Poco X7 5G Review: Curves You Can't Ignore

Remember the good old days when “flagship killer” was more than just a marketing fluff?

Xiaomi started the trend, Poco took the baton and now we’re here -- an era where mid-range smartphones are throwing hay at the big boys. Enter the Poco X7 series, a phone that doesn’t just aim to shake the mid-range market; it practically wants to obliterate it. The lineup has two contenders: the performance-centric Poco X7 Pro 5G with its MediaTek Dimensity 8400 Ultra chipset and the mid-range slayer itself, the Poco X7 5G, featuring a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Ultra chipset.

Naturally, as a self-proclaimed curve display connoisseur, I couldn't resist getting hands-on with the latter.

Now, let’s address the elephant in the room—curve displays on a mid-range phone. Back in 2019, the Samsung Galaxy S10 had me daydreaming about curved screens, only to crush my spirits with its then-lofty INR 60,000 price tag and what can only be described as “please-don’t-breathe-on-it” fragility. Fast forward to 2025 and Poco is here, delivering those same curves at a mere INR 21,999. It’s not apples-to-apples, of course (or maybe Poco to Samsung?), but there’s a certain poetic justice in the way affordable tech keeps getting better while flagships stay busy inflating their price tags.

In the name of “scientific testing” (read: sheer recklessness), I decided to stress-test the 256GB variant of the Poco X7 5G without a case or screen protector. Call it bravery, call it stupidity, but when you’re chucking Fortnite and other heavy-duty games at a phone, you want to see if it can hold its own or crumble under pressure. Did the X7 pass my vibe check or did I just serve myself a big slice of humble pie?

Let’s dive into the nitty-gritty and find out if Poco’s latest mid-range wonder is truly worth the hype or just another budget gimmick with a fancy screen.

In-box items

Big names should learn from budget brands in terms of packaging. The Poco X7 5G comes with a thick box that includes a 45W charger brick, a Type-A to Type-C cable, a SIM ejector tool, a matte grey back case, user manuals and, of course, the smartphone itself. I tested the one with a silver-tone finish and yes, it comes with a pre-applied screen protector, which I removed to test the phone in real-life situations.

Design and look

The silver-tone Poco X7 5G features a dual-tone finish. The body and back case are made of plastic but the display is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2. On the right side, it has volume rockers and a power button. At the top, it features an IR blaster, a secondary noise-cancellation microphone and a gap for the secondary speaker. Poco has left the left side of the phone clean, with no buttons or features.

Surprisingly, the smartphone looks more premium than the Poco X7 Pro 5G. The device weighs around 185g-190g, depending on the finish you prefer. The overall thickness of the device is approximately 8.4mm. Poco has seamlessly merged the curvy back panel with the curved display, making it easy to hold. However, the device is not compact enough to use with a single hand if your hands are average-sized or small, but it is manageable and not overly difficult. The camera bump also helps in griping the smartphone.

Poco claims that the smartphone can be used with wet hands and even in the rain and yes, the feature works flawlessly. Although Poco says there's support for IP69, we are sticking to the IP69 rating imprinted on the box. 

So, after all this, can we use the smartphone without the back case? The answer is no because the display may not break but it scratches easily. In the long term, the back panel may also develop scratches from the back case. However, since the plastic doesn’t shatter, it can handle minor drops.

Display

It comes with a 6.67-inch display with a 1.5K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The device is protected with Gorilla Glass Victus 2. It supports Widevine L1 with Dolby Vision and you can watch 4K HDR content on YouTube. I played 4K HDR videos at 60 FPS and the device handled them very well.

The device runs on HyperOS and you get the option to change the colour tone of the display from saturated to vivid and neutral. You can further customise it based on temperature. Additionally, the refresh rate is also customisable between 60Hz and 120Hz. This is an AMOLED display, so you can set the theme to dark mode to save battery life.

The display also features 1920 PWM dimming. When compared to my iPhone 15 Plus, less flicker was detected on the Poco X7. So, essentially, this display is much safer to use at night or in low-light conditions.

The cherry on the cake is its under-display fingerprint scanner. It is placed in the right position and never misses a chance to impress you. In my tests, it worked ten out of ten times without a single miss. However, it takes around half a second to unlock the phone but it works well on both on-screen and off-screen modes.

Calling, mic and speaker quality

The device features stereo speakers and dual microphones. The speaker output is exceptionally loud; in an empty hall, it sounds almost like a pocket speaker. The dual speakers enhance gaming, entertainment and even calls in crowded environments.

I have no complaints about the proximity sensor, which works smoothly. The device supports dual 5G connectivity and the network reception quality is excellent, even in basements.

Performance

Beauty is nothing without a strong character and soul. Well, Poco has done a fabulous job in this segment. Considering the price point and other hardware components, there is little to complain about in this area as well.

The smartphone is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Ultra chipset and runs on Android 14-based Hyper OS 1. It has 8GB of physical RAM with 4GB of virtual RAM memory expansion and Poco has used a slower UFS 2.2 storage type.

Most smartphones in this segment handle day-to-day tasks quite well but struggle in the heavy gaming department. To test this, I installed Fortnite. The game took up around 16GB of space and when I launched it, it started smoothly but the gameplay frame rate was limited between 32-35 FPS. I understand that I pushed the device beyond its capacity but kudos to the system for not lagging. In short, Fortnite is not ideal for true gamers on this device but it’s passable for casual gamers.

