POCO M3 Pro 5G Review

OS, UI and software

The POCO M3 Pro arrives with Global MIUI for POCO 12.0.5 based on Android 11. This "for POCO" UI does retain typical MIUI features and options. At the same time, it offers elements designed by POCO - the app drawer for example, which has found a place in MIUI for Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones as well. The "for POCO" variant is somehow returning to the roots of MIUI, which, just like any other OS originating from China, offered a high level of customizability. With brands conquering markets outside China, this customizability has been refined to a great extent. POCO has decided to change that. The options for UI customization in MIUI for POCO are plenty and will satisfy everyone who wishes to enjoy truly personalized UI. The Lock Screen offers a traditional MIUI layout - time and date widget, a shortcut to the Camera app in the bottom left corner, and a shortcut to the flashlight and Mi Remote in the bottom left corner. As usual, the Lock Screen layout can be customized with options for adding owner info. The traditional options for unlocking are present. The default one is a swipe. The Home Screen is a typical MIUI one as well. The time and date widget, weather app, Google search bar are positioned in the top half of the screen. The bottom one comprises two rows of most frequently used apps and a docked row of apps. A swipe to the left brings additional screens with applications. A swipe to the right opens the Google Discover (Google Feed) screen. A swipe up from the bottom of the Home Screen opens the full list of applications. By default, they are sorted out in several categories but you can switch that off from the settings and get a full list of the applications in one place without any type of sorting out. There are two folders - one with the Google apps and another one with the usual Tools. The Volume options and Power menu remain typical MIUI ones. The notifications shade, brightness level bar, and quick settings retain the MIUI 10 design paradigm with larger icons, curvier corners, etc. However, MIUI 12 introduced floating windows which can be accessed from your notification bar or recents menu. A floating window is an application that appears as a smaller window layered over the rest of the content on the screen. This feature can also be accessed from the task manager. From the settings, you can view tutorials on how to work with floating windows and choose which apps they should apply to. MIUI for POCO also gives you the option to customize the layout of the notifications and quick settings. You can separate them on two screens, with the quick settings seeing the more dramatic change in design and layout. By default, the quick settings toggles are listed on three pages but this can be edited to include only the ones you actually need. Further, when you choose the Dark Theme from the settings, it also applies to the quick settings and notification shades. The Task Manager omits the dedicated button for entering the split-screen mode. The four shortcuts to the Cleaner, Security scan, Deep clean, and app management are retained. The apps themselves are listed in pairs one below the other. For each app, you can select to lock it, enter split-screen mode, or visit its settings. The Widgets menu is accessed in a familiar way and provides a choice of wallpapers and widgets, window transition effects, and home screen settings. The latter can also be accessed from the main Settings menu. Being a global version, the UI lacks the typical China-targeted apps and access to the content they provide. At the same time, with official Google Play services onboard there are plenty of Google apps grouped in a dedicated folder on the Home Screen for convenience. You get by default, among all else, Gmail, Maps, YouTube, YT Music, Drive, Duo, Photos, Contacts, Calendar, News, Google One, Podcasts, Voice Search, Play Store, Google Assistant. The usual applications are present including Phone and Contacts, which are merged, Messenger, and File Manager. The Tools folder contains the usual extended Calculator, Clock, FM Radio, Compass, Voice recorder, Screen recorder, Barcode scanner, Downloads, ShareMe, and the Services app. Other applications, traditional for MIUI, include Weather, Notes, Themes, Mi Video, Mi Browser, Security. The latter contains the usual features and tools such as the Cleaner for optimizing the internal storage, Security Scanner, Game Speed Booster, App Manager, Data and Battery monitor as well as various device management services such as app lock, deep clean, dual apps, second space, block list, etc. Their design and functionality haven't changed in a significant way. Finally, there are third-party apps such as Netflix, Facebook, Booking, etc. The System Settings in MIUI for POCO 12.0.5 are identical to those on MIUI 11. The only difference from the first sight is that the Notifications menu also includes Control Center settings but we'll get to that a bit later. The settings begin with a search bar and are listed in seven groups that are only visually set apart. The first one comprises the "About phone", "System apps update", and "Security status". They include information about the smartphone - specs, model name, software versions, backup and reset, security status This group is followed by the Connectivity one with four sub-menus dedicated to managing the mobile networks and SIM cards, Wi-Fi connections, Bluetooth, and other types of connections - Mi Share, Cast display and Wi-Fi display, portable hotspot, NFC and secure payments. There's also Android Auto for integration with your automobile. The third group of menus includes settings for the Lock Screen, Display, Sound & Vibration, Notifications, and Control Center, Home Screen settings, Wallpapers, Themes. The Lock Screen menu includes toggles for Raise-to-Wake, Double-tap-to-wake features, shortcuts customization, etc. The Display menu begins with a choice between Light Mode and Dark Mode, the Light one being the default. You can also schedule the Dark Mode. After that, the Display menu allows you to manage the brightness level and switch on/off automatic brightness. You can also toggle Sunlight Mode and Night Mode as well as toggle on/off and schedule Reading Mode. Furthermore, the Color Scheme menu allows you to choose from up to three color temperature styles (default, warm, cool) and three color styles (auto, saturated, standard). You can also choose between 60Hz and 90Hz refresh rate, various text sizes, manage the apps and their full-screen mode appearance, etc. The Sound & Vibration menu has retained the design changed in MIUI 11 but has been even further restructured which brings some more sense to this particular part of the options and allowing for quicker access to the most used settings in this context. You now get a Sound Assistant from where you can toggle on/off two features - adjust the sound of individual apps while multiple apps play audio simultaneously and don't adjust media volume during incoming notifications or while audio from other sources is played. Of course, from here you can access the sound effects options which include four preset audio profiles and allows you to adjust the sound to earphones, adjust the buttons on your headphones (if any), and use an equalizer. The Notifications & Control Center menu is slightly changed in MIUI 12 to reflect the inclusion of the floating windows and the control center (the quick settings). So, it begins with three big icons for managing the lock screen, floating notifications, and badges. Further down, you can also manage the notifications for each app. A third option is to customize the notification shade. You can choose between an MIUI and an Android layout. Moreover, you can also change the layout of the Control Center (quick settings and notifications appearance). The old version, as they call it, means you pull down from the status bar to view toggles and notifications. The new version allows you to pull down from the left edge of the status bar to view notifications only. If you pull from the right edge, you'll see the quick settings only. Finally, from here you can also manage the status bar itself, including opting for hiding the notch and/or do so for individual apps.

