Two phones, two big questions: what’s DIFFERENT, and how much BETTER is the Pro?
Because for the first time ever, the POCO X7 Series draws a clear line between these two variants.
Unboxing
Firstly, in the box, both come with a black TPU case. I appreciate this tiny detail because many phones within the segment typically just give a clear phone case.
Next, other than USB-A to USB-C cables, the POCO X7 comes with a 45W charging brick instead of a 90W charger for the POCO X7 Pro. So that is like comparing a bicycle to a Ferrari because both will get you there, but one is clearly faster. But hey, at least both come with a charger, right?
Design
Design-wise, compared to last year’s X6 series, you can immediately tell the pro and the non-pro apart. The silver variant of the POCO X7 has a silver sheen to the finish. It’s a matte finish, so you won’t get any unwanted fingerprints on this particular finish over here.
And for some strange reason, this reminds me of Marvel’s Silver Samurai—you know, the villain from Wolverine comics or even the movies?
Then there are four “camera” bumps arranged right in the middle. Now, the reason why I said “camera” is because the camera array or the bumps represent something else instead of a camera—more on that later.
The overall build of this phone was curved, very similar to last year’s X6. But what’s not similar to last year’s X6 is the fact that the phone does not have a headphone jack this year. So, rest in peace headphones jack.
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Then the POCO X7 Pro was a whole different story this year because not only does it look totally like it’s not from the same X7 Series, but it has a more boxy type of design.
My first impression of holding this phone was that it was definitely thicker, but it was also heavier than the POCO X7. However, the clear difference is also from the finish, but this X7 Pro had vegan leather at the back.
And there’s a two-tone black and yellow color variant that I went with since I never owned a yellow color POCO phone before. There’s also a tiny metallic yellow ring around the camera arrays, and it was also present at the power button, which was a really nice touch.
Speaking of the camera array, yes, POCO started with this peculiar decision of having two camera arrays on the pro variant instead of four on this non-pro variant. So yes, we’ll talk about the camera spec soon. But overall, the POCO X7 Pro design is hands down the best design to start the year 2025.
So for the first time ever, you can finally tell a huge difference from afar. You know, when you’re looking at someone from afar using both phones, you know that this is the non-pro and this is the pro.
However, there’s also the IR blaster on both and the same IP68 protection, which is a clear update from last year’s IP54 rating.
Performance
As for performance, the X7 comes with a Dimensity 7300-Ultra chipset, which is a solid chipset for handling everyday tasks, gaming, and even multitasking pretty well.
It also comes with the LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.2 storage, which, for today’s standards, is quite underwhelming to be honest, especially if you are a power user. But for casual users or even casual gaming, this setup is more than enough, performing the best on Genshin Impact in the settings.
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The POCO X7 Pro has a better Dimensity 8400-Ultra chipset, which is built on the same 4nm process but features an all-big-core design clocked up to 3.25 GHz.
And then pair that with the LPDDR5X RAM and the UFS 4.0 storage—this phone feels lightning fast, and this was very apparent in Genshin Impact at very high settings.
So yes, the POCO X7 Pro not only feels like you’re using a 2025 phone from a design standpoint but also from a power user standpoint as well.
Display
Next, as for the displays, both phones share a 6.67-inch CrystalRes 1.5K resolution AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate and an instant touch sampling rate of 2,560 Hz, which is quite high.
However, the X7 Pro has a slightly better peak brightness of 3,200 nits compared to the X7’s 3,000 nits. Since we’re talking about a minor difference in spec, you can expect brightness levels to perform about the same in a brighter environment or even outdoors.
Both have the same playback specification on Netflix, which is Widevine L1 together with HDR10 and Dolby Vision support as well.
So it’s not only really great for watching movies but of course, just using the phone daily. But this X7 Pro felt nicer to use daily due to the flatter screen display, where the gesture navigation felt even better too.
Then as for the screen’s durability, POCO continued its weird decision streak by giving a better Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection for this X7 and only giving the Corning Gorilla Glass 7i on this particular Pro variant. This is usually used for mid-range phones, which are durable but not as great of a protection as the Victus 2 protection.
Software
Then as for software, the POCO X7 is at HyperOS 1.0.4.0, but this POCO X7 Pro is at HyperOS 2.0.5.0 and is based on Android 15 compared to the X7, which is based on Android 14.
And because of that, there are even some Gen AI features like the AI Erase Pro to remove unwanted people or objects in your photo or the AI Image Expansion to expand your photo, especially if it’s out of frame accordingly, which is available on the POCO X7 Pro instead of the POCO X7.
So yes, this POCO X7 Pro will give you a better overall software experience.
Cameras
Then as for cameras, both phones share the same 50 MP main Sony IMX 882 sensor with OIS with the same 8 MP ultrawide lens.
Remember the extra lenses at the back? Well, those extra ones are a dedicated macro camera and a flash. Yeah, they decided to have all of this—two more extra camera bumps just to fit that in compared to seamlessly including the flash in the body like how they did on the Pro variant.
So don’t think that you’re missing anything on this Pro variant unless you really need a dedicated macro lens.
Xiaomi claims there is better image processing on the X7 Pro, and based on this sample shot side by side, I do see some difference.
The POCO X7’s rear cameras go up to 4K 30 FPS, but the X7 Pro goes up to 4K 60 FPS. [Sample video footage on my YouTube video]
But what’s even weirder is the fact that the front camera of this POCO X7 goes up to 1080p 60 FPS compared to the Pro, which goes up to 1080p only up to 30 FPS—weird but true.
Battery
Next, let’s talk about the battery and charging. The X7 has a 5110 mAh battery with 45W charging, which is quite solid.
But as seen in the unboxing, not only does the X7 Pro have support for 90W of HyperCharge, but it also comes with a larger 6,000 mAh battery.
Conclusion
So as of the timing of this review, the official price of these two phones has not been announced yet.
But based on everything mentioned, if you are someone who wants a great all-around phone and potentially not breaking the bank, then maybe this POCO X7 should be your choice.
But if you’re a power user who needs the extra boost of battery and charging performance, especially gaming performance, and if you want a more premium look and feel smartphone, then the X7 Pro should be your choice.
Product Availability
POCO X7 series is now available in Malaysia.
POCO X7 Pro will come in three colors – Black, Green and Yellow and will be available in three variants – 8GB+256GB, 12GB+256GB, and 12GB+512GB.
POCO X7 is available in three colors – Black, Green, and Silver – with two storage variants: 8GB + 256GB and 12GB + 512GB.
From 9 to 25 January, exclusive early-bird prices on these models are available at exclusive e-commerce platforms on mi.com, and official POCO stores on Shopee and Lazada:
POCO X7 Pro
8GB+256GB: RM 1,499 (Early Bird Offer RM 1,299)
12GB+256GB: RM 1,599 (Early Bird Offer RM 1,399)
12GB+512GB: RM 1,699 (Early Bird Offer RM 1,499)
POCO X7
8GB + 256GB: RM 1,199 (Early Bird Offer RM 999)
12GB+512GB: RM 1,399 (Early Bird Offer RM 1,199)
