Poco F4 leak: Alleged technical specs suggest it will still use Snapdragon 870

The alleged technical specifications of the Poco F4 have leaked, indicating that the Xiaomi sub-brand might be skipping one crucial upgrade. The report suggests that the upcoming device will not use Qualcomm’s latest premium SoC, Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, or its predecessor, Snapdragon 888.

A few years ago, the Poco brand quickly became popular as its first phone launched at a lower price point while using the latest Snapdragon 8-series chipset at the time. It earned the label “flagship killer,” considering its core specs and price tag. However, the early leaked details about the Poco F4 suggest this will not be the case for the upcoming device.

Noted leaker Yogesh Brar reported on Monday that the Poco F4 will be powered by Snapdragon 870, Qualcomm’s sub-premium chipset launched last year. Notably, the Snapdragon 870 was the same chipset used for Poco F3 last year, while its GT version shipped with MediaTek’s Dimensity 1200.

There are other interesting changes between Poco F3 and Poco F4, according to the same leak. The latter is rumored to sport a slightly smaller display at 6.3 inches compared to its predecessor’s 6.67-inch screen. But Poco is expected to continue using AMOLED panels that support 120Hz refresh rate.

The leak also suggests some upgrades in the Poco F4 cameras. It is rumored to feature a 50MP main camera, 13MP ultra-wide lens, and a 5MP “tele-macro” sensor. In comparison, the regular Poco F3 offered a 48MP primary sensor, 8MP ultra-wide-angle shutter, and 5MP macro lens. The selfie camera is expected to be upgraded with a 32MP sensor.

Other details mentioned in the leak are not surprising. The Poco F4’s reported configurations include 6GB / 8GB / 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB / 256GB UFS 3.1 storage options. The device would run on the Android 12-based MIUI 13 operating system. A slightly smaller battery is also expected with 4500mAh capacity and 67W fast charging rate.

The leak did not include image renders. But OnLeaks has previously shared the reported Redmi K50 renders, which could have the same design as Poco F4. The Poco F-series phones were released as the global versions of the Redmi K-series devices in 2020 and 2021, so it would not be surprising if Xiaomi follows the same strategy in the coming months.

Photo by Zana Latif on Unsplash