In case you missed it, Xiaomi recently launched the Poco X5 and X5 Pro, with the latter actually being a very solid offering for anyone looking for an upper midrange smartphone while on a budget. Starting at just RM1,299 (RM1,199 during the early bird promo), the Poco X5 Pro packs a lot of hardware that’s normally only reserved for more expensive devices.
For starters, it has a 6.67-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a 240Hz touch sampling rate. The screen is also capable of a 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio, 10-bit colour and a peak brightness of 900nits. You also get a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 5 over it for scratch resistance.
Under the hood meanwhile you’ll find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G processor, with up to 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage. That processor might be nearly its second birthday now, but it’s still a fairly solid upper midrange chip that for most people will be good enough. The Poco X5 Pro also comes with MIUI 14 out of the box.
In the camera department, the Poco X5 Pro features a triple rear camera setup, with a main 108MP camera using a 1/1.52-inch sensor flanked by an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro sensor. In front meanwhile you have a 16MP camera for selfies. Keeping the lights on is a 5,000mAh battery with 67W fast charging.
Other features of note include stereo speakers, a side fingerprint sensor, a 3.5mm audio jack as well as support for NFC, 5G, Bluetooth 5.2 and WiFi 6. Available in black, blue and yellow, the base model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage is available for just RM1,299 with the higher end option with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage available for RM1,499. With the RM100 discount for early bird purchases on their official store on Lazada, the Poco X5 Pro appears to be a huge bang-for-buck option for anyone on a budget.
What about last year’s value champions?
The Poco X5 Pro’s bang-for-buck status though is a little less secure when you compare it against some of the older models from last year that were also value-for-money options. For starters, there’s the Vivo T1 5G, another Snapdragon 778G-powered smartphone that seemingly went under the radar last year. Priced at RM1,299 for the model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, we considered it one the best value options for anyone seeking a 5G smartphone under RM1,500 last year.
It comes with a slightly less feature-packed display however, with a smaller 6.44-inch, FHD+ display pushing just a 90Hz refresh rate. It does however get a little brighter, at 1,300nits. On top of the Snapdragon 778G meanwhile you’ll also get 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, running Funtouch OS 12 out of the box.
As for cameras, the Vivo T1 5G has a 64MP main camera flacked by an 8MP ultrawide shooter and a 2MP macro lens, with a 16MP front camera housed in a teardrop notch in front. Keeping the lights on is a smaller 4,700mAh battery with 66W fast charging. Overall, the Vivo T1 5G was actually a solid offering last year, but with the Poco X5 Pro priced at RM1,299 as well, the latter edges it out thanks to a higher res main camera, a slightly larger battery and longer software support due to it being a much newer device.
However, perhaps the best bang-for-buck option last year was actually the Poco F4. Starting at RM1,599, the Poco F4 offers a Snapdragon 870 under the hood, which should offer a performance bump over the Snapdragon 778G. You’re also getting up to 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage with MIUI 13 out of the box. The display meanwhile is a 6.67-inch, FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 360Hz touch sampling rate and a peak brightness of 1,300nits, as well as Gorilla Glass 5 for scratch resistance.
At the back, there’s a 64MP main camera flanked by an 8MP ultrawide shooter and a 2MP macro lens too, while up front you’re getting a 20MP selfie shooter. Powering the Poco F4 meanwhile is a 4,500mAh battery with 67W fast charging, as well as stereo speakers, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and an IR blaster. The base model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage has a price of RM1,599 but a quick look on Shopee shows it being sold for below RM1,500, and even went as low as RM1,299 during last year’s 12.12 sale. If you can find it on sale, the Poco F4 might be a more value purchase than the Poco X5 Pro.
Then there’s also the Nothing Phone (1)
For something a bit more ‘premium’, you can also look at the Nothing Phone (1). While not necessarily the most powerful option here due to the Poco F4’s Snapdragon 870, it’s actually more powerful than both the Vivo T1 and the Poco X5 Pro, thanks to it using the Snapdragon 778G+, a slightly overclocked version of the Snapdragon 778G. Nothing has only recently launched the lower 128GB storage option of the Phone (1) in Malaysia, with a reasonable enough price tag of RM1,499.
Sure, for the same price you’re getting double the storage on the Poco X5 Pro, but the Nothing Phone (1) does use faster LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage, and crucially is at least guaranteeing three years of Android OS upgrades and four years of security patches, meaning that despite being half a year old now, you could ostensibly be using it until 2026. In comparison, the Poco X5 Pro comes with MIUI 14, and there’s some confusion over whether it’s even Android 13 or Android 12 with no confirmation on how long Xiaomi’s software support for it will be.
The Nothing Phone (1) also packs a dual rear camera, with a main 50MP shooter using an IMX766 sensor and a 50MP ultrawide using the Samsung JN1 sensor. Sure it’s one less camera, but when was the last time you found yourself needing a 2MP macro camera anyway? You’ll find a 16MP front facing camera tucked away on the top left of the display too. And don’t forget the Glyph interface on the back with those illuminating LEDs.
Other features of note include a 4,500mAh battery with 33W fast charging, 15W wireless charging and 5W reverse wireless charging, again features that aren’t too common out of the flagship segment. Available via authorised retailer DirectD, the 128GB Nothing Phone (1) is going for just RM1,499 which again could be a compelling, more upmarket option versus the 256GB Poco X5 Pro.
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