Xiaomi Poco X3 test: 120 Hz mode or autonomy, why choose?

120 Hz For Cheap :

The 120 Hz mode is one of the main arguments of this Poco X3, which here tries to make people forget the fact that the Poco F2 Pro, although positioned in a higher price segment, does not benefit from such an option. In fact, the fluidity that emerges is felt perfectly, which is a real plus for ease of use. Let us just point out that Xiaomi is inspired by Samsung on this feature: the 120 Hz is not constant, the number of images per second decreases depending on the content displayed.

However, good fluidity is not enough to make a beautiful screen and we must push our analysis further. Here, the panel offers an LCD display, a diagonal of 6.67 inches with a 20:9 ratio and a definition of 2400 x 1080 pixels. The rectangle in front of us doesn’t offer a jaw-dropping viewing experience, but it is still able to ensure good quality, at least satisfactory for a device at this price point.

For example, the screen of the Poco X3 does not shine brightly, but with a maximum brightness of 448 cd/m², it can provide very good readability in a number of cases. If the sun or a strong lamp comes to dart its rays on the slab, you may however encounter some difficulties at this level.

We obviously subjected the phone to our colorimetric probe associated with CalMan software from Portrait Displays. The opportunity to measure a contrast of 1331:1 very satisfactory for the LCD (a contrast of 1000:1 being considered a little too tight, too soft). Then be aware that the Poco X3 offers some settings to adjust the quality of the display to your liking. Basically, the smartphone is in an automatic mode which adapts the tones according to the ambient light. However, there are also two other options.

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First of all, we have a saturated mode, the name of which leaves little room for doubt. This one aims to sublimate the colors even if they are very far from reality. Unsurprisingly, the average temperature soars to almost 8000 K which betrays a large dominant of blue – the ideal is rather at 6500 K. In this configuration, the Poco X3 manages to offer a fairly wide range of colors while covering 123% of the RGB space (easy to manage) and 83% of the DCI-P3 (larger and therefore more complex).

These are not extraordinary results, but let’s say that it is still very suitable. As we said, color fidelity is not the priority in saturated mode. Thus, the average Delta E observed on the DCI-P3 is 5.88 when we prefer to see this index approaching 3. With this profile, the Poco X3 has a hard time especially on cyan blue (100%) and on shades of gray.

Standard mode tends a lot towards true-to-life tones, but the phone then loses a lot of color plurality. The RGB space is barely covered in its entirety when the DCI-P3 is rather poorly managed.

Finally, we recommend that you instead turn to the adaptive default setting or choose the saturated mode while incorporating a little more red via the cursor on the on-screen palette.

Software :

Xiaomi’s home interface is found on this smartphone: MIUI 12 running Android 10. On the one hand, it is adored for its abundant customizations allowing to refine almost every aspect of the user experience. However, it is also widely criticized for its somewhat cluttered appearance and its philosophy far removed from Android as imagined by Google.

Dark mode and gesture navigation are part of the game as is the app drawer which, on the Poco Launcher, cannot be disabled. However, you can get rid of the tabbed app sorting that is offered by default.

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However, let us dwell on the fact that the Poco X3 benefits from version 12 of MIUI which is relatively recent. One of the big new features of this interface is the Control Center very inspired by what we find on iOS. By default, this is not activated and you will therefore access your notifications and your shortcuts in the classic way for an Android smartphone. However, take a look at the display settings.

There you will find a section “Control Center & Notification Panel”. Inside, the “Use the new Control Center” option therefore allows you to take advantage of the experience recently offered by Xiaomi. With a slide of your thumb down on the home screen, you will only see your notifications. However, if you start this gesture from the right of the punch – really at the very top – then you will see the Control Center appear, the design of which really has nothing to do with what Android usually offers.

Here you will have access to all the quick settings with very big icons. Four pieces of information are highlighted more than the others via large tiles at the top: mobile data, Wi-Fi connection, Bluetooth and flashlight. The experience is interesting and stands out a bit from the competition … but not much from iPhones. Small frustration: the interface never explains the method to lower the control center, it’s up to you how. Also, it’s quite a shame that you can only lower said Control Center from such a specific part of the screen, but I’m not sure how to get around this restriction.

