Xiaomi Poco X3 NFC Review – Best $200 dollar phone

The Xiaomi Poco X3 NFC is an upgrade of the Poco X2. It comes with incredible features which you hardly get from any other phone of this price. This Poco X3 NFC was Officially announced on September 22, 2020 alongside the Poco X3.

When it comes to value-to-price ratio, the specs sheet on this phone completely wipes the floor with everything, even close to its price range. The starting price of the phone when it was first announced was $199 (N70,000) for early birds. The price later went up to $249 which is the current price of the phone.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Great battery life
  • Great performance phone
  • IP53 splash proof
  • 120Hz refresh rate

Cons

  • Fair design
  • A little heavy

The Poco X3 NFC is a mid-range phone that comes with a lot of incredible features like stereo speakers, quad cameras, water splash proof and even NFC. For only $249, is it a worthy phone? Let’s find out in this quick Xiaomi Poco X3 review. But before that, let’s take a look at the specs sheet of this device.

Key Specifications

  • Network – GSM / HSP / LTE
  • Display – 6.67” IPS LCD, 120Hz, HDR 10
  • Resolution – 1080 x 2400 pixels
  • CPU Octa-core – Qualcomm SM7150-AC Snapdragon 732G
  • GPU – Adreno 618
  • Memory – 6GB RAM
  • Storage– 64GB/128GB
  • Main Camera – Quad 64MP+13MP+2MP+2MP
  • Selfie Camera – Single 20MP
  • Sound – 3.5mm Jack, dual stereo loudspeakers
  • Battery – Li-Po 5160mAh

Tell me the features above are not impressive. This for sure completely destroys anyone perception of value. That kind of price buys you the Samsung Galaxy A21s. Comparing these two phones together, it looks like they are from different decade, let alone year.

Xiaomi Poco X3 NFC Price and released date

The Xiaomi poco X3 NFC is available in Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana for N70,000, Ksh34,999 and GHS1,269 respectively. It was announced on September 22, 2020 alongside the Poco X3, a similar phone with higher battery capacity, weight and thickness as only the difference. Everything else are the same.

Both phones have almost the same features and performance and can be bought from reputable online stores like Amazon, Bestbuy and Jumia.

Poco X3 NFC Review

What’s there not to love about the Poco X3? Not much actually. A simple design with four-cameras at the back, a gorilla glass 5 at the front, a 6.67-inch Full HD+ HDR10, 120Hz display, 5160mAh battery, 33W charging, 64Mp quad camera, Snapdragon 732G, 6GB RAM and even IP53 Splash-proof.

This phone is actually among the best Xiaomi phones in 2020.

Unboxing

What’s in the box?

Xiaomi Poco X3 Unboxing
Credit- Xiaomi_Azerbaycan

As far as the package is concern, there isn’t a single indication that you bought anything less than a flagship. The Poco X3 comes with a clear transparent case, a sim ejector tool, some paper works that will get you started, a poco sticker, the smartphone itself, a USB-C cable and a pretty hefty 33W charger.

Design

Xiaomi Poco X3 NFC design

The Poco X3 NFC comes with a lot of cool features and is good looking, no doubt about it. But I’m not a big fan of the back-camera module. It makes it look like a phone from a decade ago.

The back is made of plastic just like any other mid-range phone (although the Poco X2 is glass), and a large Poco logo is printed on it so you won’t mistake it for another phone. On the back is where you will find the quad cameras.

The metal frame of the Poco X3 is incredible and proves better durability and steadiness. The metal frame on the right is home to the volume keys and Power button that doubles as the fingerprint sensor. SIM and a micro memory card are housed on the left frame of this device.

Looking at the Top of the Poco X3, you will find the outlet for the AP speakers and a microphone. On the bottom of the device is where you will find a microphone, a speaker, a 3.5mm headphone port and a USB-C port. The fingerprint scanner is easy to use and its accurate, fast and reliable.

The front of the device is all Glass and it uses Corning Gorilla 5 and Poco decided to include a screen protector which is not found in the Poco X2. The only problem with the design of this phone is weight.

The Xiaomi Poco X3 weighs 225g and measures more than 10mm in thickness. Just for comparison, the Oppo F17 PRO (a similar phone of this price range) weighs 164g and thickness is only 7.5mm.

The Large thickness and weight are as a result of the increase in battery capacity, but there are pretty much other phones with larger battery that stills weighs less than this and slimmer. For example, the Galaxy M51 with 7000mAh battery weighs 213g and is 163.9mm thick.

When using the Poco X3 after an hour or so, your hands will start feeling a little resurging after all the lifting. This smartphone comes in three different colours; Cobalt blue and shadow Gray.

Display

Xiaomi Poco X3 NFC display
Credit-Xiaomi_Baki

Just like the Poco X2, theXiaomi Poco X3 spots, 6.67 inches IPS LCD panel with Full HD+ display (1080 x 2400 resolution), a 120Hz refresh rate and 20:9 aspect ratio. Having a 120Hz refresh rate, this means that UI element and supported apps will appear more smother to the eye. Like when you are scrolling fast and watching movies with fast moving scenes.

Although, the implementation isn’t that perfect. The pixel responds time does not feel as fast as the refresh rate. So, you will not see any difference of the 120Hz with the regular ones if you look closely.

Beside the refresh rate, there is a super-fast 240Hz touch sampling rate. This simply means that the display is super responsive to your touch especially when playing games. Contrast and brightness are quite good. You won’t experience much problem watching movie with this device and even when using it outdoor on a Sunny day.

