Xiaomi Pocophone F1: Master of Speed Hands On Review

Is the Pocophone F1 really the best gaming phone for the price you could get at the market now? Is it truly the Master of Speed? Is the liquid cooling really working? Is it good enough for gaming? After 2+ months of extensive usage as part of my stress test, here is my answer to all these questions. Read on to find out more. p.s. It might be cheaper during the coming 11.11 sale.

First off, there are 3 different variants of this phone available in Malaysia. The 6 GB RAM + 64 GB ROM, the 6 GB RAM + 128 GB ROM and the 6 GB RAM + 128 GB ROM armored Kevlar limited edition selling at RRP of RM1299, RM1499 and RM1599 respectively. The 64GB version is available through Lazada Xiaomi Flagship Official store while the other 2 is only available at the physical Mi Authorized Stores. Did I mention they have the Rosso Red edition now? Which Physical Mi Store I prefer? The KLCC one cos of their top notch service.

The difference between the regular edition on the left vs the limited edition Kevlar armored one on the right. The regular gives you the smooth back case feeling while the armored Kevlar edition gives a more rubbery texture which is of course a better grip than the regular edition while at the same time gives it a more classy look.

What's in the box? It comes with a rubber cover, the phone, the user guide, charger, cable and the sim tray pin.

Well, I got to test the armored Kevlar version which I am tremendously glad of as the number of these are very limited. Like the back texture? Trust me when I say these sold like hot cakes in the Mi Authorized Stores.

It sports a 12MP + 5MP AI dual camera with flash and a fingerprint sensor while also has IR face unlock capabilities so you could unlock your phone even while on the go.

At the bottom, it retains the Mi flagship style of speaker holes at the bottom along with the USB C port.

While at the top, Jack is alive after being left back along with Titanic. Just joking! It sports the good old 3.5mm audio headphones jack so you could play games in privacy without disturbing others.

Packed with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 AI Engine flagship processor that also sports the Adreno 630 GPU, I could play my favorite mobile game with seamless graphic smoothness. Imagine no more deaths and glitches due to phone hanging/freezing during critical times.

I clocked around 8 hours of non stop gaming on Asphalt Xtreme with only warm feeling on the back thanks to the LiquidCool technology. The screen also did not heat up like other phones which is definitely a plus point while the 4000mAh with Quick Charge 3.0 made sure I had enough juice to last me throughout the day and for that speedy recharge so I could go on and on with the phone like  Energizer bunny. Did I mention the full screen display is fitted with Corning Gorilla Glass?

Ok, some might say the picture for a gaming phone would suck big time, I do agree but that's only if you have real shaky hands where an added OIS would have helped but the dual lens camera is superb if you asked me.

It did great in low light settings with it's dual pixel auto-focus and the AI Scene detection gives real time optimization on the move.

 These are sample pics taken from the camera with some macro and high depth scenes to really test it.

 Vibrant colours captured

 A visit to the market wouln't be the same anymore when the camera is on.

So the verdict? Camera works good for me, on top of the non stop gaming experience without overly heating up and enough juice to run the whole day? I would say this is a definite buy for the price. It's hard to get anything close with even double the price if you ask me.