MIUI 12 also brings the possibility of taking advantage of floating windows. On the Poco X3, the option does exist, but I was unable to activate it at all by the method indicated by the phone. In my case, I had to show all the open apps, hold down one of them and hope that the button dedicated to the feature was available. By doing this, I could then display the gallery or Google Chrome as a floating window … The option is aptly named here.

Other than that, it’s no longer a surprise that Xiaomi, despite an MIUI interface that deviates from the vision of the Mountain View giant, is putting Google in the spotlight by adopting many of its applications out of the factory. The default Phone and Messages applications are in particular those of the colossus with four colors and we find on the box of the Poco X3 the mention “with easy access to the Google apps you use the most”. “With easy access to the Google apps you use the most,” Moliere would have said without anachronism, none.

There are also some usual confusions unfortunately. To open the camera from the locked screen, the phone indicates to “carry” the icon instead of dragging it. Also, in the settings, it is easy to confuse the options “Full Screen Mode” and “Full Screen Display”. Counterintuitively, the first allows applications to be extended while the second activates gesture navigation. Reading an “App Drawer” option rather than an “App Drawer” option also makes me cringe a little.

However, MIUI remains annoying mainly on two points. On the one hand, the antivirus displaying advertising and triggering every application download, even from the Play Store. We don’t want it anymore! Fortunately, this option can be disabled. On the other hand, a few third-party services are pre-installed that are not necessarily very relevant to the user like eBay or LinkedIn.

 

 

The main sensor of the Poco X3 also enables a 64-megapixel mode to be activated to enjoy larger and more defined images. As long as you have good light, this feature produces shots that are much richer in detail. Be careful of the space these photos take on your storage space.

The Xiaomi Poco X3’s ultra-wide angle isn’t bad in the middle of the day, but it lacks a bit of color consistency with normal shooting and often results in somewhat paler images in comparison. It fart less to the eye and in some situations it creates a kind of pastel veil. At night, this shooting mode is very limited in terms of sharpness and brightness.

The portrait mode of the Xiaomi Poco X3 is not always very convincing in the sense that the depth sensor does not add much value. Despite its presence, the demarcation between the person in the foreground and the background remains quite random and strands of hair are found almost systematically blurred by mistake. It can also happen that a large area around the subject you are photographing remains in focus when it should be out of focus. It should be noted above all that outdoor photos are much better managed by this mode, under natural light.

A portrait mode a little capricious in short, and whose photos weigh strangely very heavy, around 38 MB.

Macro mode is not very relevant. Even if it actually makes it possible to take pictures of objects very closely, the definition of the images remains too low to be really usable. This gadget can also quite easily be replaced by a photo with the classic sensor in which you will zoom a little.

For selfies, the Poco X3 relies on a 20-megapixel (f/2.2) front-facing photo sensor that produces good, fairly detailed photos, but lacks a bit of energy to handle the strong contrasts in a scene.

A Good Smartphone For Playing :

The Xiaomi Poco X3 is powered by a Snapdragon 732G, a Qualcomm chip intended for smartphones at the crossroads of entry and mid-range. No particular concerns to note in terms of performance, the SoC does not offer more than what is expected of it, but certainly not less either. No disappointment and no surprise.

On Fortnite, the graphics are set by default to a medium level and you won’t be able to go beyond that. Not surprisingly, the game is also limited to 30 fps on this smartphone. At least that’s what the settings say, because during a game you are rather capped at 25 fps. Only a particularly seasoned eye will be able to truly appreciate that said. What even first-timers will notice, however, is that on very busy stages the Poco X3 occasionally falters a bit, dropping to 18 or 20 fps. This happens mostly at the beginning, when you have to jump off the flying bus, but it’s still quite rare.

In Call of Duty Mobile, a game better optimized for smartphones, you will be able to activate the graphics at their maximum configuration as well as the displayed frame rate per second. Under these conditions, the Poco X3 is doing really well although, it’s true, a few very small slowdowns can be felt. Nothing bad enough to justify a loss unless you are really playing at a very professional level. With settings a little more modest, the phone has absolutely no problem.