If you ask any tech expert which is the best smartphone under 20000 rupees in India, they will probably answer Poco X3 or Realme 7 Pro right now. But both of these devices are targeted to a different type of consumer. By this ultimate comparison, we are trying to provide a clear idea about both of these devices and help you to select the most suitable device for your use cases.
Note: As a new Tech News Media in the industry, we don’t have review units or tested either of these devices. Comparing these devices based on specs doesn’t make sense because a lot of things mainly depend upon software optimisation these days. So we are trying to make this as accurate as possible by using the information we have from Specifications, watching videos made by other tech reviewers which we trust or articles from other tech media, companies history on software optimisation, etc.
Poco X2 vs Poco X3 Comparison
we thought it would be better to compare Poco X3 to its predecessor to understand what are the major improvements the Poco team has made with this device. Poco X2 was one of the most recommended mid-range smartphones by many tech experts for the past few months because it stayed above average or excellent in many key areas with average battery life at 120Hz refresh rate.
Poco X2 was the best camera smartphone under 20K, it is the only one device with 120Hz refresh rate, and even the quality of LCD is one of the best in this price segment (colours, brightness level, HDR10 support, etc.). But it got some level of backlash in terms of 3 things.
- The battery life in 120hz refresh rate was average at best (60hz provided good Battery life)
- There is no 90hz refresh rate option in between 120hz and 60hz refresh rate for the perfect balance of smoothness and battery life.
- Sometimes 120hz becomes overkill for SD730G’s capabilities, and it has shown occasional frame drops or lags due to this.
Now when we look into the Poco X3 Specs sheet, we can see that they fixed all these issues. Poco X3 comes with a massive 6000mAh battery, and they make sure no one would complain about its Battery life. But on the negative side, it adds more weight to an already quite heavy phone (Poco X2 – 205g) and now weighs a whopping 225g. I think if they stay at 5160mAh of global Poco X3 (Poco X3 NFC), it would be slightly better, but it is my personal choice. Any way this decision to use a large 6000mAh makes the device pretty thick too at 10.08mm thickness.
In Poco X3 they provided a 120Hz full HD LCD panel with the dynamic refresh rate. What does that mean is now the device can vary its refresh rate from 60 to 120 based on the content. So if content needs only 60, it will stay at 60Hz, or if a content/game supports a maximum 90FPS, it will remain at 90hz. So it means now the device can provide the same smooth experience with much better Battery using efficiency
The third issue is fixed by using the more powerful Snapdragon 732G. Unlike the naming suggests SD732G is the upgrade to SD720G and not to SD730G. SD720G is more powerful than SD730 in terms of CPU and in AI capabilities.
For comparison, SD732G has 5% improvement over SD730G in terms of CPU, 11-12% improvement in terms of GPU and around 70% improvement in terms of AI capabilities when compared to SD730G present in the Poco X2. Overall the Snapdragon 732G has 11% higher benchmark scores (Antutu 300k vs 270k for SD730G). So Poco X3 has the best processor in the under 20k segment now, and it can power a 120hz panel without any issues.
When it comes to the camera, they changed the primary rear sensor from IMX686 to IMX682 (which doesn’t make any difference in final results, because IMX682 is IMX686 without 4K 60fps recording capability, which is already not possible with these processors). And they improved the ultra-wide-angle technically from 8MP to 13gMP and retained the useless macro and depth camera on the back and removed the extra depth sensor from front to improve screen to body ratio.
There are some small changes in other segments, and we will talk about these more in the Poco X3 vs Realme 7 Pro comparison section.
