Poco X7 Review: The stylish, solid bro of the X7 Pro

Poco has stirred up the mid-segment yet again with its latest addition to the bestselling X series. Last year, the brand had surprised many with the X6 and X6 Pro, which pretty much redefined expectations that most people had from phones priced in the region of Rs 20,000 – Rs 25,000. Now, the Made of Mad brand has followed up with the Poco X7 Pro and the Poco X7, which do the same.

While the Pro is the one everyone has been raving about (just like they did with the X6 Pro), the X7 is quite an impressive proposition in its own right, in terms of both specs and performance. With the starting price of Rs. 21,999, the phone brings some solid specs and features to the table, with a design that is very eye-catching. Can it be the disruptor that its Pro bro is?

Poco X7 looks and design: More premium than its price

The Poco X7 may be less premium in price terms than the Poco X7 Pro, but it looks like it belongs to the edgy, premium segment and not in the mid-segment. A tall, beautiful, thin bezel-ed, 3D curved display on the front gives it a very premium look from the get-go. While the green and silver variant looks good, it comes with a polycarbonate back that compromises a bit on the premium feel. We got the black variant, which we would call the black-yellow variant, which comes with a vegan leather back with two thin vertical yellow stripes on both the left and right sides of the back, while a thick black stripe covers the middle part. There is a big squoval-shaped camera island with gold accents and a huge mirror-finished gold Poco logo near the base.

The textured back ensures a smudge and scratch-free experience, letting those who like flaunting their phone design without a case get in the way, do just that without any worries. The glossy metallic finish frame also adds some bling to its anatomy. You get a SIM card tray, a USB Type-C port, and a speaker grille on the base, while the top holds an IR blaster along with another loudspeaker grille. The right side is home to the volume rocker and the power/lock button, while the left side is bare. The phone measures 162.3 x 74.4 x 8.6 mm and weighs 190 grams, which is relatively light for its large-ish size. With all the gold and yellow, this particular variant might seem a bit flashy to some, but we think the build and design feel quite premium. It is the first-ever Poco with an IP68 rating, and the display comes with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection, making it a sturdy device.

Poco X7 Specs and Performance: A solid everyday soldier

The Poco X7 is obviously not as powerful as its Pro sibling. But it is no pushover either. The phone runs on the mid-segment MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Ultra, and our unit was paired with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage. The phone also has 8 GB of RAM and a 128 GB storage option. The RAM is LPDDR4X, which is reasonably quick, although UFS 2.2 storage is slow, but it is common in the segment. That hardware enables it to move through everyday chores swiftly, hop from one app to another without any hiccups, and smoothly sail through casual gaming titles like Subway Surfers and Candy Crush Saga. It is when the phone is met with power-hungry tasks that it starts to struggle. You can play high-end titles like Genshin Impact and Call of Duty, but you would need to turn down the graphics a little. The Poco X7 Pro might be a mid-segment gaming general, but the Poco X7 is pretty much a solid everyday soldier.

The phone might struggle in the high power zone, but it bosses the multimedia zone without any trouble. It comes with a beautiful, tall, 3D curved 6.67-inch AMOLED display with 1.5K resolution, 120 Hz refresh rate, and 3,000 nits peak brightness and support for Dolby Vision, which reproduces punchy, vibrant colours and aids our doom-scrolling addiction with smooth, swift scrolling. The phone has dual speakers with Dolby Atmos support, which are quite loud and clear, even in maxed-out settings. This makes the Poco X7 a very good device for watching movies, shows, and music videos.

The phone delivers a well-rounded performance in general, too – the in-display fingerprint scanner works smoothly, we did not face any sudden drops in network, and our 5G connection ran efficiently too. Overall, the phone does well as long as you do not push it into power-demanding task territory.

Poco X7 Cameras: It is mostly a one-sensor show

By the looks of its camera unit, it seems like the Poco X7 has four cameras on the back. In actuality, there are three cameras and an LED flash. The phone’s main camera is a 50 megapixel main sensor with OIS, supported by an 8 megapixel ultrawide sensor and a 2 megapixel macro.

It is hardly surprising that the main camera is the star of the phone’s camera show, delivering impressive pictures, packed with detail in well-lit situations. The colors in images tend to lean towards the warmer side, but pictures never get overwhelmingly saturated or too far from the real setting. The 8 megapixel ultrawide cannot keep up with the main sensor. While it offers a different perspective, it does not nearly capture enough detail. The portrait mode on the phone is mostly a hit with deep bokeh and good edge detection, although it misses the mark sometimes. However, in low light conditions, the cameras struggle, as noise starts creeping into photos, details take a hit, and colors in general are just about decent. The AI Night mode on the phone improves the situation a bit, but the difference is not a massive one.

The phone can capture 4K video at up to 30 fps. Videos delivered by the phone are good, and OIS actually makes a difference by keeping videos stable. On the front, the phone comes with a 20 megapixel sensor, which takes good selfies in well-lit conditions, with plenty of detail. It captures textures well, although it has a tendency to brighten up skin tone a bit. It captures textures wel,l though. Like its camera siblings on the back, its performance also takes a nosedive in low light.

Poco X7 Battery and UI: Impressive battery, disappointing old Android

The battery is one of the biggest highlights of the Poco X7. It packs in a 5,500 mAh battery, although it supports 45W charging, which is a bit disappointing given its predecessor came with 67W fast charging support. The phone lasted us for a little over a day on heavy usage, which is very impressive in this price segment. The bundled 45W charger charges the phone completely in about an hour, which is decent, if not in the class of some of the other devices in its segment.

The OS department is a big disappointment. This is a new phone, launched in 2025, and it STILL runs on Android 14 out of the box. Poco does offer three years of OS and four years of security updates, but this just means you would only get two more new OS updates, if the brand sees its promise through. The only saving grace here is HyperOS on top of Android 14. The UI offers users a number of customisation options and, in general, runs very smoothly. You get some basic AI features on the phone, too. There are a number of pre-installed apps on the phone, but those can be easily uninstalled.

Poco X7 Review Verdict: An everyday superstar with stiff competition

At a starting price of Rs. 21,999 for its 8 GB/ 128 GB variant and Rs. 23,999 for the 8 GB/ 256 GB one, the Poco X7 is a very good everyday smartphone. It brings a very premium-looking, very solid design, generally smooth performance, impressive battery life, and a good main camera to the mid-segment smartphone table. The likes of the iQOO Z9s, Vivo T3 Pro and even the much hyped Nothing Phone (3a) lurk in its price zone, delivering comparable specs and performance, but the Poco X7 is a great device for anyone looking for a consistent, everyday performer that does everything well and but does not excel in any one zone. All while looking more premium than it actually is.

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