Poco X7 also features protective charging, enabling you to stop your smartphone from charging at 80% to protect your battery.

Should you buy it?

FAQs