Verdict
At a lower price than both the Samsung Galaxy S25 and the iPhone 16, the Poco F7 Ultra offers incredible performance, a quality build, and a fantastic display. It can get a little toasty, and there’s no eSIM support, but outside of that, this Android is easily one of the best phones I’ve checked out in the last year.
- Staggering performance
- Lovely display
- Rapid charging
- Great value for money
- Can get warm
- No eSIM support
The Poco F7 Ultra could be a bit of a game-changer for the Android scene. It’s the first Ultra-branded phone from Poco, which is a pretty big deal, as this is a company that I’ve come to know in my time reviewing phones as a lower-mid-range standout, leaving its sibling brand, Xiaomi, to the flagship game.
With that in mind, and as a fan of previous Poco phones, I knew I had to try it, and while I don’t want to spoil the rest of this phone too much, this Android is well worth its Ultra status. So, could this potential flagship-killer claim a spot in our guide to the best gaming phones? Let’s get into it.
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Price and availability
The Poco F7 Ultra is available to order now via the brand’s official site and Amazon in the UK or AliExpress in the US. If you order before April 10, 2025, there are also some introductory offers, including free gifts and discounts. You can pick up the 12GB+256GB version for $649/£650 or the 16GB+256GB version for $699/£699. It comes in either black or yellow colorways, but for this review, we received the yellow 16GB+512GB model.
Specs
Here are the Poco F7 Ultra’s specs:
Performance and gaming
As is the case with almost all of 2025’s most impressive Android phones, the Poco F7 Ultra packs the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, which makes it an absolutely fantastic performer. Day-to-day tasks, whether it be scrolling through social media or browsing online, are nice and smooth. Still, if you really want to see the F7 Ultra shine, all you have to do is load up one of the picks from our guide to the best Android games.
I pushed the in-game settings as high as they’d go in both PUBG Mobile and Honkai Star Rail, including the optional boost to 60 FPS in the latter, and the F7 Ultra ran both games without any issue. There was a slight bit of frame rate dipping during special attack animations at double speed in HSR, but honestly, I’ve seen that on much more expensive phones, and it’s not consistent enough to be a problem.
The F7 Ultra also features Xiaomi’s Game Turbo software, which you can use to engage the Wild Boost performance mode. With Wild Boost running, you can tinker with more performance settings, boosting the resolution for stunning gameplay visuals, especially in vivid titles such as Genshin Impact, or opt for smart frame rate control, where you achieve frame rates of up to 120 FPS. It’s another factor that makes the F7 Ultra feel like a gaming phone in disguise. I checked out the RedMagic 10 Pro late last year, which is an out-and-out gaming phone, and the levels of performance and customization between the two devices are strikingly similar.
However, while the F7 Ultra’s performance is fantastic, there is a caveat. This phone gets warm when gaming, and it doesn’t take long for the back panel to heat up. I was only playing Honkai Star Rail for around 15 minutes when I felt the device starting to get pretty toasty, and while it’s not hot enough to force you to stop gaming, it’s warmer than I’d like. In fairness, it’s nothing you can’t get around by equipping the F7 Ultra with a case, but if Poco is concentrating its efforts on gaming performance in future models, it might need a little more in the way of cooling tech.
Features and software
The Poco F7 Ultra runs on Xiaomi’s HyperOS 2 Android skin, which, as I’ve pointed out before, is a big improvement on the MIUI operating system of days gone by. As is the case with almost every Android skin, it’s not quite as intuitive as Apple’s iOS, but it’s still nice and easy to set up and use. When it comes to future support, the F7 Ultra comes with four years of Android updates and six years of security updates. That doesn’t quite match what you get from the latest Samsung and Google Pixel flagships, but if you’re the type to spend over $600 on a phone, you likely upgrade every couple of years, making it a bit of a non-issue.
The only real downside to HyperOS 2 is that it comes with a bunch of bloatware. This means you have to take a little time to clear out all the digital deadwood the first time you boot the phone up. Fortunately, it doesn’t take all that long, and after doing it, you can download all your favorite games and apps and customize your home screen to your liking.
You’ve also got both Google Gemini and Circle to Search with Google, which, in my opinion, are the two most useful AI-powered features since the smartphone industry went all in on artificial intelligence following the Samsung Galaxy S24 launch last year. Of course, it helps that Apple Intelligence has had something of a tumultuous rollout, but even still, Google Gemini is the best AI assistant out there, and for Poco to be able to offer it to users in a cheaper phone than either the Samsung Galaxy S25 or the Google Pixel 9 is a big win for the growing phone brand. Outside of that, there isn’t too much AI to contend with, and honestly, that’s a bit of a relief for me, as testing AI features is my least favorite part of this job.
The one thing worth noting in this section is that the F7 Ultra doesn’t support eSIMs. If, like me, you’re old school and still use that tiny plastic chip, then this isn’t a deal-breaker at all. However, if you’ve committed to using an eSIM, it’s a pretty significant issue and something that Poco might want to address with future Ultra models.
Design
In terms of design, the F7 Ultra might be one of Poco’s most understated phones to date. Yes, it’s yellow; there is that, but otherwise, it has a very similar form factor to many other Android flagships on the market, such as the placement of all buttons on the right-hand side of the device and a single USB-C charging port on the bottom. This isn’t a problem; it’s just worth noting if you’re looking for something a bit different from the rest of the picks from our guide to the best Android phones.