Games like GTA: Vice City, BGMI and Call of Duty: Mobile ran without a single frame drop. The maximum settings on the Poco X7 5G are HDR graphics with an Ultra frame rate. If you switch the frame rate to Extreme, you’ll be limited to the ‘Smooth’ graphics option.

Additionally, the device can handle 4K video editing on VN without lag, though 120fps 4K videos jitter during editing.

In my AnTuTu Benchmark V10.4.3 test, the phone scored 637,440.

Software

The Poco X7 5G runs on Hyper OS, based on Android 14 and comes with three years of Android updates. This means you will receive updates up to Android 17.

The device comes preloaded with bloatware and sends some unwanted notifications. While some of the bloatware can be uninstalled, a few apps are permanent fixtures on the smartphone.

For those who enjoy customisation, this software is a gem. From fonts, themes and icons to the lock screen, you can personalise nearly every aspect of the interface to suit your preferences.

Camera

The device features a triple camera setup: a 50-megapixel Sony LYT-600 (f/1.5) main sensor, an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera, accompanied by a single LED flash.
The camera layout is simple, offering options to shoot photos in 0.6x, 1x and 2x. To capture 50-megapixel photos, you need to go to ‘More’ and select the ‘50 Megapixel’ option.

In the ‘Video’ mode, the rear camera can shoot 1080p resolution videos using the ultrawide sensor and 4K resolution videos at 30fps in 1x and 2x modes.

The main sensor captures good photos with a decent amount of sharpness and detail in daylight. However, the downside is that it adds a warm tone and slightly saturates the images.

The portrait mode captures sharp edges in 1x and 2x portrait images. The 2x portrait photos appear pixelated at 75 per cent zoom on a big screen. It also beautifies the skin tone even when the beautification mode is turned off.

It handles exposure, shadows and highlights well. Even the rear camera can detect multiple people and objects in portrait mode, handling background separation for challenging subjects like trees and flowers.

In short, if you’re looking for a phone to capture photos for social media, it won’t disappoint. However, if you need crisp photos with original colours and skin tones for later colour grading in Lightroom, you may need to spend extra time on colour adjustments.

The magic of the f/1.5 aperture is evident when the light falls. The output is decent, even in low-light situations. There is a dedicated night mode for extreme low-light shots, which takes 2-3 seconds to process the images but the final results are impressive.

The only drawback is that it struggles with direct light sources, creating a halo effect around the light.

The ultrawide sensor is only 8 megapixels, producing above-average output in daylight but unstable results in extreme low-light conditions.

Video Quality

The smartphone can shoot stable 4K videos at 30fps. The combination of OIS and EIS works well and the phone quickly adjusts focus and exposure, even in harsh lighting conditions. The sensor maintains details in both the face and background. The onboard microphone is average in crowded areas.

The ultrawide video is capped at 1080p at 30fps, with soft detailing and average exposure adjustment.

Details are soft in extreme low-light situations and videos show some jitter due to EIS. However, with artificial lighting, the output is usable. The ultrawide camera produces below-average footage in low-light conditions.

The 2-megapixel macro camera is more for symmetry than functionality, capturing very low-quality images. If you need macro shots, it’s better to use the 50-megapixel camera and crop the image.

Selfie Camera

The 20-megapixel front camera captures good-quality selfies, whether in normal or portrait mode. I was surprised by the portrait mode, which can easily capture two or three people in a single photo.

Night selfies are above average without flash, but when the flash option is enabled, the screen turns white, filling the image with light and improving the output. Although not as sharp as daylight photos, the results won’t disappoint.

Video Output

The front camera is capped at 1080p at 60fps, producing crisp video considering the price point. However, in low-light conditions, it crushes dark areas to remove grain, resulting in average output. The front camera’s flash option helps improve video quality.

Considering the price, the device delivers photos with decent detail in both daylight and low-light conditions. The output from the main camera is usable and stable. The selfie camera is sufficient for streaming and video calls and can capture detailed portrait shots.

The rear camera will satisfy you eight out of ten times while the front camera will impress you seven out of ten times. For this price segment, I have no major complaints.

Battery

The device comes with a 5110mAh battery and supports 45W fast charging. It can be charged from zero to 100 per cent within 55 minutes. The device can easily last more than a full working day on a single charge with moderate usage. You can comfortably watch four Bollywood movies on a single charge.

The HyperOS interface comes with a host of battery-related features that help manage temperature, charging speed and the battery life cycle effectively.

Final verdict

The Poco X7 isn't flawless, as made evident by its outdated software and the lack of a microSD card slot. We have questions about the build quality too and the camera could do with more improvements. The presence of a humble mid-range chip doesn't position it as a suitable device for hardcore gamers (that's why you have the Poco X7 Pro!)

However, when you look at the Poco X7 as just another affordable phone, it makes sense. The durability is decent (don't take the IP69 certification seriously though), the display is good and the same can be said for the battery life.

Hence, if you seek an all-rounder smartphone that's more of a jack of all and master of none, the Poco X7 should be among your top considerations. 

Pros:

• Great display

• Premium looks and design

• Just IP68 rating

Cons:

• Outdated Android 14 software

• No microSD card support

• Preloaded bloatware