Huawei MatePad 11 (2021) review

 

And with the Chinese Redmi Note 10 Pro not available around these parts of the world, we are thoroughly intrigued to see what the Poco X3 GT can do. It's a promising offer with a 120Hz LCD screen, speedy Dimensity 1100 5G chip, a trio of cameras, and a large 5,000mAh battery with flagship-grade 67W fast charging.

The GT model has a lot in common with the Poco X3 Pro - an attractive IP53-rated design, a 120Hz LCD screen, some powerful hardware platform, a triple camera on the back, and a large battery.

But it also improves on the Pro model with the most current Gorilla Glass Victus protection, a better 64MP primary camera (vs. 48MP), and much faster 67W charging (vs. 33W). Poco is also advertising the screen for its adaptive refresh rate - it should be able to switch between 30Hz, 48Hz, 50Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz and 120Hz automatically depending on the content.

The Dimensity 1100 SoC should be as powerful as the Snapdragon 860 inside the X3 Pro model. It is also very close to the flagship Dimensity 1200 chip - the only notable difference being the omission of a designated Prime CPU core.

Enough introductions. Let's scroll through the specs and get this review started.

Xiaomi Poco X3 GT specs at a glance:

• Body: 163.3x75.9x8.9mm, 193g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), plastic back; IP53, dust and splash protection.
• Display: 6.60" IPS LCD, 120Hz, HDR10, 450 nits (typ), 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 399ppi.
• Chipset: MediaTek MT6891Z Dimensity 1100 5G (6 nm): Octa-core (4x2.6 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G77 MC9.
• Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
• OS/Software: Android 11, MIUI 12.5 for POCO.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/1.97", 0.7µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 120˚, 1/4.0", 1.12µm; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4.
• Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.5, (wide), 1/3.06", 1.0µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps, 720p@120fps, 960fps.
• Battery: 5000mAh; Fast charging 67W, 100% in 42 min (advertised), USB Power Delivery 3.0.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); Infrared port; Virtual proximity sensing.

The obvious missing bits on the Poco X3 GT are a microSD slot and a 3.5mm audio jack. It also doesn't have dedicated gaming triggers as the Poco F3 GT, but we doubt as many people will be sad about those. Still, it would have made the GT insignia even more relevant and distinguish the GT model from the Pro one.

Design, build quality, handling

The Poco X3 GT may be a mid-ranger, but it sure doesn't look like one. Whether you get the sparkly Stargaze Black version (ours), the striped Cloud White or the Wave Blue one, you'd have a cool looking phone that will stand out.

This GT model also employs the latest Gorilla Glass Victus screen protection, something that was exclusive to flagships until recently. The Poco X3 GT, its Chinese Redmi counterpart, and the Nokia X20 are actually the first phones to offer Victus outside the top tier segment.

The rest of the Poco X3 GT is made of plastic, though it does still feel decent - the frame has matte finish, while the shiny plastic back looks and feels like glass.

Just like most of the Xiaomi and Poco mid-range phones, the Poco X3 GT is IP53-rated, promising protection from dust and water splashes. It is NOT waterproofed, though. We appreciate ingress protection - some is always better than none, but keep in mind that the X3 GT is still not promising it will survive any sort of powerful water jets nor submersion.

Almost the entire front is occupied by the 6.6-inch LCD screen. An LCD panel it may well be, but it's among the best ones we've seen - it supports adaptive 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10, and DCI-P3 color space. There is a tiny punch-hole below the earpiece for the 16MP selfie camera. The good news is that the backlighting was improved on the GT model and its even around the cutout, just like on perforated AMOLEDs.

The screen bezels are alright - thin enough even if not as slim as on models with OLED panels.

Above the screen is the earpiece grille and beneath is one of the stereo speakers, which also acts as an earpiece. The front grille is not the only opening for the sound - there is a larger grille at the top of the phone, symmetrical to the bottom one. The X3 GT indeed offers two loud and balanced speakers making for a particularly good stereo setup. The top one is doing a solid job when employed as an earpiece too.

The back is made of plastic, but it can easily pass as glass one. It's one of these slightly curved multi-layered pieces, all glossy and pretty thanks to a cool paintjob.

The color is called Stargaze Black model, and we find it an appropriate description. The rear panel is mostly black with a very subtle transition towards dark gray from bottom to top. It is sprinkled with glitter - small colorful particles that look just like millions of stars, and they fade away slowly following the black to gray gradient.

We are glad Poco has decided against a giant POCO logo as seen on the Poco X3 Pro model. It would not have worked with this finish at all.

The glossy back is a giant fingerprint magnet and smudges and unpleasantries stick in mere minutes. We guess regular cleaning is the price you pay for the good looks.

The camera island is jutting out of the back big time. It is unusually thick and large for such a modest setup. Mounted on a silver island you get a 64MP primary camera, while an 8MP ultrawide shooter, and a 2MP macro unit are sitting next to it. A dual-LED dual-tone flash is also around.

The phone does wobble a lot because of the thick camera piece, but most of the phones do these days, so we won't hold it against the X3 GT. And once you put on a case, which is what most people do anyway, the problem is essentially solved.

The frame, just like the back, is made of plastic, but has a grippy matte finish. On the top you can find the IR blaster, one of the mics, and a speaker grille.

The other speaker grille is at the bottom, together with the USB-C port and the mouthpiece.

The dual-SIM tray is alone on the left. The volume rocker and the power/lock key are on the right.

The Poco X3 GT features an always-on fingerprint scanner mounted on its power key. Unsurprisingly for a senor mounted on the body of a phone it is blazing fast and has high reliability.

The Poco X3 GT measures 163.3 x 75.9 x 8.9mm and weighs 193g - meaning it is 2mm shorter, a hair thinner and 22g lighter than the Poco X3 Pro.

Even if most of the Poco X3 GT is glossy, the phone provides good enough grip and we felt it safe in hand no matter the use case. We never thought of using the supplied case for grip purposes. Sure, it provides extra protection, but given that it has Gorilla Glass Victus and plastic frame and back, we'd say the GT is already protected enough. Plus, we didn't want the extra thickness and diminished looks.

Overall, the Poco X3 GT is one well-built phone with great looks, good grip, enough protection, and of reasonable size and weight. And for the asking price we couldn't want more, in fact, we got more than we hoped for.

Unboxing the Poco X3 GT

The Poco X3 GT ships within a black paper box with rich content. Inside the box you'll find a 67W power adapter and a 6A-rated USB cable - the same combo that ships with the flagship Mi 11 Ultra.

In addition to the top-notch charger, the box also contains a transparent silicone case, a USB-C-to-3.5mm adapter, and a bunch of Poco stickers. And since Poco is all about 'Everything You Need, Nothing You Don't', we imagine eventual buyers most definitely need those stickers, right?