The Poco F8 Ultra is a media powerhouse dressed in denim

Poco phones have always been a mixed bag. Good hardware matched with average software, but with various compromises that made them quite hard to recommend.

The Poco F8 Ultra is potentially the first to avoid many of the pitfalls that made its predecessors a tough sell. I’ve been using it, and there are some real high points.

Specs, price, and availability

The Poco F8 Ultra is highly unlikely to get an official launch in the U.S., but it should be sold in the U.K., Europe, and other regions around the world.

The F8 Ultra comes in two versions. The 12GB/256GB model costs $729, and the 16GB/512GB model is slightly more expensive at $799. This makes it a little cheaper than the OnePlus 15, Samsung Galaxy S25, and the Google Pixel 10, which are its primary competition.

Best looking Poco phone

Get the denim one

The Poco F8 Ultra comes in two colors, a regular black and a fantastic Denim Blue finish. This is the one to choose. It looks and feels brilliant, with a light texture and a fun metal Poco nametag. I love the way it isn’t just a panel, and instead blends into the metal frame and camera module.

On paper it does make the phone quite thick at 8.3mm, and it’s fairly heavy at 218 grams, but in reality it just feels substantial and well-made. Poco has engineered the F8 Ultra to have an IP68 dust and water resistance rating.

Poco has always experimented with different colors, often going with eye-catching and quite garish designs to match. The F8 Ultra is more sensible, but still suitably different and unusual. It pays off, because I never felt a bit silly with the F8 Ultra, unlike some of the brand’s bright yellow and green phones from the past.

The phone’s design made a great first impression, but what would the rest of the phone be like? Poco’s hit-or-miss approach to phones made me a little concerned about whether I’d quickly fall out of love with it. However, I was about to be very pleasantly surprised.

Amazing sound

Bose partnership will win fans

Through a partnership with Bose, the Poco F8 Ultra delivers probably the best audio experience I’ve had on a smartphone in some time. The Asus ROG Phone series always held the crown, but its reign may be over.

The phone has a 2.1 arrangement, with dual stereo speakers and a subwoofer, which is very obviously set next to the cameras on the back of the phone. In the Settings menu, you can switch between a Dynamic and a Balanced mode, which dramatically affects the sound.

What makes it special is the openness of the sound. There’s a full soundstage, and the audio experience changes between landscape and portrait orientation, with strong bass in both. There’s little tinniness, and none of the brightness we all associate with phone speakers. Along with the screen and performance, the sound makes the Poco F8 Ultra a fantastic media phone, and a real treat.

Finally, a decent camera

Periscope zoom included

One of the main compromises you’ve always had to make with a Poco phone was with the camera, but not so much with the F8 Ultra. It has a 50-megapixel main camera, a 50MP wide-angle camera, and a 50MP telephoto camera for a 5x optical zoom.

Poco, a Xiaomi brand, has used the custom Light Fusion 950 main camera, and it takes vibrant, exciting photos in most environments, and will suit those who like quite a processed look to their photos. I was surprised to see so much processing when looking closely at its photos, with obvious enhancement throughout.

I don’t hate it because, at a glance, it’s not all that noticeable, and only gets picked up when you crop the image down. Poco’s phones have never been for serious photographers, and the social-media-friendly main camera in the F8 Ultra shows things haven’t changed.

The reason I rate it more highly than previous Poco cameras is the 5x optical zoom and the 10x zoom. Both add versatility, and the quality of each zoom level is good. I’ve been confident in using them, but have noticed the 5x zoom can suffer from focus issues sometimes, a problem I’d expect to be addressed in a software update.

All the performance you need

But does it overheat?

This is a true flagship phone. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, with the choice of a 12GB/256GB or 16GB/512GB configuration. We’ve already used Qualcomm’s latest chip in several phones, such as the OnePlus 15 and the Realme GT 8 Pro, and in both cases it has overheated when pushed hard.

What happens with the Poco F8 Ultra? Under normal use, it never gets hot, just like the other phones, but show it a few hardcore stress tests in the 3DMark benchmarking app, and it’ll get too toasty to use.

It’s very similar to the other phones I’ve tried with the chip, but with a notable reduction in heat through the denim rear panel and chassis. Most of the heat concentrates around the camera module, which makes the phone easier to hold should it get hot during intensive games.

This isn’t something I’ve noticed or felt concerned about when using the phone for regular apps and games, and I’d be surprised if the phone overheated outside of benchmarking tests. However, the fact it does isn’t great, but at least Poco seems to have directed some of the heat away from where the phone is held.

Still some software compromises

But better than before

Android 16 is installed, and it’s a slightly Poco-tuned version of Xiaomi’s HyperOS 3 over the top. Thankfully, the days of overly stylized icons and hideous colors in Poco’s software are over, and the software looks mature and functions well.

The phone’s performance means general app use, the camera, and gaming are all fuss-free. There are a few situations where animations seem to vary in speed, which is jarring at first, but you do get used to it.

Unfortunately, the endless notifications from apps you don’t care about continue, an issue which has plagued Poco and Xiaomi phones for years, and shows no signs of ending. Expect to be told to try this theme, update that app, and not forget about this silly feature.

The screen is a beauty though. The 6.9-inch size shrinks in your hand, allowing you to really enjoy the 120Hz smooth scrolling, sharp text, vibrant colors, and high brightness. I’ve viewed it in most weather conditions (thanks, UK weather), and had no problem at all.

I’ve had my main SIM card in the F8 Ultra, and found calls sound excellent, notifications and messages arrived without issue, and its antennas pull in a signal even when reception is low. Once you’ve set the software up, got rid of the annoying notifications, and lived with it a few days, the F8 Ultra is an excellent everyday device.

Battery and charging

You may need special hardware

While not quite up there with the OnePlus 15, the Poco F8 Ultra’s 6,500mAh battery is still long-lasting. I’ve seen between five and six hours screen time on a single charge, with mixed use and a little light gaming.

There’s no compromise with the charging either. You can choose between 100W wired charging or 50W wireless charging, but you may need to purchase Xiaomi’s HyperCharge chargers to get the fastest speeds.

I used an Anker Prime wall charger and it took around an hour to fully charge, with 50% coming up in about 25 minutes. This is good performance, but not as fast as Poco claims is possible using the proprietary charging hardware, which isn’t included in the box.

Not as unique as Poco wants you to think

Take a look at the Redmi versions

The Poco F8 Ultra is very similar to the Redmi K90 Pro Max. Both brands are part of the Xiaomi family, sold in different regions, and also marketed in different ways. You can’t get a denim K90 Pro Max, for example.

Poco has also announced the Poco F8 Pro, which is very similar to the Redmi K90. It’s worth taking a look at the small hardware differences between them, just in case one suits you better than the other, as headline features – such as Bose audio and the 50MP periscope zoom – are available on the Poco and Redmi models.

Should you buy the Poco F8 Ultra?

Yes, the Poco F8 Ultra is a solid purchase. It’s Poco’s most mature phone yet, and its easy-to-live-with nature and reliable performance means it’ll suit people looking for something different.

Don’t expect the slickness of a Samsung phone or the ever-more-mainstream appeal of the OnePlus 15 though. This is still a left-field choice, and irritations in the software and inconsistency in the camera betray it.

However, the Bose audio, versatile telephoto camera, long-lasting battery, and a mostly tamed Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 mean the compromises are far less of a problem than on previous Poco phones, and if media is what you use your phone for most, it’ll really impress.