With the POCO F9 Pro being as impressive as it is, we were left wondering if there’s still a case to be made for the POCO F9 Ultra. Is it more than just its size? And will there be a clear difference between the two?
So, let’s not waste another minute, let’s dive right in…
Same Box, Bigger Phone
If you’re looking for the difference here, well, I’m sorry to disappoint you because the unboxing experience is the same as what you would find in the POCO F9 Pro. Same box, same content, same everything.
Inside the box, you’ll getting:
- The POCO F9 Ultra
- A Plastic Case
- A 100W HyperCharge brick
- USB Type-A to Type-C Charging Cable
- A SIM Ejector Tool
- Quick Start Guide and Warranty Information
Bigger in More Ways Than One
One of the things that make the POCO F9 Ultra, the “Ultra”, is its size. For some people, bigger IS better, whether that’s for productivity, gaming, or watching, just having the bigger real estate means that you have more for everything.
But despite being bigger in size, the POCO F9 Ultra is a bit thinner than the F9 Pro the we’ve just reviewed, 5 mm thinner to be exact. What it loses out in thickness, it gains in weight. At 235 g, the POCO F9 Ultra is 29 g heavier than its smaller sibling. Which is probably why POCO decided to use fiberglass for the rear panel instead of glass to help with making it lighter.
Fiberglass, in and of itself, is very durable but combine that with a Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, metal frame all around, and finished off with an IP68 dust and water resistance, and you have yourself a durable smartphone that is a beauty to behold.
I just wished that POCO brought back the denim-like finish for this year’s F9 Ultra, it would’ve given the Ultra a unique option similar to the F9 Pro’s glow-in-the-dark Aurora Green colorway. That being said, the phone’s Black and Dark Cherry colorway elevates the POCO F9 Ultra’s status to elite status.
Ours came in the Dark Cherry colorway and let me tell you, the phone is a looker. It’ll turn heads wherever you go. Unfortunately, as was the case with the POCO F9 Pro, you won’t be able to use all your old cases from last year’s F8 Ultra because the POCO F9 Ultra is thicker than its predecessor, so be sure to keep that in mind when upgrading.
The Ultra Viewing Experience
The POCO F9 Ultra uses the same M11 Panel with POCO’s HyperRGB technology on its 6.9-inch 185Hz 1.5K AMOLED display which makes it an even better binge-watching companion than the average sized POCO F9 Pro.
Since it uses the same panel, you can expect the POCO F9 Ultra to be brighter, faster, and more efficient than its predecessor. It still has all the bells and whistles like Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 480Hz touch sampling, up to 4800Hz instant touch sampling rate, and an Ultrasonic under the display fingerprint sensor.
Plus, a 2.1-channel audio which is made up of dual symmetrical 1115D stereo speakers and an independent 1620 subwoofer, all tuned by the audio Gods at Bose. Like the F9 Pro, you can still choose between the Dynamic or Balanced depending on which one you prefer most.
To make it easy on your eyes, the POCO F9 Ultra also comes equipped with the Xiaomi Vision Care, so your eyes stay protected and your sleep uninterrupted.
200 Megapixels and Then Some
Now this is where POCO went all out in making the F9 Ultra a cut above the rest. There’s three cameras making that possible, a 200 MP ultra-clear HP5 main sensor, a 50 MP JN5 periscope telephoto sensor, and a 50 MP ultra-wide camera, plus a 32 MP front camera for all your selfie needs.
To make use of that full 200 MP, POCO included a dedicated 200 MP mode so that you can capture more data and have more leeway in the cutting room. Honestly, the 200 MP mode could already stand for the telephoto lens, but POCO went ahead and put in one anyway.
The 50 MP periscope telephoto lens can do 5x optical zoom, 10x lossless digital zoom, and up to 120x AI Ultra Zoom. No extenders, just the telephoto lens itself. Of course, expect some loss in detail when using the 120x AI Ultra Zoom but the fact that it could do that is already impressive in my opinion.
