They are a rebrand of another Xiaomi handset, the Redmi Note 12 5G
POCO is a Xiaomi brand, and with every Xiaomi brand, there’s always this marketing hype in social media, be it the C, X, and even F series. The company will hype you up as if it’s a new revolutionary device, with emphasis on “speed”.
Well, the X5 series takes that to a more literal term. The X5 is just the Redmi Note 12 5G and the X5 Pro is the Redmi Note 12 5G Speed Edition. They only have some subtle design cues that were changed, such as the huge POCO logo at the side and the use of a POCO UI.
POCO X5 PRO:
The POCO X5 Pro, as POCO India claimed, will “kick the bad, and embrace the bad-ass”. There is a FullHD+ (2400x1080px) AMOLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate at the front, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G chipset embedded inside the phone with 6/128 or 8/256 RAM/storage options, and a 108MP primary camera with your usual crappy add-ons (8MP UW+2MP macro). The front camera is, of course, a normal 16MP shooter. There is also a 5000mAh battery inside with 67W fast charging.
Of course, these are the leaks, but the overall design and spec sheet were taken from the Speed Edition of the Redmi Note 12 5G released only in China. POCO is notorious for rebranding other Xiaomi handsets and then slapping bold claims on them, and presenting them as new, so it won’t be surprising if the X5 Pro is really just the Speed Edition in hindsight.
POCO X5:
The POCO X5 5G is a revisioning of the Redmi Note 12 5G. However, instead of the new Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chipset, you’re getting the older Snapdragon 695 one with 4/128 or 6/128 RAM/Storage configurations. According to rumors, the phone will retain the same camera system, same battery and 33W fast charging, and even keeps the IR Port intact. This rebranding probably saved POCO time and money designing their own phones.
As the poster mentioned above, the unveiling event will take place on 6th February. The phone will be available in the Philippines after the event, so stay tuned as we verify the specs of these two phones.
Sources: POCO, Notebook Check