Poco X3 vs Realme 7 Pro Comparison
We already given a good idea about Poco X3, and now we can talk about Realme 7 Pro and also compare it to Realme 7 Pro by section by section
| Device | Poco X3 | Realme 7 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Build and Design | 165.3mm x 76.8mm x 10.08mm 225g Glass front (Gorilla Glass 5), aluminium frame, plastic back IP53 splash-proof Side-mounted fingerprint sensor | 160.9 x 74.3 x 8.7 mm 182 g Glass front (Gorilla Glass 3+), aluminium frame, plastic back Water-repellent coating under-display fingerprint sensor |
| Display | 6.67″ 120Hz FHD+ IPS LCD display Center punch hole 20:9 aspect ratio, 395ppi 240Hz touch sampling rate HDR10 450 nits max brightness | 6.4” 60Hz FHD+ Super AMOLED Top left corner punch hole 20:9 ratio, 409ppi Always on Display(AOD) |
| Processor | Snapdragon 732G (Antutu ~300K) | Snapdragon 720G (Antutu ~280K) |
| Storage and RAM | UFS 2.1 stoarge (64GB/128GB) LPDDR4X RAM (6GB/8GB) 2 SIM Card + 1 MicroSD | UFS 2.1 stoarge (64GB/128GB) LPDDR4X RAM (6GB/8GB) 2 SIM Card + 1 MicroSD |
| Rear Camera | IMX682 64 MP, f/1.9, (wide), 1/1.73″, 0.8µm, PDAF 13 MP, f/2.2, 119˚ (ultrawide), 1.0µm 2 MP, f/2.4, (macro) 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth) | IMX 682 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.73″, 0.8µm, PDAF 8 MP, f/2.3, 119˚, 16mm (ultrawide), 1/4.0″, 1.12µm 2 MP, f/2.4, (macro) 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth) |
| Selfie Camera | 20 MP, f/2.2, (wide), 1/3.4″, 0.8µm | 32 MP, f/2.5, 24mm (wide), 1/2.8″, 0.8µm |
| Sound | Dual stereo speakers 3.5mm headphone jack Hi-Res (24-bit/192kHz audio) | Dual stereo speakers 3.5mm headphone jack Hi-Res (24-bit/192kHz audio) Dolby Atmos |
| Communication | Bluetooth 5.1, 2.4/5 GHz WiFi 2×2 MIMO | Bluetooth 5.1, 2.4/5 GHz |
| Battery and fast charging | 6000 mAh, 33W fast charge 0-100% in ~75 min | 4500mAh. 65W SuperDart Charge 0-100% in ~34min |
| Colours | Shadow Gray, Cobalt Blue | Mirror silver and Mirror blue |
| Pricing | 6GB+64GB 16999 6GB+128GB 18499 8GB+128GB 19999 | 6GB+128GB 19999 8GB+128GB 21999 |
Design and Build
Unlike other smartphones in this price category, Realme 7 Pro is relatively small and can be used single-handedly. It is one of the lightest devices in this price segment with weighs only 182g and many folks like me will love it. On the other hand, Poco X3 is a bigger, chunkier and heavier device compared to Realme 7 Pro. According to reviews, Realme 7 Pro has one of the best looking and well-finished plastic back in the industry.
Display
Realme 7 Pro comes with a 60hz AMOLED display compared to 120Hz LCD in POCO X3. From the videos I have seen, Realme 7 Pro has one of the best AMOLED panels in the sub 20k segment with its deep blacks, high brightness levels, punchy colours, high contrast, etc. and it looks better than Poco X3’s LCD. But we have to compromise on higher refresh rate displays to get it. Realme UI is highly optimised, and it feels very smooth even in 60hz compared to Poco’s MIUI12 which is more optimised for 120hz and lags in 60hz.
So the AMOLED 60hz or LCD 120hz is a tough question to answer. From many polls I have seen on Twitter most folks prefer 60hz AMOLED over 120hz LCD. Also, AMOLED display offers AOD(always on display) functionality in Realme 7 Pro, so that is also a plus point. So this round completely goes to personal preference
Performance
Realme 7 Pro is not as powerful as Poco X3 with its SD720G. But it is very close, and it only needs to push the content in 60hz, and that makes it completely fine for the device here. In terms of benchmark SD720G in the Realme 7 Pro scores around 280K in AnTuTu compared to Poco X3’s 300k with SD732G. Sd732G has 1% improvement in terms of CPU over SD720, 12% in terms of GPU and 18% in terms of AI capabilities.
