You ask, we deliver. As promised, here are our first impressions of POCO’s flagship contender, the POCO F8 Ultra. We’ve already gone over the POCO F8 Pro, but if you haven’t read that yet, be sure to check it out by clicking here.
Almost every manufacturer has slapped the “Ultra” badge on one of their offerings. Some give the label justice, while others use it purely as a marketing ploy. So if that’s the case, where does POCO fall with their latest and greatest F8 Ultra?
Let’s find out…
Unboxing
At first glance, the F8 Ultra’s box doesn’t differ from that of the previous generation. It still comes in a mostly black box with yellow texts. The only difference from then and now is that the POCO F8 Ultra’s box now has the “Sound by Bose” logo, alluding to its upgraded speakers.
Lifting the top part will reveal a yellow box that contains the matte black protective case, few documents that includes a quick start guide and the EU energy label, a USB Type-A to Type-C charging cable, and then lastly, the POCO F8 Ultra itself.
No HyperCharge power brick here guys, just the ones I’ve mentioned. Quite a bummer considering it would’ve been a 100W HyperCharge power brick. But I guess with all the upgrades that POCO has done with the F8 Series, you can expect some cost-cutting somewhere.
A New Look with Denim Flair
Similar to what you’d find on the F8 Pro, the POCO F8 Ultra also features a redesigned camera island that eliminates the circular design of the previous generation. But unlike the former, the latter takes the “Sound by Bose” experience to a whole ‘nother level, which we’ll talk more about later.
Another aspect where POCO has stepped things up is the rear panel design. Instead of the usual vegan leather, ceramic, or eco-leather backing that other manufacturers use to spice things up, POCO went for a denim-textured material that’s certainly one of a kind in its class.
POCO calls it the Denim Blue version, and because of its texture, it’s both anti-slip and fingerprint resistant. It’s such a unique design that you’ll think twice about putting on the included case, nakakapanghinayang takpan eh!
But if that’s not your cup of tea, there’s also a Black version, which looks just as premium. Of course, if you do opt for the Black one, you’ll shave off a bit of thickness and weight since the Denim version does add a little more.
Not to worry though, because if you do decide to rawdog the experience, the POCO F8 Ultra comes protected with POCO Shield Glass and an IP68 dust and water resistance rating. You’ll find all the buttons on the right while the two other speakers are found at the top and bottom. Speaking of the bottom, there you’ll also find the USB Type-C port and the SIM slot.
A Massive Screen with a Twist
Almost everything about the POCO F8 Ultra has been upgraded. I say “almost” because there’s one aspect that may seem like a downgrade (but it’s really not…). Some of the features that were carried over from the previous generation is the support for Dolby Vision and support for up to a 120Hz refresh rate.
Compared to the F7 Ultra, the POCO F8 Ultra is both larger and brighter. Standing at a towering 6.9 inches (versus the former’s 6.67 inches), the F8 Ultra is definitely living up to its “Ultra” moniker. It’s also brighter at 3500 nits peak brightness compared to the F7 Ultra’s 3200 nits.
Now onto the “alleged” downgrade. On paper, the POCO F8 Ultra has a lower resolution at 1200 x 2608 pixels versus the F7 Ultra’s 1440 x 3200. Sure, the pixel density is a bit lower at 416 ppi, but thanks to POCO’s new HyperRGB display technology, the F8 Ultra looks just as sharp and clear as the F7 Ultra.
Stay tuned for our full review of the POCO F8 Ultra, where we’ll dive deeper into POCO’s HyperRGB display technology and see how it stacks up against the competition. In the meantime, check out our hands-on with the POCO F8 Ultra in our YouTube video.
The Best Only Deserves the Finest
Given that this is POCO’s latest and greatest offering, it’s no surprise that the company went with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. It’s also paired with either 12 or 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256 or 512GB of high-speed UFS 4.1 storage.
All that combined pushes the POCO F8 Ultra to a whopping score of 3,704,434 in AnTuTu Benchmark v10. While in Geekbench, it scored 3525 in single-core and 10760 in multi-core. And to nail the gaming experience home, POCO equipped the F8 Ultra with a dedicated VisionBoost D8 chipset.
On supported games like Genshin Impact, Call of Duty: Mobile, and Honkai: Star Rail, users can toggle features like Smart Frame Rate and Game HDR for a smoother, richer viewing experience.
The POCO F8 Ultra runs HyperOS 3 out of the box which not only brings aesthetic improvements but also makes the whole experience more efficient.
Tuned by Bose
Although both the F8 Pro and F8 Ultra come standard with a 2.1-channel speaker system, the POCO F8 Ultra ups the experience even further with a dedicated woofer beside the triple camera system, making the audio that much richer.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again; the audio experience is unlike anything we’ve heard on a smartphone. Sure, manufacturers nowadays advertise 400% or 600% volume boosts, but that usually just increases loudness. Being loud doesn’t always mean better; it can sometimes result in that “sabog” sound.
Just like the POCO F8 Pro, the F8 Ultra’s 2.1-channel speaker system is tuned by renowned audio equipment maker Bose. There are two sound profiles formulated to cater to different listening tastes:Dynamic, which focuses on bass, and Balanced, which focuses on vocals.
It’s an experience you have to try for yourselves.
Cameras
POCO’s F Series has never been camera-oriented. Their focus has always been to provide the best overall experience without the hefty price tag, and that usually meant cutting corners in some aspects, camera department included.
Now, we’re not saying the F7 Ultra’s camera is bad. It can produce respectable shots; it’s just not at the level of other flagship devices.
This time, POCO wants to tick all the boxes of what a flagship should be. The F8 Ultra comes with a triple 50 MP setup consisting of a main Light Fusion 950 camera, a periscope telephoto lens capable of up to 5x optical zoom (POCO’s first), and an ultrawide lens for those group shots.
Up front, you’ll find a 32 MP selfie camera with a 0.8x intelligent wide-angle mode to fit more people or capture more scenery.
Here’s a few shots we took with the POCO F8 Ultra:
Battery That’ll Last with Charging That’s Fast
The “Ultra-ness” continues with the POCO F8 Ultra packing a massive 6500 mAh battery, the largest ever in the POCO F Series.
POCO claims that a single charge can last for more than 15 hours of continuous use, and you know what? We believe that’s doable considering the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and HyperOS 3’s efficiency and thermal management.
But if you do have to top up, the 100W wired and 50W wireless HyperCharge should charge the 6500 mAh battery from 0 to 100% in under an hour. Just wished the 100W power brick was already included…
As with any fast charger, your main concern would be heat buildup, which is why POCO equipped the F8 Ultra with Smart Charging designed to regulate temperature and adjust charging speed accordingly.
Initial Thoughts
After spending some time with the POCO F8 Ultra, one thing is clear: POCO really wants this device to live up to its “Ultra” name.
The massive display, the unique denim back, the upgraded camera system, and that insane 2.1 channel Bose tuned audio with a dedicated woofer all point to a device that is not just a small spec bump, but one that actually elevates the experience.
The only question now is how the upgraded camera performance and the new display technology will hold up in real world use. But if our first impressions are anything to go by, we are looking at a serious flagship contender.
Be sure to watch out for our full review of the POCO F8 Ultra. As it stands, it might just be the most exciting “Ultra” POCO has ever released…
Based on our first impressions, do you think the POCO F8 Ultra deserves the ‘Ultra’ name?
Let us know what you think!