For this start of the 2022 school year, Xiaomi is back in the spotlight with two new entry-level smartphones: the POCO M5 and M5s. Offered at an attractive price, these two devices are designed above all to offer a satisfactory audiovisual experience (gaming and photo) in this segment.
After launching the POCO F4 GT, a gaming smartphone equipped with triggers, at the end of April 2022, the Chinese brand POCO returns to the front of the stage for this start of the 2022 school year with two new devices: the POCO M5 and M5s.
These two entry-level smartphones are intended above all for users looking for a device capable of offering good performance (gaming, photo, autonomy), all with a good quality/price ratio.
POCO M5: a gaming smartphone at a low price
Let’s start first with the POCO M5. We will find under the hood a MediaTek Helio G99 octa-core SoC engraved in 6 nm accompanied by an Arm Mali G57 GPU. On the RAM and internal memory side, the M5 embarks between 4 and 6 G0 (depending on the version) of LPDDR4X RAM and between 64 and 128 GB of UFS 2.2 ROM storage space. Designed primarily for gaming according to the manufacturer’s statements, the POCO M5 offers Game Turbo 5.0 mode which is responsible for optimizing the resources delivered by the processor, the GPU and the video memory to ensure constant performance.
Regarding the screen, Poco has opted for a 6.58″ Full HD+ panel (20:9 ratio) with refresh rate 90Hz variable. Note also that the screen displays a touch sampling rate of 240 Hz, thereby ensuring optimal responsiveness in game in particular.
Then let’s come to the photo part. Users will be able to count on a triple photo sensor, of which here is the composition:
- main sensor 50 MP with f/1.8 aperture
- 2 MP macro lens with f/2.4 aperture
- depth sensor 2MP with f/2.4 aperture
- on the front, a selfie sensor of 5MP with f/2.4 aperture
On the battery side, the POCO M5 has an accumulator of 5000mAhfast charging compatible 18W. Note also that a 22.5 W USB Type-C charger is supplied in the box with the smartphone. In terms of connectivity, you will have to deal with the classic paraphernalia: Dual SIM, 4G/3G/2G support, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 8O2.11, NFC, side fingerprint reader and 3.5mm jack port. Now let’s take a look at the POCO M5s.
Also read: Poco Watch, Buds Pro – Poco enters the headphones and smartwatches market by cutting prices
POCO M5s: a supercharged version of the M5
As said before, the manufacturer is also launching the POCO M5S which can be summed up as a boosted version of the M5. This rise in power is characterized first of all by the integration of a faster SoC, namely a MediaTek octa-core Helio G95 CPU clocked up to 2.05 GHz, accompanied by a Mali-G76 MC4 GPU. Regarding RAM and internal memory, no difference here: between 4 and 6 GB of RAM and between 64 and 128 GB of storage space.
The screen also goes upmarket with a 6.43″ AMOLED DotDisplay panel in Full HD+, still in a 20:9 ratio. Note that it is protected by glass Corning Gorilla Glass 3. Unsurprisingly, this M5s also has a better offer on the photo side, with a quadruple sensor this time:
- a 64 MP main sensor with f/1.8 aperture
- an ultra-wide-angle lens 8MP with f/2.2 aperture
- a macro objective of 2MP with f/2.4 aperture
- a depth sensor 2MP with f/2.4 aperture
- on the front, a selfie sensor of 13MP with f/2.4 aperture
According to the statements of the manufacturer, the smartphone is capable of filming in 4K at 30 frames per second. On the battery side, the M5s has an accumulator of 5000mAhcompatible with 33W fast charging. According to POCO, the smartphone thus displays a 12 hour battery life “of continuous immersive entertainment”, and a day and a half of uninterrupted voice calls.
We find all the connectivity and ports mentioned, with the exception of the presence of a double speaker, facial recognition supportof a IP53 certified (dust and rain) and the possibility of extending the storage capacity to 1 TB via an SD card.
Price and availability
The POCO M5 will be available from September 12, 2022 in three colors: Black, Green and Yellow. Three variants are offered, namely: 4 G0/64 GB, 4 G0/128 GB and 6 G0/128 GB. For the moment, we do not yet have the prices for this latest version. The POCO M5 will be displayed at the following prices:
- €189.90 in its 4 GB/64 GB version (€169.90 until September 17)
- €209.90 in its 4 GB/128 GB version (€189 until September 17)
As for the POCO M5s, it will be available in the same colors mentioned above and on the same date. Here are the prices displayed:
- €229.90 in 4 GB/64 GB version (€199.90 until September 17)
- €249.90 in 4 GB/218 GB version (€219 until September 17)
Here again, the prices for the 6 GB/128 GB version are not yet known. After this complete presentation, are you interested in these new entry-level smartphones from POCO? Tell us in the comments.