POCO has unveiled its latest flagship smartphone, the POCO F9 Ultra, packing an enormous 8,050mAh battery, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, 185Hz AMOLED display and a rather unusual 2.1-channel audio system developed in partnership with Bose. The F9 Ultra is very much aimed at the performance end of the Android market, with POCO putting a particular emphasis on mobile gaming.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 with a second chip for gaming
At the heart of the POCO F9 Ultra is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, paired with a dedicated VisionBoost D8 chipset handling visual processing.
POCO claims the combination can deliver gaming at up to 185FPS, with its Smart Frame Rate technology capable of operating alongside AI Super Resolution.
More than 21 games can run natively at up to 185FPS, according to POCO, while another four can reach that figure using Smart Frame Rate. Supported titles include PUBG Mobile, Delta Force, Call of Duty: Mobile and League of Legends: Wild Rift.
There’s also a 4,800Hz instant touch sampling rate under Game Turbo Mode, up to 480Hz multi-finger touch sampling and a 200Hz gyro sampling rate.
Keeping everything from cooking itself is POCO’s 3D IceLoop cooling system, designed to maintain performance during longer gaming sessions.
A 6.9-inch 185Hz AMOLED display
The F9 Ultra gets a sizeable 6.9-inch POCO HyperRGB AMOLED display with a maximum 185Hz refresh rate.
POCO is using a full RGB subpixel structure that it says can provide clarity comparable to a 2K display while reducing power consumption.
The phone also debuts a new M11 luminescent material, with POCO claiming peak brightness of 4,500 nits at 25% APL and as much as 10,000 nits for HDR highlights at 1% APL.
Xiaomi Vision Care also makes an appearance, with the display receiving TÜV Rheinland Quadruple Eye Care certification.
Around the back is a dynamic light that can provide different effects for incoming calls, notifications, gaming and music.
Bose helps POCO squeeze a subwoofer into a phone
One of the more interesting aspects of the F9 Ultra is its audio hardware.
POCO has continued its partnership with Bose, combining two symmetrical 1115D stereo speakers with a separate 1620 subwoofer.
That gives the F9 Ultra what POCO describes as a true 2.1-channel audio system, with Bose involved in the acoustic tuning.
Users can choose between Dynamic and Balanced sound profiles, while a new Game Audio mode increases the prominence of footsteps to help with directional awareness without completely drowning out gunfire, voices and other effects.
Game Audio mode will arrive via an OTA update during September and will initially be limited to selected games.
An 8,050mAh battery with 100W charging
Battery capacity is another headline feature.
The F9 Ultra packs an 8,050mAh silicon-carbon battery, the largest fitted to a POCO F Series smartphone to date.
POCO claims up to two days of battery life, although naturally that’s going to depend heavily on how enthusiastically you make use of that 185Hz display and gaming hardware.
Charging is handled by 100W wired HyperCharge or 50W wireless HyperCharge.
Interestingly, POCO has also gone fairly hard on reverse charging. The F9 Ultra can provide up to 27W wired or 22.5W wireless reverse charging, effectively allowing that massive battery to double as a power bank for compatible devices.
POCO finally goes to 200MP
Photography hasn’t been forgotten amongst all the gaming hardware.
The F9 Ultra introduces POCO’s first 200MP main camera, complete with optical image stabilisation and a dedicated 200MP shooting mode.
It’s joined by a 50MP 5x periscope telephoto camera with OIS and a 50MP ultrawide, while there’s a 32MP camera up front.
The telephoto offers 10x lossless zoom and up to 20x AI Ultra Zoom.
Video features include 4K capture and a Live Cinematography mode with automated focal transitions and lens changes.
POCO F9 Ultra Australian pricing and availability
The POCO F9 Ultra 16GB + 512GB will retail for $1,499 AUD and will be available in Dark Cherry and Black.
Australian pre-orders open at 11:00 PM AEST on 1 September, with shipping beginning from 10 September.
There’s a fairly substantial launch discount too. Customers purchasing between 1 September and 30 September will receive $300 off, bringing the effective launch price down to $1,199.
Customers who pre-order between 1 September and 10 September will also receive a Xiaomi Sound Play speaker valued at $79.50.
POCO is promising four Android OS upgrades and six years of security updates, while eligible launch-period purchases also receive one free screen replacement during the first six months.
At $1,499 RRP, the F9 Ultra isn’t playing in the cheap-and-cheerful territory traditionally associated with POCO. But an effective $1,199 launch price, an 8,050mAh battery, 185Hz display, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and that slightly bonkers 2.1-channel Bose audio system make for a fairly serious hardware package.
