Poco M3 Pro 5G unveiled with Dimensity 700 and 90Hz display

2021-05-19

The Poco M3 Pro 5G is here and it is faster. It has faster Internet thanks to 5G, it has a faster 90Hz screen and a faster chipset. And it has a cool new design too.

Poco M3 Pro 5GPoco M3 Pro 5G
Poco M3 Pro 5G

Poco picked the 7nm Dimensity 700 chip to power its new creation. It has peak download speeds of up to 2.77 Gbps and a pair of Cortex-A76 cores, plus a Mali G57 GPU. For comparison, the Snapdragon 662 inside the vanilla M3 is an 11nm chip with four Cortex-A73 based cores and an Adreno 610. The newer CPU cores are much faster individually and noticeably faster together, despite there being only two of them. The new GPU promises a great performance advantage too.

Enough to run games at 90 fps? Perhaps not many, but the 90Hz display does make the UI smoother and can match video content at 30/50/60 fps as well. It’s a 6.5” 1080p+ LCD with 400 nits typical brightness and Gorilla Glass 3, so about the same as the regular M3 display, save for the refresh rate.(note: the 30 fps mode will be enabled after launch via an update)

Poco M3 Pro 5G unveiled with Dimensity 700 and 90Hz display

The Poco M3 Pro 5G has the same camera setup as its sibling, starting with the 48MP camera on the rear (1/2.0” sensor with 0.8µm pixels, f/1.8 lens). It is joined by two 2MP cameras (macro and depth) and an 8MP unit on the front. That one can do face unlock if you prefer it over the side-mounted fingerprint reader.

Poco M3 Pro 5G unveiled with Dimensity 700 and 90Hz display

One area where the Pro is behind the vanilla model is battery – it comes with a 5,000mAh battery, which is smaller than the 6,000mAh power cell in the M3. It charges at the same rate, 18W, and comes bundled with the same 22.5W charger. Of course, the new chipset will have an impact on battery life (and so will the 90Hz screen).

The Poco M3 Pro 5G has a 5,000 mAh battery and a more power efficient 7 nm chipsetThe Poco M3 Pro 5G has a 5,000 mAh battery and a more power efficient 7 nm chipset
The Poco M3 Pro 5G has a 5,000 mAh battery and a more power efficient 7 nm chipset

The M3 Pro has a microSD slot, 3.5mm headphone jack (with FM radio), an infrared blaster and this one will even have NFC in some regions.

This leaves you with 64GB or 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage, which is paired with 4GB or 6GB of RAM (LPDDR4X), respectively, so the Pro doesn’t have a memory advantage over its sibling. It does come with a newer Android version out of the box, Android 11, with MIUI 12 on top.

The Poco M3 Pro 5G retail package includes a 22.5W charger, USB-C cable and a transparent caseThe Poco M3 Pro 5G retail package includes a 22.5W charger, USB-C cable and a transparent case

The Poco M3 Pro 5G will be available tomorrow at Poco"s official website or through Amazon, AliExpress and Goboo. The 4/64 GB model starts at €180, the 6/128 GB version is €200. However, Poco is offering early bird deals, which drop the price to €160 and €180, respectively.

Three color options for the M3 Pro: Poco YellowThree color options for the M3 Pro: Power BlackThree color options for the M3 Pro: Cool Blue
Three color options for the M3 Pro: Poco Yellow • Power Black • Cool Blue

You will be able to pick one up in one of three colors, including the trademark Poco Yellow.

Poco M3 Pro 5G unveiled with Dimensity 700 and 90Hz display

The M3 Pro will soon be available through more partners too.

Poco M3 Pro 5G unveiled with Dimensity 700 and 90Hz displayPoco M3 Pro 5G unveiled with Dimensity 700 and 90Hz display