POCO F9 Pro hands-on: Not Your Ordinary

The POCO F9 Pro is not trying to hide its performance credentials. Even in the White finish, our unit has the unmistakable proportions of a phone built around a large battery, powerful internals, and a display meant to be used at speed. We got hold of it prior to the official launch, and here’s what we think about it.

POCO F9 Pro Specifications

• Display: 6.59-inch AMOLED, 2,510 × 1,156, 185Hz, up to 4,500 nits peak brightness
• Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series
• GPU: Adreno 840
• RAM: 12GB LPDDR5X
• Storage: 256GB / 512GB UFS 4.1
• Rear Cameras: 200MP main + 50MP telephoto + 8MP ultrawide
• Front Camera: 32MP
• Battery: 6,330mAh silicon-carbon
• Charging: 100W wired + 50W wireless
• Operating System: Android 16 with HyperOS 3
• Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, NFC, infrared
• Audio: 2.1-channel stereo speakers with woofer, Sound by Bose, Dolby Atmos
• Durability: IP68
• Security: Ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor
• Dimensions: 157.5 × 75.3 × 8.6mm
• Weight: 218g
• Colors: Black, White, Aurora Green

Our White unit gives the F9 Pro a more understated appearance than some of POCO’s recent designs.

The rear panel has a clean white finish that contrasts with the darker camera area, while the frame gives the phone a solid, substantial feel. The camera module itself is fairly prominent, but it does not make the phone look excessively busy.

At 157.5 × 75.3 × 8.6mm and around 218 grams, this is not a small or lightweight smartphone. The weight is noticeable when you first pick it up, although it also contributes to the impression that there is serious hardware packed inside.

The flat-sided aluminum construction also gives it a familiar modern flagship feel. There is enough width for the phone to feel substantial without becoming unwieldy, although extended one-handed use can still be a stretch depending on your hand size.

The overall design is more about clean lines and hardware presence than trying to be flashy. In White, that approach works particularly well.

Turn the F9 Pro around, and the phone’s personality changes. The 6.59-inch AMOLED display dominates the front, with slim bezels and a centered punch-hole camera. It runs at up to 185Hz, which is one of the specifications POCO is emphasizing heavily with this generation.

That number sounds excessive until you start moving around the interface. Scrolling through menus and webpages feels exceptionally fluid, and animations have a noticeably immediate quality.

The benefit becomes more relevant for gaming. The F9 Pro’s hardware is designed to support high frame rates in compatible titles, and the 185Hz panel gives the phone plenty of refresh-rate headroom.

The display also offers a 2,510 × 1,156 resolution and up to 4,500 nits peak brightness, giving it the specifications expected from a premium AMOLED panel.

What makes the screen particularly compelling, though, is that the high refresh rate does not come at the expense of the other fundamentals. Colors have the punch you’d expect from AMOLED, text is sharp, and the display is large enough to make games and video content feel immersive without becoming tablet-like. It is easily one of the F9 Pro’s strongest features.

POCO has also given the F9 Pro’s audio system more attention than you might expect from a performance-focused device. The phone uses a 2.1-channel stereo speaker setup with a woofer, with audio tuning handled in partnership with Bose. The result is a speaker system that feels more substantial than the basic stereo arrangements commonly found on smartphones.

There is enough volume for watching videos without immediately reaching for headphones, while the additional low-end presence helps games and music sound less thin.

That matters because the F9 Pro’s display and performance hardware naturally encourage longer gaming and media sessions. A good screen is considerably more enjoyable when the speakers can keep up with it.

The phone also supports Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Audio, although users looking for wired audio will need to use USB-C rather than a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Underneath the clean exterior is where the F9 Pro becomes POCO unmistakably. The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series, accompanied by LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.1 storage. Configurations go up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

This is flagship-class hardware, and it shows in the way the phone handles everyday navigation. Apps open quickly, multitasking feels effortless, and the 185Hz display gives even basic interactions a particularly smooth feel.

Gaming is clearly where POCO expects the hardware to be pushed hardest. The high-end chipset, high-refresh-rate display, and large battery form a combination designed around sustained performance rather than simply looking impressive on a specification sheet.

While POCO is more known for its performance, the cameras on the F9 Pro are not to be underestimated. It features a triple-camera system built around a 200MP main camera with OIS, plus a 50MP telephoto camera with 2.5x optical zoom and OIS, as well as an 8MP ultrawide camera. A 32MP camera handles selfies at the front.

The dedicated telephoto is particularly useful because it gives the F9 Pro a genuine optical-zoom option instead of relying entirely on the main camera’s high-resolution sensor for cropping.

The camera setup may not be the primary reason to buy the F9 Pro, but POCO has clearly avoided treating photography as an afterthought.

Then there’s the battery. The POCO F9 Pro’s 6,330mAh silicon-carbon battery is another indication of where POCO’s priorities lie. The capacity gives the phone plenty of room for its high-performance processor and 185Hz display, while 100W wired charging means users do not have to wait particularly long when the battery eventually needs replenishing.

The phone also supports 50W wireless charging, which is a welcome feature at this level and adds convenience that is not always present on performance-focused smartphones.

The F9 Pro runs Android 16 with HyperOS 3 and comes with the connectivity expected from a current flagship, including 5G, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, NFC, and infrared.

Security is handled by an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor, while the device carries an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.

The combination makes the F9 Pro feel considerably more complete than a phone designed purely around benchmark numbers.

Our first take: The POCO F9 Pro is an interesting contrast to the image traditionally associated with POCO.

It has the performance hardware you’d expect from the brand, but the experience is not built around performance alone. The AMOLED display is genuinely impressive, and the Bose-tuned audio gives the entertainment experience a little more substance.

The 185Hz display is the feature that immediately grabs attention, but after spending time with the phone, it is the combination of the screen, audio, and substantial battery that makes the F9 Pro feel like a more complete flagship device.

It still has that unmistakable POCO performance DNA. It just happens to be wrapped in a package that feels more polished this time around.

WalasTech Worthy Feature: The 185Hz AMOLED display. It is an unusually high refresh rate, but the F9 Pro backs it up with flagship hardware capable of actually putting that headroom to use.

The POCO F9 Pro starts at PHP 49,999 for the 12GB + 256GB configuration. Those who order the F9 Pro early on POCO online stores on Shopee (BUY HERE) and Lazada will get freebies including a Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active and REDMI Buds 6 Play, in addition to earlybird pricing available until September 9. You can check out more details here.