introduction
The Poco M5s we have with us today were previewed side by side with the Poco M5, a duo under € 250 destined for the EU market. The standard Poco M5 was also launched in India, but this Poco M5 didn’t make it.
If we were to simplify this comparison, we would say that the Poco M5 has a 90Hz LCD screen, while the Poco M5s uses a 60Hz OLED and a better all-round camera setup. This is why we have decided to focus our attention on the more feature-rich Poco M5s.
And yes, Xiaomi has done it again, unsurprisingly. The Poco M5s is, in fact, a renamed Redmi Note 10S, which was released over a year ago across the EU and Asia. And while India isn’t getting the M5s, it got the Redmi Note 11 SE device in August, which is another sibling device. You can see all three compared here or check out the links to specs below.
Xiaomi Poco M5s • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10S • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 SE (India)
Now that we’ve cleared up the latest Xiaomi brand nonsense, let’s explore this Poco M5s.
The M5s offers a 6.43-inch 1080p OLED with premium brightness capabilities. The refresh rate is limited to 60Hz, however, despite the M5 having a more powerful chipset and better panel than the M5 with its 90Hz LCD.
Speaking of hardware, the M5s is based on the Helio G95, a platform that offers a 2 + 6 CPU and quad-core Mali-G76 MC4 GPU that should be good enough for gaming on the go. You can choose between 4GB and 6GB of RAM and 64GB and 128GB of expandable memory.
In addition to the brighter OLED, the M5s also beats the cheaper M5 in the camera department. The Poco M5s offers four cameras on the rear: a 64MP primary, an 8MP ultrawide, a 2MP macro, and a 2MP depth sensor. There is no UW camera on the M5 and the primary resolution is 50 MP.
The selfie cam is also better on the M5s, a 13MP eye compared to a 5MP selfie on the M5.
The Poco M5s offers a rather rich connectivity package without 5G: it has dual SIM with two dedicated SIM beds, 4G LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi, NFC, FM radio, 3.5mm jack, IR port. The phone runs on Android 12 with MIUI 13.
The Poco M5s supports 33W fast wired charging for its large 5,000mAh battery, and the manufacturer advertises a 64% charge in 30 minutes. We will see it shortly.
Finally, the Poco M5s is a splash-resistant device with an IP53 rating, and it’s definitely better than nothing.
Xiaomi Poco M5s specifications at a glance:
- Body: 160.5×74.5×8.3 mm, 179 g; glass front, plastic frame, plastic back; IP53, resistant to dust and splashes.
- Screen: 6.43 “AMOLED, 450 nits (typical), 700 nits (HBM), 1100 nits (peak), 1080x2400px resolution, 20: 9 aspect ratio, 409ppi.
- Chipset: Mediatek Helio G95 (12 nm): Octa-core (2×2.05 GHz Cortex-A76 and 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G76 MC4.
- Memory: 64GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM; UFS 2.2; microSDXC (dedicated slot).
- Operating system / software: Android 12, MIUI 13.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 64 MP, f / 1.8, 26 mm, 1 / 1.97 “, 0.7 µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f / 2.2, 118˚, 1 / 4.0 “, 1.12µm; Macro: 2 MP, f / 2.4; Depth: 2 MP, f / 2.4.
- Front camera: 13 MP, f / 2.4, (wide angle), 1 / 3.06 “, 1.12µm.
- Video capture: Rear camera: 4K at 30fps, 1080p at 30/60/120 fps, 720p at 960fps; Front camera: 1080p @ 30fps.
- Battery: 5000 mAh; Fast charging 33W, 64% in 30 min (advertised).
- Various: Fingerprint reader (side mounted); NFC; FM Radio; Infrared port; 3.5 mm jack; stereo speakers; Virtual proximity detection.
Okay, for a phone available for € 210, we can’t think of any essential missing features. The M5s looks like a great affordable device, so without further ado, let’s get this thing out of its box.
Unboxing the Poco M5s
The Poco M5s arrives in a large box painted in Poco’s distinctive yellow color. There are many accessories inside.
The M5s is bundled with a 33W charger and a Class 3A USB-AC cable. Then there’s a clear soft case for extra protection and a SIM eject tool.
Finally, there is a thin protective film inside the box, which you need to apply yourself. Other phones made by Xiaomi usually have it pre-applied at the factory.
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