POCO recently launched the POCO M8 Pro 5G in the Philippines to kick off 2026. The mid-range phone has solid specs, including a 50MP main camera, a 6500mAh silicon-carbon battery, and a Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset, all at a competitive price.
The handset itself looks good, but can it deliver? Let’s find out.
Design & Display
The POCO M8 Pro 5G moves away from the M7 Pro with a refreshed design that features a curved display and back panel, offering a more natural grip.
The look resembles the Redmi Note 15 Series, giving it a modern and familiar appeal. Overall, the phone feels sleek, comfortable, and easy to handle.
Our review unit is in Silver with rounded edges, carbon fiber-like stripes, and a squircle-shaped camera module. It looks sleek and eye-catching.
There are four camera cutouts at the back, but only three appear to be used, with two sensors and an LED flash. The phone also comes in Green and Black colors.
The display measures 6.83 inches with a CrystalRes AMOLED panel, a 1.5K resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 3200 nits.
It has a wide color gamut with 100% DCI-P3 coverage and offers vibrant colors and deep blacks. Moreover, outdoor visibility is strong, even under direct sunlight.
On the durability side, the M8 Pro 5G has an IP66/IP68/IP69/IP69K rating for dust and water resistance and Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
This allows it to survive submerging in water up to 2 meters deep for 30 minutes. However, Xiaomi said it passed the 2-meter, 24-hour water-resistant test by TÜV SÜD for added peace of mind.
Apart from the display and design, the M8 Pro 5G comes with good-sounding dual speakers, a USB-C port, and a responsive in-display fingerprint scanner.
Performance & Battery
The POCO F8 Pro 5G offers impressive performance with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 processor. While not a flagship chipset, it is very capable for everyday tasks, including gaming.
Our test unit came with 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 512GB of UFS2.2 storage. It runs on HyperOS 2, based on Android 15. Unfortunately, the device came with bloatware. Just uninstall or disable what you don’t need.
Notably, I noticed the GetApps app, which is a secondary app store, serves unwanted ads. You can’t uninstall or disable this one, so just turn off its notifications.
On the update front, you’re getting long-term support. POCO promises four generations of Android OS updates and six years of security patches, which means software support until January 2032.
The OS itself feels smooth and refined. Throughout our review, we did not encounter any issues. Gaming is okay, running well in default or high settings.
Benchmark results support its performance. Here are the scores:
- AnTuTu Benchmark v11: 1,056,398
- Geekbench 6: 1,247 single-core; 3,174 multi-core
- 3DMarkWild Life: 4,228
Battery Life & Charging
The phone packs a 6500mAh silicon-carbon battery with 100W fast charging and 22.5W reverse charging. Wireless charging is not supported. In our review, it showed impressive endurance.
With regular use that includes a mix of video streaming, social media, messaging apps, and web browsing, it can easily last a day (or longer, depending on your usage).
In the PC Mark Work 3.0 Battery Life test, the M8 Pro 5G logged 13 hours and 1 minute. The test was done with brightness set at 80 percent, volume muted, refresh rate set to default, and airplane mode turned on. This translated to 14 hours and 39 minutes of screen-on time.
Charging speeds were quick. With the bundled 100W charger, a full charge from zero to 100 percent took around 50 minutes.
Cameras
The M8 Pro 5G comes with a dual camera system, packing a 50MP Sony Light Fusion 800 main sensor and an 8MP ultra-wide lens. Up front, it sports a 32MP selfie camera housed under a small hole punch cutout.
The camera delivers good image quality with sharp detail and accurate colors. Photos show balanced dynamic range, while low-light shots perform better than expected.
While it won’t match the results of flagship devices, it’s more than capable for everyday photography.
Sample Photos
Zoom
Night Mode
Selfie
Closing Remarks
At the end of the day, the POCO M8 Pro 5G is a solid option in the crowded mid-range segment. It offers good value with reliable cameras, smooth performance, and long battery life. The only drawback is the pre-installed bloatware, which can affect the overall experience.
The POCO M8 Pro 5G is now available in the Philippines. The 8GB+256GB variant is priced at PHP 16,999, while the 12GB+512GB model goes for PHP 19,999.
You can find the phone on Shopee, Lazada, and Xiaomi stores nationwide.
POCO M8 Pro 5G specs
- Display: 6.83-inch 1.5K CrystalRes AMOLED display, 2772×1280, 120Hz refresh rate, 480Hz touch sampling rate, 3200 nits, Gorilla Glass Victus 2
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4
- RAM/Storage: 8GB+256GB / 12GB+512GB
- Rear Cameras:
50MP main, Light Fusion 800, OIS
8MP ultra-wide - Front Camera: 32MP
- Network: 5G, 4G
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, GPS, NFC
- Others: In-display fingerprint sensor, face recognition, stereo speakers, USB-C, IP66/IP68/IP69/IP69K rating
- OS: HyperOS 2
- Colors: Silver, Black, Green
- Battery: 6500mAh, 100W wired fast charging, 22.5W reverse charging
