Pocophone F1: the new high-end killer

Presentation

Barely launched on the old continent, Xiaomi is already starting a turning point in its history. The manufacturer has launched on the stock market and will not be long in going upmarket, by the admission of the financial director of the firm. A small revolution for the brand which has made its mark thanks to its mid-range mobiles at unbeatable prices. But the company will not abandon this juicy segment so far, since it has just launched its satellite brand Pocophone, of which we are testing the first device, the F1.

Jai Mani, the Pocophone product manager, explains that he wants to shake up the market with this F1. And given the data sheet and the price of the phone, it's a successful bet. F1 is already commercially available (from € 349) and sports a high-end technical sheet with its 6.2-inch screen and Snapdragon 845 chip. In short, the Pocophone F1 wants to do in 2018 what OnePlus had managed to do in 2014 with the OnePlus One: shake up the industry and offer a high-end mobile at a price never seen before.

We can therefore ask the same question as in 2014: revelation or wet marketing firecracker?

Note that we are testing the version here with 128 GB of storage available at € 399. The mobile call price concerns the version with 64 GB of memory (349 €).

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Ergonomics and design

We can not say that Pocophone really brainwashed to design this mobile. The Pocophone is all that is most commonplace: a gray plastic back housing the two cameras and the fingerprint sensor. On the other side, an 18: 9 notch screen that occupies a little more than 80% of the front face. Curved screen point, worked metal or anything else. This simplicity is claimed by the manufacturer who preferred to put all his budget in the technical sheet. A choice that will displease some and suit others.

In terms of ergonomics, the F1 has nothing to blame for. The fingerprint sensor - which works well and quickly - naturally falls under the index finger, whether you grab the phone with your right hand or your left hand. And the same goes for the volume buttons. Like what, simplicity sometimes pays.

It is rather on the technical side that Pocophone has made some concessions. The phone is not waterproof and does not take advantage of NFC. Wireless payment point or water resistance. We will have to be careful. Otherwise, the USB-C port is there, as is the mini-jack port and two SIM card slots or a SIM card plus a microSD card.

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Screen

Pocophone has also made a concession on screen technology. No Amoled here, the least energy-consuming technology is still too expensive. It is therefore a 6.2 inch Full HD + IPS screen (2246 x 1080 px) that we find here. But the manufacturer has made a good effort since the slab that equips F1 is very good. Once the “default contrast” profile has been selected, you are in front of a screen with impeccable colorimetry: Delta E points to 1.2 and the color temperature to 6,200 Kelvin. Two values very close to "perfection". Lovers of more vibrant colors - and less loyal - can always opt for one of the other available settings.

The maximum brightness (428 cd / m²) is enough to make the mobile readable even in direct sunlight. The minimum value for its part drops to 1.1 cd / m², enough to spare the pupils of night readers. The same goes for reflectance, which is very contained (10%). Only the contrast ratio sins a little (1,416: 1).

The Full HD + definition and the resolution of 403 pixels per inch are more than enough to navigate with ease. As for the tactile delay and the afterglow, the two values are sufficiently low (respectively 112 ms and 15 ms) to ensure good fluidity. In short, even if the Pocophone does not adopt the best technology on the market here, it still has a quality panel. And that's good, as the screen is the centerpiece of a smartphone.

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Audio

The Pocophone's headphone output could have been flawless if the power delivered had been more generous. Most listening devices will still do, but there are better ones on the market. The signal is clean, undistorted and the soundstage broad and well marked. So almost faultless.

The two speakers, meanwhile, deliver a slightly pinched sound and we notice a slight distortion at full volume, but for troubleshooting, it's pretty good.

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Performances

No worries about the performance side. With its Snapdragon 845 chip and 6 GB of RAM, the Pocophone F1 runs like a racing car on all apps, even the most demanding. We juggle easily between different tasks without ever feeling a hitch or a slowdown. A real pleasure.

Also positive, the phone only heats very little. It barely exceeds 37 ° C, whether after long minutes of play or a photo and video capture session. Never enough to interfere with use so.

No need to specify that the mobile is also a real monster in play and that it has no trouble turning even the most demanding titles in the Play Store with impeccable fluidity and an excellent level of detail.

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Photo

Photo is very often the area in which these ambitious phones break their teeth. Well this is almost not the case here. On paper, the main sensor of the F1 is the same as that of the Xiaomi Mi 8 (12 Mpx + 5 Mpx for portrait mode). In fact, even with the same equipment, the F1 manages to do slightly better than its distant cousin.

The result is not exactly as good as that of the phablet of the Korean manufacturer, but it is still slightly above that of the Honor 10 or OnePlus 6. In reality, what sins is as often software processing which forces smoothing. Result: we get less details than on the Note 9 and the sharpness is slightly less pronounced.

On the other hand, the colors are just, the contrast well pronounced and the white balance impeccable. We just regret that the quality takes a little hit on the edges of the shot. But otherwise, the Pocophone is doing well and doesn't make the same mistakes as the OnePlus 6, which produces less natural and less detailed shots.

In low light, the F1 loses slightly in quality, but still remains above the competition. We notice a bit of grain here and there and loss of detail in the densest areas, but with a fairly short pause time (1/17 s) and a reasonable rise in ISO (3000 ISO), the F1 manages to capture a good bundle of light while maintaining good image quality. The colors remain faithful and the contrast well pronounced. Only downside, on a complex scene, the mobile often has trouble taking stock and adopting the right white balance. It will take some battling to get a flawless photo. But raw quality question, it's still impressive.

The application, meanwhile, is quite complete, offering a pro mode that allows you to take control of the exhibition, the development, etc. Portrait mode for its part produces quality shots, but the bokeh is very light and the exposure sometimes a little capricious. The clipping is properly done, no worries on that side.

Finally, the front sensor produces a nice result, rich in details, but which lacks sharpness slightly. It is still amply sufficient for everyday self-portraits.

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Autonomy

Having a powerful and efficient mobile is one thing; having a mobile that goes the distance is another. And fortunately, on this aspect too, F1 provides. On our home autonomy test, the phone and its 4,000 mAh battery struggled for not less than 5:33 pm before falling below the symbolic bar of 15%. What quietly ensure two days of autonomy in "normal" use. This is more than most of the competition mobiles. In other words, it is once again a hell of a performance.

Finally, it will take just 2 hours for a full recharge of the device with the supplied block.

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Conclusion

It's impossible not to be surprised by the performance of this Pocophone F1. For an unbeatable price, the manufacturer offers an experience far superior to the competition. If we except a slight photo dropout, Xiaomi succeeds in a feat with its new brand and therefore stands out as the OnePlus of modern times. The other "high-end killers", Oneplus 6 and Honor View 10 in mind, are worried.

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