There is also a lot of display settings, you can set it to your taste and twist the colors anyhow you like. The device also supports HDR10 which enables you enjoy all the popular HDR10 content from your favourite stream services.

Camera

Xiaomi Poco X3 cameras
Credit-Xiaomi

Poco X3 NFC features a quad camera set-up with 64Mp main camera, 13Mp ultra-wide camera, 2Mp macro and 2Mp depth sensor. The camera system is quite impressive. You are getting almost identical set-up to the Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite.

The last two cameras, the macro and depth sensor are practically just an extra. But the main and ultra-wide cameras are capable of performing better. Pictures taken from the cameras are good and detailed. Also, the dynamic range is fantastic.

There is a front and back mode that allows you take video on the front and back at the same time.  You can clone yourself by leaving the phone still and you moving to different positions. Other features include slow motion, non-exposure and night mode which is Okay.

Xiaomi is marketing its camera set-up as a flagship 64Mp quad camera. The camera is not bad, but it is not true. This smartphone does not have optical image stabilization like a flagship, so, the video quality is fine but not great, especially the selfie camera. And the 2Mp macro and depth sensor are in no world flagship.

But for a $200 phone, the Xiaomi Poco X3 is a good phone.

Performance

Xiaomi Poco X3 is powered by snapdragon 732G processor with Adreno 618 GPU and clock speed of 2.6MHZ. The snapdragon 732G is the most power snapdragon 700 series processor. With this kind of processor, playing game on this phone is great.

This smartphone delivers a smooth gaming experience on high graphics demanding games thanks to the Adreno 618 graphics processing unit on it. The graphics test out performs most of the mid-range phone out there.

Multitasking on this device is great and you have enough space to store data. The Poco X3 comes with 6GB of RAM, 64 GB storage and you could also go for 128GB storage at an extra price. The 128GB storage looks cool but you won’t get more rather than storage and the price difference is close to $60.

So am guessing, what Poco does here is to hook people to buying the 64GB variant.

On Antutu test, The Poco X3 scores 283750 which is amazing for a phone at this price. On GeekBench, it scores 1777 on multitasking operation and 571 in single-core test.

Software

The Xiaomi Poco X3 runs on Android 10 and MIUI 12 (Xiaomi’s OS on Android). The MIUI 12 software is a really beautiful software and I’m a big fan of this upgrade. This OS is quite clean and snappy. Apps are stored in app drawer by default and it automatically organizes them into categories.

One special feature of the in MIUI 12 is that the notification sheet can be split into two part, a notification panel and a control panel. You also have the ability to put an app into a floating window where you can over it on everything else. Great for multitasking.

When typing on this phone, it feels very nice. And the overall software experience is great. But one of the experiences you get from Tecno and Infinix phones which as always been a downside, you also find it in the Poco X3. That is bacon ads and a little bloatware.

I guess the company have used these beacon ads to lower the price. You see bacon ads when you install an app, you see them when you uninstall an app and also see them in third party apps that comes preloaded on the phone.

Not everybody cares much about these ads, but it looks shady and they are making more when you click on ads.

Battery

As you expect, the battery life of this smartphone is great. The battery is large and it has a capacity of 5160mAh. Also, this device comes with 33W charger in the box and the battery charge from 0 – 55% in less than an hour.

Playing PUBG for 1 hour, Call of duty for 30 minutes and watching movie at highest brightness for another 1hour drain the battery to 51%. This shows the battery last very long hours even when playing power consuming games.

Should I Buy the Poco X3 NFC

Buy it if…

  • You love gaming
  • You need a phone that will last you two days
  • You just want a phone with great specs for the price

Don’t buy it if…

  • You want a phone with premium designs
  • You just need a small basic phone

Xiaomi Poco X3 Full specs

Launch

Announced2020, September 07
StatusAvailable.

Design

Dimension165.3mm x 76.8mm x 9.4mm
Weight215g
Bodyaluminum frame, plastic back
ColoursCobalt Blue, Shadow Gray

Display

TypeIPS LCD
Size6.67 inches
Resolution1080 x 2400 pixels
Touch ScreenCapacitive touchscreen
Pixel density~395 ppi density
Aspect Ratio20:9 ratio
ProtectionCorning Gorilla Glass 5

Hardware

CPUOcta-core processor 4th Generation Qualcomm AI Engine
GPUAdreno 618
RAM6GB
Storage64GB, 128GB
Expandable storageUp to 256 GB expandable storage
SensorsFingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass

Software

Operating SystemMIUI 12, based on Android 10
User InterfacePOCO Launcher 2.0

Camera

Rear Camera64MP (wide) + 13MP (ultrawide) + 2MP (macro) + 2MP (depth)
Front Camera20Mp
FeaturesDual-LED flash, HDR, panorama
Video4K@30fps, 1080p@30/120fps, 720p@960fps

Network

TechnologyGSM/HSPA/LTE
Bands2G, 3G, 4G
SpeedHSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A

Connectivity

WLANWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetooth5.1, A2DP, LE
USBType-C cable
NFCYes
GPSYes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
Wireless ChargingNo
Headphone JackYes, 3.5mm

Battery

TypeLi-Po, non removable
Capapcity5160 mAh
ChargingFast charging 33W

Entertainment

LoudspeakerYes
FM radioYes, Recording
Video playbackYes
Music PlayerYes
Video outYes

Price

Nigeria
in Dollars

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Victor Smith
Victor loves talking about Tech and he reviews a lot of gadget. His Reviews are based on his use of this gadgets and his opinions about them.