POCO X8 Pro – Stark Industries Approved
We’ve seen a lot of brand collaborations lately. I am still waiting for more tech brands to collaboration with Marvel for the Spider-Man franchise. I understand that Spider-Man is such an expensive brand to collaborate with so I can definitely understand why not a lot of tech brands have been slapping Spidey’s face on their devices. For now, Iron Man would be the next big thing. I’m just glad that POCO and Marvel made it possible.
The POCO X8 Pro Iron Man Edition combines a striking comic-inspired design with solid midrange hardware. It delivers excellent gaming performance and unique features at a very competitive price. It is a great device for daily use.
Build and Design
As a collab phone, you pay an extra premium. This makes sense if you are a fan of Iron Man. This would have been a better purchase if Iron Man was still highly relevant in the film industry. With him gone in the MCU and essentially replaced by Doctor Doom in terms of star power, its relevance lies more in the comics scene. It does not discount the fact that this is still an amazing collab.
I would have to say that the design is a true collab. You see Iron Man at the back panel with a big logo of his name. Interestingly, the Stark Industries and POCO logos are also included. The back panel is crowded. You can easily slap its custom and more minimalist case. The case only shows POCO and Tony Stark’s signature.
The phone features a sleek black body accented with shimmering golden streaks. The flash serves as the Arc Reactor at its center. It measures 157.53mm by 75.19mm by 8.38mm. It weighs 201.47 grams. It also has an IP68 dust and water resistance rating. It features a dynamic RGB light that responds to notifications and music.
Display
The phone has a 6.59-inch AMOLED display. It offers a sharp 1.5K resolution of 2756 x 1268 pixels. The screen is bright and easy to view outdoors. It has a peak brightness of 3500 nits. The 120Hz refresh rate makes every animation feel smooth.
Colors pop and blacks are deep. It supports 68 billion colors and DCI-P3 wide color gamut. It features an in-screen fingerprint sensor. The display uses Corning Gorilla Glass 7i. You will enjoy watching movies and playing games on this screen. It supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.
The screen is comfortable to use for long periods. It also features 3840Hz PWM dimming to reduce eye strain. It has three TUV Rheinland eye-care certifications. The Wet Touch display 2.0 allows you to use the screen with wet hands.
Hardware
This is essentially a POCO X8 Pro without any bump in performance. It is powered by the Dimensity 8500-Ultra processor. It is built on a 4nm manufacturing process. It has an octa-core CPU that reaches up to 3.4GHz. It comes with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage space.
The storage uses fast UFS 4.1 technology. The phone handles daily tasks perfectly. Multitasking is quick and seamless. Actual game performance is fantastic for the price it asks. You can play popular games smoothly without heating issues. The phone uses a 5300 square millimeter dual-layer cooling system to maintain good temperatures.
Performance is at par with phones in the premium midrange to flagship level. The phone only costs PhP 18,999. That is amazing. It also supports hardware-level ray tracing. The WildBoost Optimization ensures stable frame rates during heavy gaming.
Benchmark
If you take a look at my benchmark tests, it is a very promising phone. Its performance exceeded our expectations. The phone scored 14,695 on PCMark 3.0. It achieved a multi-core score of 6,584 and a single-core score of 1,706 on Geekbench 6. The AnTuTu 3D score reached 2,119,385. For graphics, it scored 3,785 on 3D Mark Wild Life Extreme.
These numbers are impressive for a phone at this price point. It shows that the device can easily handle demanding applications. The benchmark results translate well into real-world usage. You get a snappy and responsive experience. It performs faster than many older devices.
Software and other software features
The phone runs on Xiaomi HyperOS 3. A newly customized Iron Man-themed UI extends the black-and-gold aesthetic. When the device powers on, Iron Man awakens. It delivers an immersive sci-fi experience. The software is clean and easy to use. It supports features like offline voice calls up to 1 kilometer.
You get Google Gemini integration for smart tasks. The system also includes the Ticket Purchase Mode. This helps you secure tickets during fast online sales. Everything runs smoothly without annoying bugs. The custom UI really adds value for Marvel fans. It also supports Xiaomi HyperConnect for easy device pairing.
Camera
Camera performance is good. The difference is negligible when compared to the POCO X8 Pro Max. It uses a 50MP Sony IMX882 main camera with OIS. It also has an 8MP ultra-wide lens and a 20MP front camera. Photos look sharp with nice colors.
Check out our sample photos. We took almost the same set of photos using our POCO X8 Pro Max. So, if you wish to check out the difference, you may also check out our review on this link.
The major difference is in the video side when I used Blackmagic Camera. The POCO X8 Pro does not allow open gate 4:3 when shooting at 4K. Open gate is only available when shooting at 2K with a resolution of 2880×2160. This is a stark difference from the POCO X8 Pro Max which can shoot open gate at 4K with a resolution of 4096×3072.
What is even more interesting is the bit rate limitation. POCO X8 Pro can do a max of 160Mbps at HEVC despite lacking open gate shooting at 4K. The POCO X8 Pro Max can only go 100Mbps at HEVC. This compensates for the lack of resolution. This is acceptable by my standard. The camera also supports UltraSnap and Dynamic shots.
Audio
Sound is just as good as the one on the POCO X8 Pro Max. It is loud but a little less punchy. It is definitely acceptable. The phone features stereo speakers. It supports Hi-Res Audio and Dolby Atmos. You can enjoy games and movies with clear audio.
The volume levels are sufficient for small rooms. It lacks a bit of bass but vocals are crisp. It is a decent audio setup for the price. The phone also has a two-mic array to capture clean audio during calls.
Battery
Battery performance is tied to its 6500mAh battery. Despite its capacity, it remains slim and clocks in a total of 18 hours. I will need to update this though as I have only been using the phone for a week. The battery easily lasts a full day of moderate use. It supports 100W HyperCharge fast charging.
You can top up the battery very quickly. It also supports 27W reverse charging. This battery setup is very reliable. It features a silicon-carbon battery technology. It also uses Smart charging to keep temperatures safe.
Verdict
The POCO X8 Pro Iron Man Edition is an excellent choice for Marvel fans and gamers. At PhP 18,999, it offers fantastic value. You get a unique design and custom software. The performance is incredible for the price. The camera is very capable for photos and decent for videos. The battery life is solid. It stands out in the crowded midrange market. This is a highly recommended phone.
Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.
