POCO F4 Review: Mid-Range Upgrade Embraces Compromise

Considering how conventional the phone’s back is, the 6.67-inch FHD+ AMOLED display easily becomes the star of the show. It is bright, vibrant, and fast, but you might find its colors more on the saturated side of things with the default color calibration. In addition to HDR10+, the Poco F4 also supports Dolby Vision, giving it an edge over other phones in its price range when it comes to video binging. With thin bezels and a small punch-hole cutout, you will have enough room to enjoy all that content.

That screen supports refresh rates of up to 120Hz, and it does have discrete rates at 30Hz, 60Hz, and 90Hz. It rarely goes below 60Hz, though, and 90Hz is only used for games that do support that refresh rate. Most of the time, the phone operates at 60Hz, with 120Hz reserved for system UI and apps — in fact, the Poco F4 only gives users a choice between 60Hz or 120Hz if you set a custom refresh rate. The default is dynamic, switching between those rates depending on the situation.

There are two pill-shaped holes on the top and bottom edges that serve as speaker vents. Yes, this somewhat mid-range phone has stereo speakers, and the top speaker isn’t just the earpiece fulfilling that duty. They’re pretty loud to boot, with an expected distortion at max volume. The bottom-firing speaker sounds a little louder than the top one, though that probably shouldn’t be that surprising. The overall audio quality is good, but audiophiles will most likely be unsatisfied with its performance.