The Poco M lineup falls under the budget category. This time out they give me mixed feelings. Explore more about the new Poco phones in this Poco M5 and M5s Singapore Pirce and Review article.
If you are in the market for a new budget smartphone, then you might have heard about the Poco M5 lineup. The Poco M5 replaces the Poco M4 but is it better than the older device? Is the Poco M5s worth the price premium over the Poco M5?
The answer is not as straightforward as picking the best one out of the three, Poco M5, Poco M5s, and Poco M4. All these devices have advantages and disadvantages over each other. Get answers to all your questions in our Poco M5 and M5s Singapore Price and Review.
Poco M5 and M5s Singapore Price and Review
Poco M5 and M5s Price in Singapore
The Poco M5 and the Poco M5s both launched together on the 5th of September 2022. However, the Poco M5s went on sale earlier than the M5. The Poco M5s was available for purchase in Singapore on the 6th of September 2022, while the Poco M5 went on sale on the 13th of September 2022.
Now, you can find both smartphones easily in most Xiaomi retailers both offline and online.
The Poco M5 has an official price tag of 209 SGD for the 4/64GB version and 279 SGD for the 6/128GB version. However, the Poco M5 had an early bird price of 189 and 229 SGD which would have made them a really good deal. Now you can find the Poco M5 for 209 and 279 SGD.
The Poco M5s has an official price tag of 239 SGD for the 4/64GB version and 299 SGD for the 6/128GB version. The Poco M5s had an early bird price of 209 and 269 SGD making it an excellent deal. Now you can find the Poco M5s for 239 and 299 SGD.
Where to Buy – Poco M5 in Singapore | Price in SGD | Poco M5s in Singapore | Price in SGD |
Amazon | 248 | Amazon | 299 |
Lazada | 209 | Lazada | 239 |
Shopee | 279 | Shopee | 299 |
So, are the Poco M5 and M5s worth their price tag?
Best Features of the Poco M5 and M5s Singapore
Poco M5
Beautiful Design – The Poco M5 and M5s feature different designs and one might expect the M5s to look better given its the more premium version, however, I love the design of the cheaper Poco M5. The camera island looks sleek.
Efficient Performance – The Poco M5 is powered by a Mediatek Helio G99 chipset built on 6nm. This makes it efficient while offering a good performance.
Large High Refresh Rate Display – the Poco M5 features a 90Hz 6.58 inch LCD screen with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels making it sharp, smooth, and excellent for content consumption.
Poco M5s
Superb AMOLED screen – The Poco M5s uses a 6.43 inch AMOLED screen with a peak brightness of 1100 nits. It is easily one of the best if not the best screen in its price range.
Stereo Speakers – The stereo speakers bring everything to life and it sounds amazing when watching videos or movies. They are guaranteed to deliver an immersive experience regardless of the volume levels.
Solid Battery Life – Equipped with a powerful 5000mAh battery, I found the Poco M5s to last a day on a single charge. The 33W fast charging also helps when you need to charge the device.
Poco M5 and M5s Singapore Specifications
Phone | Xiaomi Poco M5 | Xiaomi Poco M5s |
Announced | 5th September 2022 | 5th September 2022 |
Status | Available. Released 13th September 2022 | Available. Released 6th September 2022 |
Display | ||
Type | IPS LCD, 90Hz, 500 nits (HBM) | AMOLED, 450 nits (typ), 700 nits (HBM), 1100 nits (peak) |
Size | 6.58 inches, 83.6% screen-to-body ratio | 6.43 inches, 83.5% screen-to-body ratio |
Resolution | 1080 x 2408 pixels, 401 PPI | 1080 x 2400 pixels, 409 PPI |
Protection | Gorilla Glass 3 | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
Body | ||
Dimensions | 164 x 76.1 x 8.9 mm | 160.5 x 74.5 x 8.3 mm |
Weight | 201 g | 179 g |
Water Resistance | None | IP53 rating for dust and splash resistant |
SIM Slot | Dual SIM | Dual SIM |
Expandable Storage | microSDXC (dedicated slot) | microSDXC (dedicated slot) |
Colors | Black, Green, Yellow | Blue ,White and Grey |
Internals | ||
Processor | MediaTek Helio G99 (6 nm) | Mediatek Helio G95 (12 nm) |
Graphics | Mali-G57 MC2 | Mali-G76 MC4 |
RAM | 4/6 GB | 4/6 GB |
Storage | UFS 2.2 64/128 GB | UFS 2.2 64/128 GB |
Cameras | ||
Rear Cameras | 50 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP | 64 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP |
Camera Features | LED flash, HDR, panorama, 1080p@30fps | LED flash, HDR, panorama, 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, 720p@960fps |
Front Camera | 5 MP | 13 MP |
Camera Features | 1080p@30fps | HDR, 1080p@30fps |
Software | ||
Android | Android 12 | Android 12 |
MIUI | MIUI 13 | MIUI 13 |
Connectivity | ||
Network | GSM / HSPA / LTE | GSM / HSPA / LTE |
WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot |
Bluetooth | 5.3, A2DP, LE | 5.0, A2DP, LE |
GPS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS |
NFC | Yes | Yes |
Infrared Port | Yes | Yes |
Radio | FM Radio | FM Radio |
USB | USB 2.0 Type-C | USB 2.0 Type-C |
Battery | ||
Capacity | Li-Po 5000mAh | Li-Po 5000 mAh |
Charging Technology | 18W Fast Charging | 33W Fast charging |
Sound | ||
Loudspeaker | Yes but no Stereo Speakers | Stereo Speakers |
3.5mm Jack | Yes | Yes |
Features | ||
Sensors | Fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, proximity, compass | Fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, compass, Virtual proximity sensing |
Poco M5 and M5s Design Singapore
The Poco M5 and M5s have different designs both on the front and the back.
