Poco F8 Ultra Review: A solid offering from Poco

Hello everyone, Pratima here! Right now, in the global smartphone market, the $500–$800 range is really heating up. This is the sweet spot for most people upgrading their phones, since Pro and Ultra models have become expensive and less exciting. In this segment, BBK Group brands like OnePlus, Vivo, Oppo, iQOO, and Realme are leading the pack. Phones like the OnePlus 15 and Vivo X300 offer great performance, while iQOO 15, OPPO Find X9, and Realme GT 8 Pro show that affordable flagship options are stronger than ever.

Apple has also made a mark with the iPhone 17, which has improved significantly over previous models, making the standard version very attractive without needing the Pro. Xiaomi, on the other hand, has had a rough patch, but the new Poco F8 Ultra is a pleasant surprise. It brings solid features and good value, showing Xiaomi is back in the game.

Because this phone, the Poco F8 Ultra, has really surprised me. I have been using it for about a week now, and Poco has done some excellent stuff here. Let's learn everything in my Poco F8 Ultra review.

Poco F8 Ultra Specifications

Poco F8 Ultra Review

Unboxing

Unfortunately, you don’t get a charger inside the box. This is the first time Poco has done that. However, we do get a lovely color-matching cover, a SIM ejector tool, a Type-C to Type-C cable, and that’s about it.

Ok, the main reason I am really liking this year’s Poco F8 Ultra is that Poco has made the right compromises in the right areas and, more importantly, improved the weaker spots, like the cameras. And because of that, this phone feels very well-balanced overall.

Some compromises on the build

And the first cost-cutting area we can see here is in the design. For example, we get a plastic back instead of glass, there’s an inferior Poco shield glass for display protection, but the good thing is the frames are still metal, so overall, yeah, it might not feel like the most premium flagship out there, but I don’t think you can complain much. It gets the job done.

The camera module, by the way, looks very similar to the iPhone 17 Pro Max, but a fun fact is that it was actually Poco who introduced this design first with the Poco F6 Pro. So it’s not really Poco copying the iPhone, it’s actually the other way around.

Top-notch display

Now the display is where this phone really shines. Poco is using the same panel as the more expensive Xiaomi 17 Pro Max, and if you’ve seen that review, you already know how good this panel is.

It’s a flat display this time, and this display can get really bright, can go very dim at night, supports every HDR certification, Dolby Vision, DC Dimming, and PWM Dimming, so basically everything you would expect from a top-class display. And the bezels are super slim too - even on the chin. 

And this is also the first time on a Poco phone that we get an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor — which I really love. So overall, this is an easy A+ display.

And to complement the great display, Poco has also included a really nice vibration motor. It’s definitely one of the best I’ve experienced alongside the OnePlus 15.

Bose Audio

And for the audio, Poco has collaborated with Bose this time. We get two speakers (top + bottom) as we get with most phones, but then there’s a third one just beside the cameras! And the audio is surprisingly immersive, the bass and trebles feel more pronounced, and it gives a very unique kind of experience. For a first-gen collaboration, I think it’s really nice.

Performance

The next area where Poco has always been known for is pure performance. And the Poco F8 Ultra is no exception. We are getting all the top-tier specs you can expect:

• The latest flagship Snapdragon chipset
• Superfast LPDDR5X RAM
• UFS 4.1 storage with really good random and sequential speeds
• And a large vapor chamber cooling system for thermals

And if I’m not mistaken, this probably is the most affordable phone to feature this new flagship Snapdragon processor. So, Needless to say, it feels extremely fast, and I think the new Hyper OS 3.0 has also overall improved in terms of smoothness, animations, and fluidity. I’ve enjoyed using it so far.

But since I’m also carrying the OnePlus 15 as my secondary phone, I did notice that HyperOS is slightly behind in RAM management.

There are also some touch response issues here and there, and it’s not as refined as what we get on OnePlus or Oppo phones. So yes, that’s one area where Poco still feels a little weak.

But overall, it’s a very fast phone, and I think most users will be absolutely happy with the performance here, especially in gaming. In PUBG Mobile and other heavy games, I have been getting really good fps numbers, excellent 5% lows, and stable gameplay.

