POCO X3 Pro - Smartphone 8+256GB, 6,67” 120Hz FHD+ DotDisplay, Snapdragon 860, 48MP Quad Camera, 5160mAh, Phantom Black (UK Version + 2 Years Warranty)

Bought during a sale and it's been a hassle-free phone and I love the battery life. I'm not much for the socials but it's worked fine with any apps I need.

Let's start off with the benefit price comparison. On Black Friday it was priced at £159. For this price you get:A 860 Snapdragon processor8 GB ram256gb of internal storage (reduced slightly due to operating system)1quad camera with a main 45MP lens made by Sony.A 20MP front cameraIPS screen at 120hz (when enabled)NFC enabledUsb C type charge socket.Comparing this to anything near the spec, or even with the processor you would be spending far more.Initial setup and linking with my Google account was easy and straight forward. The phone was a delight, camera was okay with a need to be steady in comparison to my previous mi 8 phone. The image I doubt would be comparable on these screens as 45MP is far more than the screen can demonstrate effectively. With that said it was clear that night images were not it's strongest ability. Blur was a problem, but if you steadied your self and ensured you had a little more time to focus the camera it took fine shots (not as plug and play as my mi 8 with 12MP).All apps worked fine with Google play store and there were no issues with lag. The user interface could be a bit clunky and a couple of occasions an app, including the camera froze. A reset to defaults within these apps seem to have solved the issue.Facial recognition to open the screen seems spot on as does the fingerprint pad on the side.It was easy to answer and make calls without any issues or delays. Enabling VOIP was straight forward and is not hidden away like other phones.WiFi was strong and signal strength on Plusnet was fine, noticeably better than the mi 8.The phone had the latest Android and security update to November 2021. The phone also recently received a new MIUI update to 12.5.4 global.With all of these flagship type specs.for a fraction of the price, surely there must be some cutbacks right?There were, the frame is plastic and the screen is gorrila glass 5( which isn't bad at all).The upgrade to the new MIUI has seen more lags and occasional freeze of some apps but not very often at all. With this being a mid range phone, is suspect that this is not too much of a priority at present when it comes.to.aorting these types of bugs out.One thing that has not worked for me is the NFC and Google pay. It just keeps giving the message that this device can't be linked. The type of message you would expect to see on rooted phones (which this is not). Linking amex to the NFC gives the same message, in fact only Barclays seems to confirm the capatibilty with the phone. Even then you have to have the app open to display the symbol telling you that it is set up before using it (I don't know if this actually works in practice with Barclays yet as I have not used it successfully yet).If you can get past these aspects, even if you can't, it is a phone that you will not beat for the price bracket.Durability of the frame is concerning as I am use to aluminium, but with a PU case on I have dropped it a few times from pocket height and there seems to be no damage.Overall, this is a little gem of a phone with a huge spec for a little price tag.I shall persevere with the NFC and await for further updates. If things change I shall revisit my review.

This is coming from using a OnePlus 5 for last 5 years and being a loyal customer and devout believer in this brand.Never one to pay monthly for phones as I feel it's a waste of money and I have a pretty good deal for £10per month so paying for this outright was the only option.I was very tentative in getting another brand and spent over a week looking at every phone possible. Believe me. I spent hours on GSM arena comparing phones and weighing up options and I can honestly say I'm now a firm believer in change is good and Xiaomi are definitely doing wonders in the mobile phone industry.Had no idea they are the 2nd biggest phone brand in the world and having this phone has cemented my decision that this was a good buy.Sharp screen, incredibly fast, top end processor and good looking phone. Headphone jack and expandable memory were also a selling point for me. I'm not an avid photographer but compared to what I was using it's miles better. I did see comparisons to other phones out in today's tech and of course nothing will come close to an iPhone xr or brand new Samsung etc. but for £250 this phone ticks all the boxes.Battery is great, charges super fast and lasts all day with heavy use. Choice of 60hz and 120hz screen adds to the sharpness and detail and can easily be switched.I tend to customise my phones and use Smart launcher instead of stock OS so can't speak for that but can't say I see much intrusion, if any, from the MIUI operating system that comes stock with Xiaomi phones.Literally took an hour to migrate all my apps and preferences to this phone and had everything updated and ready to go.All in all an amazing phone but I'm coming from tech from 2017 so I guess I'll be impressed. Have seen comparisons to the POCO x3 NFC being the better phone, but this has a better processor and overall better stats, so I'm glad I went for this over that one.Phone was promptly delivered by 1pm the next day (ordered at 3pm the day before) and the clear case it comes with was a nice touchAn absolute beast of a phone for the money and absolute recommend to anyone who wants value for money!

I got the 8/256 model on sale for £159 Nov 2021, as an upgrade from my Moto G9+ and after a couple of months of usage I have decided that I will never buy another Motorola phone again.This model is packed to the brim with features that ensure that you get value for money. As an avid Pokemon Go player this phone has everything I need including a long battery life whilst playing (4-6 hours), large ram (which allows switching between apps without other apps closing) and a huge 256gb drive space that allows me to record all of my gameplay without much concern. The only issue I have had is that the indoor GPS tends to be quite inaccurate (even after turning on wifi and Bluetooth scanning) which can lead to drifting (depending on how you play pokemon go it could be a good thing).It has Gorilla glass 6 which means that the screen won't break if you accidentally drop it, which I have done so a couple of times. My previous Moto G7 Power screen broke within a few weeks despite having a case and a screen protector as most Motos do not use Gorilla glass. Having the reinforced glass suits me as a user perfectly.It switches on fast and retains a fast operating speed throughout the day, there are numerous built-in tools that allow you to clean ram. The sound and screen are both good even though it doesn't have OLED it hasn't stopped me from enjoying tv shows and other media whilst out and about.Overall based on the price and the features it has I will give this phone a 4.8 - 5.