The Poco M3 Pro 5g is the cheapest 5G smartphone right now in the Philippines and with POCO's promise of more speed, more everything, let's review if there really is more to this phone than just 5G.

For this review I purchased the cheapest variant, the 4GB ROM with 64GB storage to check if the ROM is enough for casual users. I got this phone for just Php6,990 and even got a free Mi Band 5 smartwatch. Inside the box you have the POCO stickers, user guides, a silicone case, the phone of course, a 22.5Watt charger and a usb type a to type c cable. The phone already has a built-in screen protector out of the box.The design of the phone looks premium with a glassy back which is actually plastic, highlighted by the POCO logo. At the front you have a 6.5 inch Dot Display with a punch hole camera at the center. At right hand side you have the volume rockers and the power button which also serves as the fingerprint scanner. On the left you have the sim card tray which a hybrid sim card tray and can accommodate microSD card for expandable memory.

The bottom of the phone has the primary mic, the USB type-c port, and the speaker grills. A 3.5mm audio jack is found at the top together with the secondary mic and an infrared blaster.

Now let's look at the display. The POCO M3 Pro 5G features a 6.5-inch IPS LCD Display protected by Gorilla Glass 3. The Poco M3 Pro 5G display supports a dynamic 90Hz refresh rate which means it should auto-switch between 30Hz, 50Hz, 60Hz and 90Hz depending on the shown content. The display is actually impressive and still has good visibility even in very bright conditions.

The POCO M3 Pro 5G is powered by 5,000mah battery which should definitely last you the whole day or even more depending on your use. Charging wise, it takes around 2 hours for a full charge using the charger that comes with the box.

For the software the POCO M3 Pro 5G comes with Android 11 with MIUI 12 for POCO. The POCO launcher is a bit different from it's Redmi siblings but you could always customize how it looks. 

The phone however doesn't have an always on display option and no under display fingerprint scanner. The side fingerprint scanner though is pretty accurate and is really fast.

The POCO M3 Pro 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 700 chipset which is enough for casual use and though not designed for gaming, it can perform decently with popular games such as PUBG and Genshin Impact.

And while more RAM would be better, the 4GB RAM on my phone seems to hold up well.

For connectivity, the phone supports 5G and should be useful if you are in an area with 5G coverage. 

On the Camera department you have a triple camera set-up at the back featuring a 48MP main camera bundled with a 2MP macro camera and a 2MP depth sensor while the selfie camera at the punch hole display is an 8MP camera.

Photo and video quality is good and here are sample photos I got using this phone.

To conclude, if you haven't experienced 5G yet and don't want to shell out more than Php10,000 then this phone is for you. If you're in a 5G covered area, you can enjoy fast 5G speeds compared to the fluctuating speeds of 4G. And even if you're not in an area with 5G you should still consider this phone as all the network companies are ramping up their 5G coverage.

Now the POCO M3 Pro 5G can really give you more than 5G. With a nice design, an adequate display, and a capable chip, I don't regret buying this phone especially for the price I got it. If you're looking for more premium features then you might as well spend at least double the price of the POCO M3 Pro. It's really commendable how POCO was able to include as much features as possible for under Php9,000 and if your're familiar with how POCO sells it's phones, you should expect discounts from time to time. So time your purchase right and you might get this phone for just above Php7,000.