Great hardware meets frustrating software

The Poco F7 2025 made an impact on me the moment I opened the FedEx package. I was greeted with a sleek black-and-silver lockbox case, complete with a combination dial on the front. This device continued to surprise me with its performance across a full week of daily use.

This year’s Poco F7 feels premium in the hand, performs like a flagship and lasts for days on a single charge. However, Poco cut corners in one place Android purists might care most: software. The F7 delivers a stellar mobile phone experience if you’re willing to live with a restricted UI.

Design and first impressions

The lockbox was likely exclusive to reviewers, but I was impressed nonetheless. It gave off a serious professional vibe. Opening the box revealed the phone’s black screen facing up at me, but when I picked it up, I was met with a gleaming silver phone that glinted in the light. The camera was encased in a prominent black housing, and my first impression was that this was a sophisticated device.

My first touch confirmed my expectations. It felt fantastic in my hand. It had slightly rounded edges that made it comfortable to hold, and a balanced 6.83-inch screen. Somehow, it achieved that rare ergonomic sweet spot. I never experienced any hand fatigue the entire time I used it.

The Poco F7 is available from AliExpress with free shipping to Canada.

Software experience

The sign-in was the same standard Android boot up, with Poco’s added flair (some of it unwelcome). The F7 came preloaded with an assortment of bloatware, such as gimmicky, childish games I spent several minutes uninstalling before I did anything else with the phone. Core Google apps were pre-installed, with the exception of Tasks and Gemini, but I’ve moved on from Google. Instead, I loaded up my new favourite third-party suite: Firefox, Obsidian, ToDoist, Spotify and a few others.

The software is buttery smooth. Everything flies, and the animations are slick. But I didn’t like that I couldn’t tweak it as much I wanted. It’s a real sticking point for me when it comes to Poco devices. Its skin is a heavy-handed iOS imitation, right down to the control panel copy.

But worse was how poorly it played with third-party launchers. My preferred launcher is Smart Launcher 6, and it lost most of its functionality. I’m a pro subscriber, but the phone informed me some of my favourite launcher settings, such as the left-screen RSS feed, were not allowed. Nova Launcher, Niagara and Lawnchair fared no better. I gave in and used Poco’s default skin, which is basically caged Android.

Display and performance

However, I was able to get over the inability to personalize the experience because the Poco F7 is superb in the performance department. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip, and it is flagship fast. Animations are fluid, apps open instantly, and multitasking is never an issue.

The display is a 1.5K ultra-bright screen with great responsiveness. It even works perfectly when wet. I tested it after doing dishes to see how Poco’s Wet Touch 2.0 works, and it delivered as promised.

Gaming was great. I loaded up some of the most demanding mobile games: Call of Duty Mobile and Ark: Survival Evolved. They ran flawlessly. Minecraft likewise performed well, although I never liked playing it on smaller screens. I need a handheld unit at the bare minimum.

I never experienced overheating; however, plugging in without activating charge separation caused the phone to warm significantly during intense gameplay. Toggling the feature fixed the issue.

Audio and multimedia performance

This phone sports dual speakers, and they can get nice and loud. They handled mids and highs well, but fell short when it came to bass. Music sounded tinny and lacked that low-end punch I enjoy. However, the phone was great for watching YouTube or gaming or using speaker phone. For serious music listening, I suggest a Bluetooth speaker.

The camera and photography

This was a solid camera for its price point. The 50-megapixel Sony IMX882 main sensor never let me down in everyday conditions. Crisp portraits, accurate colour balance, and Xiaomi’s excellent camera app continued to be among the best out there. Pro mode deserves a special mention here: it offered full manual control over every detail, from ISO to white balance to F-stop. These were features usually reserved for third-party apps.

Unfortuately, that’s where it stopped. Zooming was the camera’s greatest weakness. Both photos and video became grainy and unfocused when zoomed in to maximum. It made the camera great for regular use, but anyone needing a zoom will want to look at a Samsung.

Connectivity and battery life

The Poco F7’s battery was one of its strongest features. That massive 6,500mAh capacity easily gave me 48 hours on a single charge with regular use. I only needed to charge it twice during my week of everyday use. Poco sent me a European 220v plug, not useful in Canada. Thanfully, my own 80W USB-C charging brick filled the gap.

I never had a problem with connectivity. I use Public Mobile (on the Telus network) and I consistently had 5G data speeds with no signal dropouts. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth were equally stable. Poco’s Surge T1s signal tuner did its job quietly in the background.

This phone punches above its weight

The Poco F7 (2025) is a remarkable mid-range device. It delivers outstanding performance, beautiful visuals and long battery life. However, it’s not for everyone. The restrictive software will deter Android purists or power users who value flexibility. Also, the issues with camera zoom should keep any serious photography enthusiasts away.

But if you can live with those quirks, or even appreciate Poco’s approach here, this is a flagship-level device at a fraction of the cost. And it looks cool, too.