Not only does the F7 Ultra look nice, but it feels premium, too. It helps that it’s IP68, making it waterproof enough to use confidently when it’s raining, which is a pretty big deal here in the UK. The circular camera set-up on the back adds to the elegant feel, which is what you want if you spend more than $600 on a new phone.
Display
Fantastic performance is one thing, but it doesn’t count for much unless you marry it with a top-tier display. Fortunately, that’s exactly what you get with the Poco F7 Ultra, with its 6.67-inch AMOLED screen and 120Hz refresh rates enabling velvety gaming visuals in all the best mobile games. If all that wasn’t enough, the phone also has nice, slim bezels, so you’re getting plenty of display retail estate when you’re gaming or watching a movie.
In terms of brightness, I didn’t have any issues playing Pokémon TCG Pocket under the blaring spring sunshine, thanks to the F7 Ultra’s 1,800 nits rating with a 3,200 nits peak. Simply put, it’s a truly gorgeous screen, with the 3200 x 1440 pixel resolution offering consistently crisp visuals that make streaming or gaming feel even more engaging.
Poco F7 Ultra’s cameras
Considering the price point, the Poco F7 Ultra’s camera setup seems very generous. Poco has equipped the device with an array featuring a 50MP main, 50MP 2.5x telephoto, and 32MP ultrawide cameras, beating out both the Samsung Galaxy S25 and iPhone 16. Well, it beats them out on paper, at least. While the cameras aren’t bad, it feels like the phone’s image processing software occasionally goes too far.
As I tend to do when reviewing a new phone, I took a few shots of my lovely pup, Floyd, to see how the main lens held up. The results are decent. It lacks a little definition compared to the results I got from the Nubia Z70 Ultra, but that phone prides itself on its cameras, whereas the F7 Ultra is more of a performance beast. After a bit more testing, I found that landscape photos look a lot better, and I got a great shot of the houses below my home on the hill. It seems that the sticking point for the F7 Ultra’s main camera is a subject, but again, it’s not terrible; it just doesn’t quite match the results of some of the other phones around this price point.
In general, the F7 Ultra’s ultrawide and telephoto cameras are solid, and if you’re just using them for some landscape and portrait shots for your social media, you shouldn’t have any real complaints. Things get a bit dicier if you’re incredibly close up or shooting at night, as while there is a night mode option, it still lacks quality compared to shots you take in ideal lighting. Fortunately, I’d take a stellar performer over fancy low-light shots any day of the week, so it’s not enough to put me off.
I might sound a bit critical of the F7 Ultra’s cameras so far, but I have to say that the selfie camera is pretty great. It captures a truly lifelike reflection of the subject, and unlike the main camera, skin tone is almost always spot-on. It also doesn’t force the beautify filter on you. You have to manually select it, which is a nice touch, as I’ve found myself looking distinctly more made-up when testing phones in the last year, only to realize the software is digitally altering my face, leading to some uncanny valley results.
Battery
If there’s one thing I always know I’m going to get from a Poco phone, it’s a reliable battery. Admittedly, the F7 Ultra’s 5,300 mAh cell isn’t the biggest battery we’ve seen in a Poco phone, as this year’s cheaper Poco X7 Pro had a 6,000 mAh unit. However, this device still packs enough battery life to last you a full day with around 10-20% left over if you’re using it sporadically. If you’re settling in for a long session of playing the best mobile games, it might be more like six or seven hours, as I lost around 15% an hour when game testing.
In terms of charging speeds, the Poco F7 Ultra’s 120W juicing is frankly ridiculous. For context, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, one of 2025’s premier Android phones, only offers 45W charging. That means that when using the right equipment, you can easily charge the F7 Ultra from full to flat in under 40 minutes. Not only that, but this device offers 50W wireless charging, which, again, dwarfs the S25 Ultra’s 15W speed.
Should you buy the Poco F7 Ultra?
The value that the Poco F7 Ultra offers is remarkable, providing top-tier performance, an easy-to-use software experience, and capable cameras for under $700. Throughout this review, I’ve compared it to the iPhone 16 and Samsung Galaxy S25, but mainly as it’s closer to those phones in terms of price point. In reality, this thing can compete with the much more expensive iPhone 16 Pro Max and S25 Ultra models, and if that doesn’t convince you that it’s worth picking up, I don’t know what will.
As with every phone, there are a couple of caveats. However, almost all of these drawbacks have solutions. If you don’t like how warm the phone gets, stick a case on it, and you won’t feel it. If you usually use an eSIM, go back to plastic for a little while. It might feel like a step back, but honestly, it’s worth it for this phone.
Alternatives
If you’re leaving our Poco F7 Ultra review unconvinced, check out some suggestions for alternatives below.
RedMagic 10 Pro
The RedMagic 10 Pro is a great Android gaming phone at a similar price point to the Poco F7 Ultra, but it keeps a little bit cooler when under pressure. Admittedly, it has its own caveats, mainly in that its very square design isn’t for everyone, and its single Android update isn’t nearly as generous as the Poco’s four years. Still, when it comes to gaming, it’s a true performer. For more details, check out our RedMagic 10 Pro review.
iPhone 16
While the Android competition is better than ever, you still can’t really go wrong with an iPhone. While it might be a little more expensive, the iPhone 16 offers a slightly easier-to-use software experience than the Poco F7 Ulta, even if the Apple Intelligence AI features still need a little work. For more on this option, check out our iPhone 16 review.