The POCO F3 launches as a Snapdragon 870-powered value flagship - Android

The F2 didn't have a non-pro model, the F3 is fixing that.

What you need to know

• POCO has announced the F3, its most powerful phone yet.
• It's shipping with a Snapdragon 870 SOC, one of the first to come with this chip.
• It's also coming with a 120Hz AMOLED display and dual Dolby-Atmos certified speakers

Motorola may have launched the first Snapdragon 870 powered flagship, but POCO's F3 is likely to be one of the few you'll be hearing about. From the Xiaomi-linked brand, this handset is an impressive one, coming as part of a dual-act with the POCO X3 Pro.

Let's dive into the specs. The F3 is what Poco calls its most powerful flagship phone yet, and it really is. It's coming with one of the best Qualcomm processors, just below the Snapdragon 888 you'll find in the S21 and Mi 11. This means that while you're getting flagship levels speeds and feeds, you also get to keep 5G unlike with the cheaper X3 Pro. It's backed up by up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and there's microSD support as well.

Imaging-wise, it has a triple rear camera setup. This means you're getting a 48MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide camera, and a 5MP telemacro camera. The main and ultra-wide combinations are a tried and true pair, and the telemacro camera is an improvement over the 2MP throwaway cameras that other OEMS (including POCO themselves), saddle their cheap phones with.

When it comes to consuming media on this thing, you'll find a 6.67-inch 120Hz display, 360Hz touch sampling, and a pair of Dolby Atmos-certified speakers.

While most people aren't buying POCO phones for their looks, it's not a bad-looking handset either. You'll get it in Arctic White, Night Black, and Deep Ocean Blue. And there's Gorilla Glass 5 on both the front and the back for protection.

It's set up to be one of the best Android phones just on specs alone, but POCO's previous releases also engender confidence. We recently re-reviewed the POCO F1, and it is a delightful handset that kept its value even two years after launch. The F3 firmly keeps its fingers on the pulse, bringing things like a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and NFC which have become more useful as mask usage and contactless payments increase in frequency. With the adoption of a more premium design and the move to an 870, POCO fans are likely to be pleased with this outing from the brand.