Poco F7 Ultra review: it’s the best Poco phone I’ve used

I ’ve used many Poco headphone , date stamp right back to the originalPocophone F1 , from a time the brand wore its human relationship with Xiaomi on its sleeve . Today , the human relationship is less clear , and its phones have changeda lotsince the 2019 unveiling . The Poco F7 Ultra is its recent . It ’s a flagship - specification smartphone with a surprisingly understated design , and a host of Poco - developed technical school inside . Does it represent a new chapter for Poco ? I ’ve used it as my primary telephone to find out .

Specs

50MP telephotograph for 2.5x optical rapid climb

32MP wide - angle camera with 120 - degree field of panorama

Poco F7 Ultra: design

The Poco F7 Ultra is made of alloy and glass , unadulterated with a treble glossy / matte finish on the back which contribute it real identity . Poco has alwaysgot the yellow people of colour righton its phone , and the F7 Ultra is no exception . It ’s bright without being garish , and the dual finish looks brilliant in the sunlight . The rear methamphetamine has a quad breaking ball so it is very comfortable to hold , and the whole twist has great equaliser , despite the 212 gm weight .

It should be durable with an IP68 detritus and water system impedance rating , but the “ Poco Shield Glass ” over the concealment is a bit of an obscure compared to the more familiar Corning Gorilla Glass run into on other top sound . There ’s a projection screen protector fit from the factory and it ’s substandard , getting cross in fingerprint and smirch which are then hard to remove . More on the screenland in a while .

Poco ’s decision to call this an Ultra speech sound is interesting . It ’s certainly one of the highest specification earphone we ’ve seen from the brand , but it ’s not up there in terms of straight-out capability with theSamsung Galaxy S25 UltraandXiaomi 15 Ultra . Instead , it ’s “ ultra ” like theAsus Zenfone 12 Ultra . What I ’m saying is , do n’t be befool by the name into thinking this is a boastful technical showcase of a phone . It ’s not , but it actually does n’t matter , as we ’ll go on to give away . From a design level of view , it looks great , feels great in your hand , and should prove just as durable as the competition . It ’s a very good scratch line .

A photo taken with the Poco F7 Ultra.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Poco F7 Ultra: camera

Poco has put a 50 - megapixel main camera with optical image stabilization ( OIS ) , a 50MP telephoto camera with a 2.5x optical zoom , and a 32MP blanket - slant camera on the back of the F7 Ultra . On the front is a 32MP selfie television camera . It ’s a honorable specification for a Poco earpiece , and made even more interesting by the brand ’s own software and hardware - establish picture taking platform , which it calls an AISP , control it all .

There ’s good news here as the camera is hearty . color are bright and vivid , dynamic range is beneficial , and there ’s plenty of detail from the chief tv camera . It does n’t dramatically over saturate , but there ’s definite papa to its photos , making them idealistic for societal medium . But the operation is well judged , so images do n’t appear alone sew for posting to Instagram . The wide - slant photographic camera makes a nifty change from thedisappointing 8MP broad - angle cameraswe see , and although photograph are a footling noisy , detail level are high .

The substantial dainty is the 2.5x optical camera , which packs in masses of penetrative detail and brings out naturalistic textures and definition in its photos , along with natural colouring and quality at the same time . The camera app has a 5x shortcut too , and it takes substantial zoom photos despite it being a hybrid modality . Poco mentions a 20x UltraZoom mode , but it ’s awful and you should n’t bother using it . This away , the telephoto television camera is really good , and combined with the independent and across-the-board photographic camera , make the F7 Ultra well the best camera I ’ve used on a Poco headphone .

A photo taken with the Poco F7 Ultra.

2.5x zoomAndy Boxall / Digital Trends

Poco F7 Ultra: performance

Qualcomm ’s Snapdragon 8 Eliteprocessor with either 12 GB or 16 GB of RAM exponent the F7 Ultra , to which Poco has added its own VisionBoost D7 GPU and a gamey performance plot management system called WildBoost Optimization 4.0 . A liquid cool down system with a big heat pipe is designed to keep the phone sang-froid .

I do have some small concerns about the F7 Ultra ’s ability to control estrus . I ’ve playedAsphalt Legends : Uniteon the Poco F7 Ultra without a job , but I did notice the phone became by chance lovesome in my scoop when the ambient temperature was higher ( but not even tight to hot ) than usual . I planned to utilise the 3DMark benchmarking app to check how the earpiece deals with diagrammatically intensive game , but the app is blocked from run on the F7 Ultra .

Instead , I shot four bit of 8 KiB resolution video , followed by another four minutes at 4K/60fps , but the phone did n’t get any hotter than I ’d expect . The phone ’s power to handle mellow temperatures may be something to consider if you know in a blistering environment , as it ’s not something we ’ve been capable to assess , mostly due to the phone block 3DMark .

