Poco F4 GT: Gaming smartphone with fold-out buttons

The gaming phone Poco F4 GT wants to inspire in a playful way: With “Apex Performance” Boost and fold-out shoulder buttons. We present the device released yesterday, which costs 600 euros, in detail.

While gaming smartphones are not new, they are still a niche. Only a few manufacturers like Asus or Lenovo serve the market with devices that bring extras like shoulder buttons and additional cooling systems. So now the Poco F4 GT, which saw the light of day on April 26 (see live stream below).

The Poco F3 only appeared in 2020, which brought good performance for the price range; Poco’s GT series, on the other hand, featured more affordable prices. As the new model name suggests, the Poco F4 GT combines both focal points and is described by the manufacturer as a “gaming flagship”. The crux: Permanently high performance leads to a shorter battery life on the one hand, and to overheating of the device on the other; this in turn harms the chipset. Gaming smartphones want to remedy the situation and at the same time create an advantage over conventional smartphones: The trick Poco calls “Apex Performance” is intended to combine high computing speed, stable performance and good battery life.

The currently fastest Qualcomm processor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen. 1, ensures decent performance. To ensure that the small computer does not overheat under constant stress, Poco provides liquid cooling, called “Liquid Cool Technology 3.0”. A multi-layer system made of graphite, graphene, copper and cooling chambers to ensure that the device stays cool even in the heat of battle.

With 120 watts, players should be able to charge the energy storage device in a particularly short time. Hardly any smartphone, such as the Xiaomi 11T Pro, achieves this even among high-priced smartphones. The trick with the F4 GT: The energy storage consists of two batteries, each with 2,350 mAh, which the power supply unit charges in parallel. In this way, the device reaches 100% of the capacity in just 17 minutes, while playing according to the manufacturer, it is 27 minutes.

The 6.67-inch AMOLED display has a high resolution, achieves a refresh rate of 120 Hertz and is said to be able to handle a large color spectrum (10-bit true color) that reproduces colors precisely; It is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus. A special feature of the F4 GT are the pop-up triggers: the additional buttons in the housing frame pop up when you press a slide switch. It remains to be seen whether there is any actual benefit in installing two additional keys for hiding and revealing two keys…

There is no question that the F4 GT is impressive from a technical point of view: the fast loading, cooling system and pop-out triggers set it apart from the competition. But does it also impress smartphone users? A gaming phone can only fully exploit its advantages over conventional devices in a very small percentage of games. User demands should therefore be clearly on these mobile titles, where performance and additional keys bring a plus in gaming fun. By the way, compared to models from other manufacturers, the price of the F4 GT seems low.

These are the models and availabilities:

• Poco F4 GT with 8 GB RAM & 128 storage: 599.90 euros
• Poco F4 GT with 12 GB RAM & 256 GB storage: 699.90 euros
• Anyone who orders by April 29, 2022 (from the manufacturer himself or from Amazon) will receive the devices for 499.90 or 599.90 euros
• the F4 GT has been available in black, silver and yellow since April 26th