The Home Screen settings let you choose the default launcher, set the background color and transparency of the app drawer, change your icon pack design, customize the layout of the icons - number on a row and size, manage the app categories - remove them all or add/remove selected ones. There are additional settings for the app drawer and home screen, notification badges, enabling features such as double-tap-to-lock-screen, etc. The fourth group of menus combines privacy and security features with plenty of settings. It manages how you lock/unlock the screen, fingerprints, face IDs, Bluetooth unlocking. From here you can also set up a privacy protection password and manage apps that request sensitive permissions. Further privacy options and emergency SOS settings are also available. This menu also includes apps management including system app settings, dual apps, permissions, and app lock - the same features available in the Security app as well as the "Battery & performance" menu, which we will discuss in the Battery section of this review. The "Additional settings" menu is the last in this group and allows you to set the date and time, language and input, region. From here you can also manage the full-screen display feature, set button shortcuts, enable MIUI's Quick Ball, which is yet another way of navigation, clear the speaker, set accessibility features, and enter enterprise mode.

The fifth group of settings comprises the Digital Wellbeing and parental controls and Special features such as Game Turbo, Video Toolbox, Floating Windows, Second Space. The sixth group is all about accounts management - Mi Account, Google, Accounts & Sync. The last group contains again Privacy, Location, and Services & Feedback.