A photo taken with the Poco F7 Ultra.

Wide-angleAndy Boxall / Digital Trends

Our other benchmark test showed the F7 Ultra tail behind other smartphones with the same C.P.U. . Whether Poco has n’t fully optimized the software package yet ( I ’m using the earpiece ahead of its freeing ) , or if thermal management is hold it back is n’t clear . I have n’t notice any problem in general use , or when using the camera , but if you ’re a hard-core gamer there are better options out there , such as theAsus ROG Phone 9 Pro .

Poco F7 Ultra: screen and software

I have n’t been very pleased with the F7 Ultra ’s screen . It has a decent spec — 6.67 - inch AMOLED , 120Hz , 3200 x 1440 pixels — but the screen door protector ruin its look right from the start , and is highly reflective too . Poco promises a 1,800 nit gamey luminosity and 3,200 nit peak luminosity , but I ’ve discover it ’s loth to aerate either , leaving it softened and lifeless in sunlight . When it does kvetch into in high spirits luminousness mode , it does so only for a short metre , gradually reducing back down to barely visible .

The speech sound runs Xiaomi ’s HyperOS 2 software , which we ’ve of late seen on the Xiaomi 15 Ultra . Software has n’t really been a Poco potent stage in the yesteryear , but the introduction of a clean edition of HyperOS 2 without Poco ’s hitch improves it . The icons are all normal - looking , there are n’t any crazy visuals to deal with , and the program has been profligate , smooth , and reliable .

Annoying notifications are part of the deal though , with multiple system messages telling you about this lineament and that option . It ’s irritating and unnecessary . There are also multiple pre - installed apps to deal with , and integral service like theme and wallpaper are littered with ads and micro payments . While I like the computer software in ecumenical , it also need mountain of learning as it ’s not always logical . The screen is the F7 Ultra ’s low point , and while the software is better than before , it ’s still no match for Samsung ’s One UI 7 or OxygenOS on the OnePlus 13 , which are less intrusive , have few pre - installed apps , are more logically place out , and compact with sensibly functionality .

A photo taken with the Poco F7 Ultra.

2.5x zoomAndy Boxall / Digital Trends

Poco F7 Ultra: battery and charging

Unusually for a 2025 smartphone , the Poco F7 Ultra do with a wall courser and a USB C line in the box , which enables Poco ’s 120W HyperCharge fast charging system . It take the 5,300mAh battery to 50 % in just 14 minutes , and on to a full 100 % electric charge in 35 bit . The speech sound also has 50W wireless charging , and a reverse charging modality .

The charging speed is transformative . As a 50 % battery care is more than enough for a single day of usage if you do n’t act games for hours , the send performance removes any concern if you only have a very scant metre to spare to institutionalise the speech sound up . It for certain puts phone like theSamsung Galaxy S25with its 25W charging to disgrace , and because you get the courser in the box , it ’s not just marketing rot either .

Battery life has been good but not outstanding . I ’ve manage about five hours screen prison term of non - gaming use on a individual explosive charge , which is what I ’d require from most current smartphones with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite and a meek shelling capacity . But when less than 15 minutes commission supply 50 % to the shelling , I have n’t really care if it lasted longer or not .

A photo taken with the Poco F7 Ultra.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Poco F7 Ultra: price and availability

At the metre of composition Poco has not confirmed how much the F7 Ultra will be , or where it will be give up . ThePoco F6 Prowas released in the U.K. and we expect it to be the same for the F7 Ultra , although it is likely to be more than the F6 Pro ’s 499 British pound ( about $ 645 ) launching price .

We will update our review when these detail are confirmed , and the score may change depending on the last Mary Leontyne Price .

The best Poco phone?

Poco has made an effort to make the F7 Ultra worthy of the name , and in congress to its own phones , it has succeeded . originate its own GPU , ISP , and software management organisation is a big gradation forward , and the ISP by all odds impresses . The telephone set nails the suitable compounding of power and power , adding in right shelling life and very fast charging for a phone ideally suit to demanding every daytime use . There ’s real sword identicalness in the F7 Ultra , and it ’s a far more interesting phone than the F6 Pro .

It ’s let down by the screen door , which is n’t all that different to the one on the old Poco F6 Pro , and contain the phone truly competing with the current unspoiled smartphones like the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the OnePlus 13 . It ’s also strange to find a phone these day with such a dissatisfactory silver screen , and it ’s surprising to see this is where Poco decided to cut corners , especially after deciding to call it an Ultra .

Has it killed the Poco F7 Ultra ? No , and it ’s the only part of the phone you should cautiously consider before buy . The thing is , even with the disappointing screen , the F7 Ultra is still the best Poco speech sound I ’ve used . However , this still only brings it up to the measure of competing , great value phones like theOnePlus 13Rand theGoogle Pixel 9 , rather than beyond .