Poco M3 Pro 5G launch has been confirmed by the brand’s executives in a media interview. The new Poco phone, which is speculated to come as a rebadged Redmi Note 10 5G, is said to be a “sizeable upgrade” over the existing Poco M3. It is also aimed to bring 5G connectivity to the masses, meaning the Poco M3 Pro 5G could be the next affordable model in the Poco M series. The Poco M3 Pro 5G is rumoured to launch in India — unlike some previous Poco phones including the Poco F2 Pro and Poco X3 NFC that did not arrive in the country despite having the world’s second largest smartphone population after China.
Android Central reports that Poco Global Head Kevin Xiaobo Qiu and its Head of Product Marketing Angus Ng provided some details about the Poco M3 Pro 5G. Although the executives did not reveal the specifications about the new Poco phone, they did confirm that it will be powered by a MediaTek Dimensity chipset. This corroborates the speculation that the Poco M3 Pro 5G will be a rebranded Redmi Note 10 5G that debuted in March with a MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC.
However, the report says that the smartphone will have a “unique” design and come in a yellow colour option. The latter could be similar to the one featured on the Poco M3.
The Poco M3 Pro 5G is said to have scored 329,072 on AnTuTu benchmark, which is significantly more than the 301,635 scores received by the Poco M3.
“We want to give people an easier way to switch to 5G. By giving them an option at a lower price point, they can experience 5G when they want to,” said Ng, as quoted by Android Central.
The executive also suggested that Poco doesn’t have any concrete plans to launch a flagship phone at this moment.
On the pricing part of the Poco M3 Pro 5G, the smartphone is confirmed to be available at a price point of the Poco X3 NFC that was launched in September with a starting price of EUR 229 (roughly Rs. 20,400) for the base 6GB + 64GB storage option. The phone also came in a 6GB RAM + 128GB storage model at EUR 269 (roughly Rs. 23,900).
Considering the similar pricing planned, Poco is set to discontinue the Poco X3 NFC and bring M3 Pro 5G at its position instead.
Exact details about the launch of the Poco M3 Pro 5G are yet to be revealed officially. Nevertheless, it was allegedly spotted on the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) website last month. The brand is also rumoured to be in development to launch another phone, called the Poco F3 GT, which could be a rebranded Redmi K40 Gaming Edition.
The executives during the interview suggested plans to bring a new interface by the end of 2021 that could be called Poco UI. So far, Poco has offered a tweaked (read ad-free) version of Xiaomi’s MIUI on its phones that it calls the MIUI for Poco.