Like what we’ve discussed on our full review of the POCO F9 Pro, the F9 Ultra also come equipped with new software features like Live Cinematography, Portrait Live, and Freestyle Live, on top of the AI Creativity Assistant.
Refining the Performance Formula
If you’re looking to upgrade from a POCO F8 Ultra to the new F9 Ultra because of the new processor then I’m sorry to inform you that the latter didn’t get a new chip. Instead, the upgrades came from the improved cooling system and the new VisionBoost D8 graphics boost chip.
Just to see if it really did make a difference, we ran a few of our benchmarks to see how the POCO F9 Ultra performs:
- GeekBench 6 CPU: 2047 (Single-core) | 8805 (Multi-core)
- GeekBench 6 GPU: 16,873
- PCMark Work 3.0 Performance: 19,753
The new VisionBoost D8 chipset allows the POCO F9 Ultra to achieve up to 185FPS in selected games through the Smart frame rate feature. And it doesn’t stop there, you can simultaneously use the smart frame rate feature and still take advantage of the 1.5K super resolution to play the game as the developers intended it to.
The added graphics boost doesn’t just affect gaming, video resolution, frame rate, and HDR enhancements can also be used for YouTube and Netflix, just to make your binge-watching experience just a tiny bit sweeter.
Meanwhile, the WildBoost Engine handles the more specific aspects of the gaming experience. That includes more precise control which makes use of the 480Hz touch sampling and up to 4800Hz instant touch sampling that we mentioned earlier, more vivid visuals which enhances game color and visual processing, and more immersive audio which tweaks the speaker and takes advantage of the Sound by Bose tuning to make the soundstage more realistic.
And if you’re into competitive gaming, the seven dedicated gaming antennas should give you a better connectivity advantage when playing because it reduces signal blockage when playing in landscape.
You can kit the POCO F9 Ultra with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage. It runs HyperOS 3.1 out of the box with eSIM support and Xiaomi’s Offline Communication feature which lets you make direct, walkie-talkie-style calls without cellular data, Wi-Fi or any network coverage. Perfect for when you’re lost somewhere where there’s no clear signal.
Go Big or Go Home
Unlike the POCO F9 Pro’s slight bump in battery capacity, the POCO F9 Ultra didn’t just get a bump, it got a jump… The new F9 Ultra is now powered by a massive 8,050 mAh Silicon Carbon (Si/C) battery. No wonder the phone got heavier…
Charging that massive battery won’t be a problem, thanks to the 100W wired HyperCharge and the 50W wireless HyperCharge. And since the new battery is that big, you can share it either through the 27W wired reverse charging or the 22.5W wireless reverse charging and still last a full day, maybe more.
Final Thoughts
I’m sure many of you will ask the question, is the POCO F9 Ultra worth upgrading to when you’ve just come from an F8 Ultra? Probably not. The upgrades don’t exactly justify the need to upgrade just one year after but hey, if you’re coming from 2 or 3 generations down, the POCO F9 Ultra is a perfect fit for you.
The POCO F9 Ultra doesn’t wow you with big, headline features like a new design or new chipset. Instead, it makes the smartphone experience better with thoughtful refinements in the little things that make a big difference.
Of course, the size won’t be for everyone but that’s why the Pro exists. It’s a big phone and you’ll definitely feel that in your hand and pocket. But if you’re someone who prefers the larger screen, bigger battery, and a more versatile camera, then those compromises look more and more miniscule.
With phone prices being as they are today, smartphones are no longer just luxuries that you could afford for the hell of it, these are now becoming long term investments that you can count on for work and pleasure. Which is why it is very important to choose one that’ll suit your needs not just today but for the future ahead.
The POCO F9 Ultra proves that it isn’t just the F9 Pro with a bigger display, it’s a well-rounded package that can handle all the things you need and more, all without breaking a sweat.