Battery Life and Fast Charging
Realme 7 Pro comes with 65W SuperDART fast charging, so they have to use a dual-cell battery to ensure the safety of the battery. So the battery capacity is limited to 4500mAh compared to the massive 6000mAh in the Poco X3. But it is adequate to power a single day of usage. But you can top it up Realme 7 Pro in just 34 minutes from 0-100% compared to 75 minutes in Poco X3 which is also pretty fast.
Camera Performance
You can see the camera Specification of both devices from the above comparison table. According to many Indian reviewers, Realme 7 Pro has the best primary camera among all the phones under 30k rupees that also means it has the best primary camera under 20k segment. Still, they haven’t tested Poco X3 yet). But the international reviewers who have tested Poco X3 NFC( Poco X3 has the same camera) didn’t test Realme 7 Pro or better to say they didn’t release camera reviews due to embargo. So it makes it difficult to say which has the best camera overall.
So let me explain what I learnt from the reviews I watched till now. Realme has improved a lot in terms of camera optimisation algorithm of the primary camera, but it hasn’t transferred to other cameras in the device. So the wide-angle camera or front selfie camera performance is similar to older realme devices in this price segment.
In case of Poco X3 international reviewers said that it has a very good camera for the price and from the samples I saw, it looks better than Poco X2. Based on previous cases, Xiaomi has one of the best image processing algorithms in this price range, and it gets better every year.
Considering Poco X3 has nearly retained the same camera hardware with a better wide-angle sensor and the image signal processing of SD732G is better than SD730G, and Xiaomi’s improvement over the optimisation algorithm means it would have a better camera over Poco X2. Currently only the Realme 7 Pro beats Poco X2 in terms of camera. So, in other words, we can say Poco X3 would maybe be the no.1 or will be very close to Realme 7 Pro in terms of camera performance.
Audio Quality
Both of these devices have given good importance to audio unlike other budget devices.
Both feature stereo speakers and a 3.5mm headphones Jack. Both have Hi-Res 24bit/192khz DAC to power the wired earphones, which i personally a big fan of especially considering brands like OnePlus still don’t provide a Hi-Res DAC even in their flagship devices.
According to international reviewers, Poco X3 has the best stereo speakers at this price segment. Considering the impressions from Indian tech YouTubers, Realme 7 Pro stereo speakers are not as impressive as Poco but will provide a good stereo experience compared to phones with single speakers out there.
Miscellaneous
Haptic Feedback: Most of the reviewers said that Poco X3’s haptic feedback is very good, I don’t remember they are saying it for any other mid-range phones recently.
Fingerprint Scanner: Poco X3 comes with a side-mounted fingerprint scanner and it works great and with good speed. On the other hand Realme 7 Pro comes with In-display fingerprint scanner and perform very good like other Realme Phones with AMOLED display.
I am not going to every other small section like networks, colours etc., because you can quickly get it from the above comparison table
Verdict
In short, Poco X3 is a well-packed phone with excellent battery life, good IPS LCD display with 120hz dynamic refresh rate has the best Processor in this price segment, a great set of cameras, has very good fast charging, good haptics and excellent stereo speakers in a large and heavy body(225g). On the other hand Realme 7 Pro is smaller, lighter, has a superior AMOLED display with great Cameras and reliable full-day battery life, impressive 65W SuperDART fast charging, etc.
If you are a gamer, you should go with Poco X3 without any doubt. Having a better processor, higher refresh rate, higher-touch sampling rate, better haptics, and huge battery makes it the best package for budget gaming.
For media conception purposes I think Realme 7 Pro will be a better choice due to its AMOLED Display. Especially anyone who has previously looking for a Samsung phone for its display and battery can now buy a good phone with Better Processor, gaming experience, much faster charging compared to similarly priced Samsung phones
For general consumers, Poco X3 offers more value, and it is a more completed package than Realme 7 Pro with a lesser price tag.
If I have to buy a phone among these two, I will go with the Realme 7 Pro, because I value the AMOLED display, much faster charging, lighter phone(182g) and similar camera hardware(GCam-same result) and will be a better choice for me. But like I said people have different preferences, so buy the best suitable phone for your use cases and not for others use cases. I hope this article can help you to do it.
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