Is your new phone really a gaming phone if it doesn’t have some kind of shoulder-mounted triggers on it? Poco doesn’t think so, and its new F4 GT smartphone has a set of “magnetic triggers that pop up, standing tall in preparation for battle,” according to the press release. We haven’t seen them in action at the time of writing, but this sounds exactly like the kind of gimmicky feature we love to see.
Further defined as, “levitating magnetic pop up triggers,” the buttons have apparently been tested for more than 1.5 million presses and with 100 different games, plus they can be used as shortcuts to activate the camera, flashlight, or screen recording features when you’re not playing a game. Shoulder buttons have been seen on various gaming phones already, including the Asus ROG Phone 5 and the RedMagic 7 Pro, but Poco’s version does sound suitably different, making us keen to try them out.
If you’ve not heard of Poco before, it’s a spin-off of Xiaomi, and now operates as an independent brand. It’s pushing the Poco F4 GT as a flagship gaming phone, and as you’d expect from such a title, it comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, with the option of 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage space or 12GB and 256GB if you spend more. It’s supported by a comprehensive cooling system to make the phone suitable for even the most hardcore mobile gamer.
The screen is a 6.67-inch AMOLED with a 120Hz refresh rate, 10-bit color, and a 480Hz touch sampling rate for super-fast reactions. A 4,700mAh battery powers the phone and it comes with Xiaomi’s 120W HyperCharge fast charging system, which should take the battery from flat to full in only 17 minutes. Wondering about the camera? Yes, us too, but Poco hasn’t included any details about it at all in the press details. We’ll update here when we know more, but don’t expect it to challenge the Pixel 6 Pro, as this is a gaming phone first.
The Poco F4 GT will be released on April 28 and starts at 599 euros, or about $640. However, if you buy one during the first seven days of release, the entry price drops to 499 euros, or about $530. If you prefer your gaming phone to have 12GB RAM and 256GB storage space, then add 100 euros to the prices above. Poco says the F4 GT will arrive in the U.K. in late May, but there’s no indication it will be released in the U.S.
The Poco F4 GT is one of three new products from the brand. The second is the Poco Watch, a cheap fitness tracker that’s shaped more like a smartwatch, which reminds us of both the Redmi Watch 2, and, if you squint, the Apple Watch too. On the front is a 1.6-inch AMOLED screen showing the proprietary operating system, which provides fitness tracking for more than 100 different exercises.
There’s a heart rate sensor on the back, a blood oxygen sensor, GPS inside, sleep monitoring, auto-workout detection, and a battery that can last up to 14 days before needing a recharge. It will cost 79 euros, or about $84.
The third new product is a first for Poco. The Poco Buds Pro true wireless headphones don’t come in boring black or white but instead, come with branding from the popular mobile game Genshin Impact. The red and gold buds come in a matching case, complete with logos from the game emblazoned on it, but the tie-in doesn’t end there. The voice notifications are provided by the game’s Klee character too.
On the tech side, the Poco Buds Pro have active noise cancelation (ANC) and automatic mode adjustment, so they will adapt the level of ANC depending on your surroundings. A 9mm driver provides the sound, there’s an auto-pause feature, IPX4 water resistance, and wireless charging for the case.
Poco hasn’t shared the use time for the earbuds, but does state the case provides 28 hours of total listening time, and it has a 10-minute fast charge feature. Despite the impressive feature list and the branding, the price is reasonable at 69 euros, or about $75.
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