Despite the cheap and affordable pricing, the design of the Poco M5 and M5s to be quite sleek and elegant.
Unlike some of the other Xiaomi smartphones we’ve reviewed, the Poco M5 has a plastic body which might put some people off, but I personally liked how snug the phone fit in my hands. There’s ample amount of grip so the phone doesn’t fall or slip.
The M5 and M5s are available in 3 colors and while it might not be the handset to go for if you’re looking for something a little more minimal, it sure is an eye catcher and I felt that Xiaomi has not followed their signature design and that’s what is unique about the M5.
The physical volume and power buttons are located on the right side of the M4 pro and the left houses the hybrid SIM slot. Charging and data transfer is carried out via USB-C and there’s even a 3.5mm headphone jack positioned at the bottom.
While the M5 and M5s are not waterproof, it does come with IP53 protection that keeps the device safe from dust and light splashes.
Poco M5 and M5s Singapore Display
Like the design, the displays on the Poco M5 and M5s are vastly different. Even the technology is different, the M5 uses a LCD screen, while the M5s uses a AMOLED screen.
The Poco M5 has a 90Hz 6.58 inch LCD screen with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels. LCD might not look as good as an AMOLED screen, but the 90Hz refresh rate offers a smoother and snappier experience compared to 60Hz screen on the M5s. Also the Poco M5 has a larger screen compared to the Poco M5s. Even though it’s a LCD screen, the Poco M5 looks good with bright and saturated colors.
The Poco M5s on the other hand features a 6.43 inch AMOLED screen with 60Hz refresh rate and 2400 x 1080 pixels. This screen is brighter, sharper, and better to look at. But the Poco M5s is feels less smooth in comparison to the cheaper M5. The Poco M5s also has a punch hole display which is better in comparison to the teardrop notch found in the Poco M5.
If I had to choose one, I’ll go with the Poco M5s as it looks better. It is also brighter and the punch hole display is much nicer for content consumption. However, if your budget is low, the Poco M5 offers a good display too.
Poco M5 and M5s Singapore Performance
Again, both are different in this category too as they both feature different processors. The cheaper Poco M5 is powered by a Mediatek Helio G99, while the Poco M5s has a Mediatek Helio G95 under the hood.
You mgfht think that the bigger number means the better processor right? However that is not the case. In CPU performance, the G99 is better, however in GPU performance the G95 is better.
So, if you want to game on your phone, then go with the Poco M5s, but for other things like browsing and social media, the Poco M5 will be better.
Both phones come with 4/6 GBs of LPDDR4 RAM and 64/128 GBs of UFS 2.2 storage, so they perform similarly when it comes to opening and switching between apps. Both phones run MIUI 13 and Andorid 12, so the software experience is similar.
And finally when it comes to efficiency, the Helio G99 in the Poco M5 is much better as it is based on 6nm process node. This means the Poco M5 will provide better battery life and wont get heated when under load.
If I had to choose, I would go with the Poco M5, but if you really wwant to game, then the Poco M5s is better.
Poco M5 and M5s Singapore Camera
On the camera side of things, both smartphones are mediocre at best. Howwvee, the costlier Poco M5s is better than the Poco M5.
The Poco M5s has a quad camera on the back with a 64 MP main sensor, followeed by 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro and 2MP telephoto cameras. The main and ultrawide sensors are decent while the macro and telephoto cameras are just bad.
The Poco M5 on the other hand features a triple camera setup with 50 MP main camera, a 2MP ultrawisde and 2MP Macro camera. The 50MP camera does a surprisingly good job considering the price. The 2MP ultrawide and macro cameras are terrible as usual.
On the front, the Poco M5 has a 5MP selfie camera which is bad. However the 13 MP selfie camera on the Poco M5s does a good job.
So in the camera department, the Poco M5s is much better than the Poco M5. Dont get the Poco M5 is you like taking pictures especially selfies.
Poco M5 and M5s Singapore Battery
Both the Poco M5 and M5s have a 5000 mAh battery. However the cheaper Poco M5 has better battery life thanks to its super efficient 6nm processor. The Poco M5s is not too bad, but it conisistenly dies a few hours earlier than the Poco M5.
When it comes to charging, the Poco M5s is impressive with its 33W fast charging ability. It is much faster than the Poco M5 with just 18W fast charging capability.
Poco M5 and M5s Singapore Pros and Cons
Pros
- Affordable devices
- Sleek, slim and aesthetic build
- Good displays
- Good battery life with decent fast charging
Cons
- Not an upgrade over the Poco M4 series
- Cameras are bad, especially on the cheaper Poco M5
- Lag while switching between apps and games
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