POCO M3 Pro 5G Review

Battery Tests

POCO M3 Pro is equipped with a 5000 mAh battery and arrives with a 5V/3A~9V/2.23A~12V/1.67A~10V/2.25A (22.5W) fast charger (EU plug). Please note that the device works with up to 18W charging speed despite the more powerful charger in the box. All battery tests we run on the devices we review are developed by us and performed with the screen of the device being calibrated to 200 cd/m². The battery of our review unit charged in full for 1 hour and 57 minutes with the provided USB data cable and charger. The process develops with a steady speed until the battery regains 80% of its charge which happens 1 hour and 15 minutes from the start. After that, the charging speed drops a bit and it takes 12 minutes for the battery to reach 90%. After that, it slows down more significantly requiring 30 minutes to charge to 100%. The battery temperature starts at 33°C and in 45 minutes increases to 43°C continuing. It retains this level for 35 minutes and then it starts decreasing sharply, reaching 30°C at the end.

It is worth mentioning that if you start charging the POCO M3 Pro when the battery is completely dead and the phone has turned off, it takes about 10 minutes of charging in order to be able to switch the phone back on. When the smartphone is switched on, it shows 1% of charge but in reality, it is higher than that. We made the browsing test twice - once with the refresh rate set at 60Hz and once set at 90Hz. When the display refresh rate is set at 60Hz, it takes 13 hours and 44 minutes of heavy browsing for the battery to drain completely from 100% to 0. The discharging process develops at one and the same speed from the start until the end. The battery temperature starts at 30°C and gradually increases to 33°C two hours from the start. It remains at this level until the end with minor fluctuations. Setting the display refresh rate at 90Hz decreases the battery stamina by 2 hours roughly. Under this test, it took 11 hours and 32 minutes of heavy browsing to deplete the battery completely from 100% to 0. The discharging process develops at one and the same speed from the start until the end. The battery temperature starts at 30°C just like the previous time but increases fast and to slightly higher degrees - 34-35°C. This level is maintained until the end with more significant fluctuations after the 8th hour of browsing. The video test for battery life uses a 1080p video at 30 fps with a ~20Mbps rate. In this test, the battery of the POCO M3 Pro lasted for 15 hours and 54 minutes. The discharging process is steady from the start until the end. The battery temperature starts at 25°C. In half an hour it reaches 30°C and remains at this level for 11 hours and 30 minutes. After that, it increases to 32°C and stays at this level until the end. The 4K video battery life test uses a 2160p video at 30 fps with a ~55 Mbps rate. In this test, the battery of the POCO M3 Pro lasted for 6 hours and 57 minutes. Unlike the previous test, the one with 4K video puts a strain on the device resulting in almost twice as less battery life. The discharging process develops at one and the same speed from the start until the end with a minor slowing for the first 10 minutes. The battery temperature starts at 27°C and in 35 minutes it reaches 39°C. After four hours, it already measures 40°C continuing to increase gradually, measuring 41°C at the end. For the 3D Graphics/Gaming test, the YEBIS OpenGL ES 3.0 3D Tech Demo is used. The discharging pattern and battery temperature during this test resemble a lot the one from the test with a 4K video and again, demonstrates that 3D puts the device under stress resulting in decreased battery life. The battery of our review unit lasted for 6 hours and 51 minutes. The discharging process is steady from start to finish with a minor slowing down during the first 10 minutes. The battery temperature starts at 29°C and in 35 minutes it reaches 40°C remaining around this level until the end. The above photos of our sample of POCO M3 Pro are taken with a FLIR thermal camera. The left photo shows the device's temperature during charging. The hottest area of the smartphone is right off the center of the top half of the body with a temperature of 38.4°C. The second photo depicts the device's temperature during our 3D battery life test. In this case, roughly the same area is the hottest part of the device with a peak temperature of 39°C. The second hottest area is the center of the chin with a temperature of 38.5°C.

Battery Software

The Battery settings and management options can be accessed from the Security app and from the corresponding menu in the System Settings. It is separated into two tabs. The Battery Saver is the default one. It demonstrates the current status of the battery - charging, discharging, time left to be fully charged/discharged. This area is followed by a toggle for the Battery Saver and a second toggle for an Ultra Battery Saver. These two can be accessed from the Control Center (quick settings) as well. The menu continues with suggestions for optimizing battery life and statistics on battery usage.

The Battery tab gives you insight on the battery temperature, the number of times the device has been plugged in, customizing the battery saver app-wise, option for scheduling the power on and off. Further battery settings include a 5G battery saver toggle, management of the two battery saving modes, battery drain notifications toggle, etc.