Earlier this year, Poco released its first Ultra telephone, Poco F7 Ultra. It was an impressive device for its $649 price tag. However, it wasn't in the league of mainstream flagships like the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which costs more than twice as much. Its successor, Poco F8 Ultra, closes this gap with premium features like a larger display and a massive battery. It also introduces a unique selling point that I never expected to find on a phone: it sounds fantastic.
Poco says the F8 Ultra is the “official entry into the premium flagship segment” and the price hike reflects this. Poco F8 Ultra costs $729 and is cheaper than the recently announced one OnePlus 15 which starts at $900. It cannot be compared with Oppo Find X8 Ultra. Xiaomi 15 Ultra or Galaxy S25 Ultra (all of which cost over $1,000). However, no phone I've tested comes close to the F8 Ultra's audio quality.
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Poco F8 Ultra has three speakers: top and bottom, and an additional Bose subwoofer located next to the rear cameras. It provides full 2.1 stereo output (2 means two speakers and .1 means subwoofer), which sounds louder than expected in real life. This adds nice depth and bass to the sound.
Poco F8 Ultra's partnership with Sound By Bose is a win-win in every way. It's even listed on the phone's camera board.
You can choose from two sound profiles customized by Bose: “dynamic” and “balanced.” The default EQ presets are “immersion” (adds a slight echo for a 360-degree effect) and “voice” (enhances vocals). You can further adjust the equalizer in the Custom settings.
I used the “dynamic” profile to add bass. The wide soundstage makes music sound rich and distortion-free from your phone's speakers, even at high volumes. The “balanced” tuning sounds flatter in comparison.
I used Poco F8 Ultra to watch YouTube videos and several Netflix shows. I even used it as a speaker in the bathroom (I love good music in the shower). Obviously this is not the same as connecting your phone to bluetooth speakerbut surprisingly decent. In fact, I currently prefer using the Poco F8 Ultra because it sounds better than most other devices. pillswhich I usually use at home.
However, I'm not sure if the world is ready for phones with this level of audio quality. One person on the subway is already playing media through his phone's speakers, and that could make the commute even noisier. If you are in the privacy of your room and love to watch videos without headphones or earbuds, Poco F8 Ultra is made for you.
The Poco F8 Ultra feels like jeans in my hand.
Feels like jeans, but not made of denim.
Flip the phone over and you'll notice another unique feature: the back has a denim-like finish. Poco says the back is covered with “Xiaomi's third-generation nanotech material that resists stains and wear and tear while still having a tech-chic look,” so it's not real fabric. I tested the longevity with a few drops of cold brew coffee and am happy to report that it had no effect.
The F8 Ultra is comfortable to hold despite its flat sides. With rounded corners and slightly curved sides at the back, it offers a comfortable grip even when taking photos.
Poco F8 Ultra has a large, immersive screen.
The phenomenal sound system is complemented by a 6.9-inch display with a resolution of 2608 x 1200 pixels, supporting a refresh rate of 120 Hz, peak brightness of 3500 nits and Dolby Vision. It has what's called a HyperRGB screen, where each pixel has red, green and blue sub-pixels, rather than separating red and blue from green. In my experience, the screen appears clear, bright, and easy to read in bright sunlight. However, the difference, especially with HyperRGB, is likely not noticeable to the average user.
To make all this media consumption easier, the Poco F8 Ultra packs a 6,500mAh battery (up from the F7 Ultra's 5,300mAh battery) with support for 100W wired charging. To achieve these speeds, you will need to buy a compatible charger as one is not included in the box. It also supports 50W fast wireless charging and 22.5W reverse wireless charging, which can be used to charge devices such as wireless headphones and other phones.
In seven days of use, I didn't feel any concern about the battery. The new Poco phone easily lasted a full day on a single charge.
Poco F8 Ultra is powered by Qualcomm's most powerful chipset yet – Snapdragon 8 Elite 5th generation. This is the same chipset used in the OnePlus 15 and will most likely appear in the next one Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Poco's new flagship runs fast and fast thanks to the HyperOS 3 software. I haven't had time to play games on it yet (I was engrossed in watching my favorite movies like Last Christmas and Kal Ho Na Ho), so I'm looking forward to seeing how it performs during intense gaming sessions.
Poco F8 Ultra Cameras
The Poco F8 Ultra's camera island is not inspired by the iPhone 17 Pro. Poco F6 Pro had a similar camera module.
Let's talk about optics. The Poco F8 Ultra features an upgraded camera system with wide-angle, ultra-wide-angle and telephoto lenses, each with a 50-megapixel sensor. The trio of 50-megapixel cameras sounds good, but the telephoto lens and ultra-wide sensor are quite small.
Poco F8 Ultra rear camera comparison
| Lens angle | Diaphragm | Sensor size | Permission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wide | f/1.67 | 1/1.31 inch | 50MP |
| Ultrawide | f/2.4 | 1/2.76 inch | 50MP |
| 5x telephoto lens | f/3 | 1/2.88 inch | 50MP |
Portrait photograph taken with a telephoto lens at 5x magnification. It adds beautiful bokeh with precise edge definition.
The Poco F8 Ultra delivers very good images for the price. Unlike Xiaomi flagships, Poco cameras do not require Leica settings. But the photos look vibrant, with vibrant colors.
During my testing, the F8 Ultra proved unreliable and sometimes had problems processing photos. For example, it processed the background in one frame and missed it completely in the second, causing the white background behind me to appear bloated.
There's a strange difference in processing and color shift between the ultra-wide camera shots (left) and the main camera (center). The third photo is macro photography. Notice the amount of detail on the dial.
The telephoto lenses have good detail and I especially like the portraits I take with it. The telephoto lens functions as a macro camera, but sometimes in low light it reverts to the main camera. As for the ultra-wide-angle camera, it produces average quality images that are prone to color shift. It's also the equivalent of 0.7x or 18mm, which isn't as wide as most other phones. The iPhone 17's ultra-wide-angle lens is 13mm equivalent.
Overall, I like the photos from the main camera and telephoto lens. It's a powerful camera system that I find more versatile than the similarly priced iPhone 17 and Galaxy S25.
Is Poco F8 Ultra worth buying?
The F8 Pro lacks the unusual rear panel.
I don't think I've ever recommended a phone based on its sound, but the Poco F8 Ultra is a true media giant. The audio system is at the head of its class, and also has a great display and long battery life. This makes it my favorite phone for watching media.
The Poco F8 Ultra starts at $729 for 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. There's also a 16GB/512GB option for $799.
If you're still looking for something under $700, Poco also offers the more affordable F8 Pro, which starts at $579. It has a smaller 6.59-inch AMOLED display, a 6,210mAh battery, and similar Sound by Bose speakers. Both phones are IP68 rated for dust and water resistance.
The Poco F8 Pro is powered by last year's flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, 12GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of internal storage ($629). It has an upgraded camera system with a 50-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel telephoto lens with 2.5 optical zoom, and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera.
Like all other Poco phones, the new flagship devices will not be sold in the US.