And what I really liked is that it doesn’t overheat during gaming – it never exceeded 40 degrees. However, during long video recording sessions of like 30-40 minutes, it did get quite hot, but for gaming, Poco has optimized the thermals really well.

Battery Life

The battery life on this phone is solid, too. We get a 6,500 mAh silicon-carbon battery, and I was consistently getting 9 to 10 hours of screen-on time, which is excellent.

For charging, there’s 100W support with Xiaomi’s official charger, and it can take the phone from 0 to 100% in around 35-40 minutes! But even with a standard 65W Power Delivery charger, it still charges quite fast. We also get 50W wireless charging, and another plus point is that the USB Type-C port here is USB 3.2 Gen 1, so Poco hasn’t compromised in this area at all.

Cameras

Ok, the one area where Poco phones have always struggled at is the camera, but this phone really surprised me. I was honestly expecting average camera performance, like we’ve seen on many earlier Poco phones and even some Xiaomi flagships. But this time, with the Poco F8 Ultra. Things have finally changed!

Main Camera

Here, the main camera clicks pleasant-looking photos in all lighting conditions. They look slightly contrasty, kind of like Leica-style processing. Leica usually crushes the shadows, but here Poco has pushed the contrast a bit, and it actually looks nice. The dynamic range is also surprisingly good, and overall the images look vibrant, punchy, and immensely likable. Just check out these samples – I didn't expect this from a Poco phone!

5X Periscope

There’s also a 5X periscope lens here, and I think this might be the only phone in its class to offer one, aside from the Pixel 10. But that one isn’t great. Here, though, the 5× periscope lens is actually very capable. It’s not the fastest, but it captures detailed and usable photos, as you can see from these samples.

Portraits

What really surprised me were the portraits from the 5x lens – it’s really, really good! Nice skin tones, not too overprocessed. Yes, Poco brightens up the skin tone slightly, but it doesn’t look unnatural at all. The bokeh is precise, and that slightly squarish blur actually looks great too.

Macros

The macro shots from the 5x lens are also pretty decent. It doesn’t let you get extremely close like some higher-end flagships, but with around 30cm minimum focus distance, you can get some really good results. Even during low light, the main and telephoto lenses perform really well. There’s a yellowish warm tone to the images, which gives a pleasant look, and the dynamic range and details are not bad.

Ultrawide

Now, the only weak area of this camera setup is the ultra-wide camera. It’s a basic sensor with just a 102° field of view, so it’s not very wide. In many situations, I found myself stepping forward and clicking from the primary camera instead, simply because the ultra-wide is not very wide, and it compromises in almost every aspect.

Selfies

The selfies are also decent. Yes, there is some skin smoothing going on, but considering the price, I think the selfies are pretty nice with superb Highlight management!

Videos

The videography aspect is also pretty decent on this phone. You can shoot 4K 60fps from all the lenses, but I do think a software update is needed to improve the overall video quality.

The dynamic range is decent, but the optical image stabilization at 4K 60fps isn’t working very well. I have noticed video wobbling and pulsating, especially during low-light and dusk situations.

At 4K 30fps, the results are much better, so that’s the mode I would recommend for now. The ultra-wide video, as expected, isn't very good, but with the main wide camera, you can record decent footage, and even the 5x telephoto lens gives okay kinda results!

Poco F8 Ultra Review: Conclusion

Okay, so conclusion time, and yeah, as I said earlier, I believe Poco has made the right compromises in the right areas with the Poco F8 Ultra. And for the price, they have delivered an all-rounder flagship phone, with very minimal and small compromises.

And if you consider Poco’s aggressive pricing strategy and all the early-bird discounts, I think this might actually offer better value than something like the OnePlus 15, especially if you are into cameras. Compared to the OnePlus 15, the Poco F8 Ultra definitely provides a much better camera experience, for sure. The main and telephoto lenses are just so good that I still can’t believe it.

Poco F8 Ultra Review: Pros and Cons

Pros

• Top-notch display
• Excellent battery life and performancer
• Superb 5X and main cameras
• Nice audio from Bose speakers

Cons

• Plastic back
• Ultrawide camera is just average