Until recently, it was clear that some brands are allowing us access to mobiles with high-end features but in the mid-price range. Having the latest processor, display or fast charging didn’t cost as much as in benchmarks, but date is changing.

Manufacturers offering “affordable phones”—Nubia, Realme, and of course POCO among them— they jump on the top bandwagon. Not only in technical specifications (they already had), but also in price. The POCO F4 GT is the latest proof of that.

If you want a gaming mobile, you will have to pay (a lot) for it.

Where do we see it? Everywhere. Nubia RedMagic 7 is a beast for gaming: the version with 18 (18!) GB of RAM and a capacity of 256 GB costs 799 euros. The price of Realme GT 2 Pro with 12 GB RAM and 256 GB capacity is 849 Euros.

The new POCO F4 GT is another example of this new aspiration of mobiles competing on paper, which was normal to see for under 400 (or even 300) euros a long time ago. 2 or 3 times more expensive on mobile phones.

This is how POCO was actually born. SMALL F1 It was a unique example of the (very) good, nice and cheap that we met in the summer of 2018. It had great hardware, and aside from the sacrifices in production and cameras, this model could have stood shoulder to shoulder with the best of the best (which was much more expensive). It cost 329 euros.

But times are changing and they want more. This POCO F4 GT does not hide this passion. The basic version starts at 599.99 euros and thus The most expensive model of this brand in history. In its starter version, it costs almost twice as much as the firm’s first “standard” model.

The development of prices for these terminals has clearly been upwards, but Something we have already experienced at Xiaomi: Two years ago we commented on how an era in which even Xiaomi signed up for €1,000 mobile phones came to an end.

With POCO—and Nubia and Realme— excuse was a game: thus, it follows the competitors we mentioned and integrates absolutely different elements: magnetic triggers, AMOLED display at 120 Hz, Dolby Atmos sound with asymmetrical speakers – quite a happy idea by the way – and the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 stands out, but… is it enough?

These POCOs in particular, like their competitors, to approach dangerously At the prices of high-end mobile phones from companies such as Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi -that they have no problems with the attack- or OnePlus.

Every feather flocks together

The difference is that this POCO F4 GT of course wants to cover a very specific user area: gamers. High-end offerings from the above-mentioned manufacturers mainly depend on the best ingredients, but especially for their role as photographic cell phones: Incumbent Apple, Samsung or Xiaomi devotes a large part of their presentations to highlighting their progress in taking photos or recording videos.

Fortunately, it looks like POCO will continue to make bargain phones: the latest POCO M4 Pro is good proof of that.

Both the POCO F4 GT and its Nubia or Realme rivals might have the cameras stand out, but it’s hard for them to compete with the iPhone 13, Galaxy S22 or Pixel 6 Pro in all scenarios: rather than playing with them and using them as cameras..

This bet can of course go well: A gamer user doesn’t have to have the same needs as a mobile photography fan. Beyond brand reputation itself, The target audience of the iPhone 13 is very different from the target audience of the POCO F4 GT.

Now we’ll see if this niche of gamers will be willing to pay more for mobiles that are much better prepared to enjoy video games, at least on paper. If that’s what you do most, it is possible for the investment to recoup you.

If not, definitely these prices seems to indicate a change of strategy POCO was synonymous with cheap phones. Tell the POCO M4 Pro – it’s true that there are models that still maintain that reputation, but with this move the firm seems to be opening its doors to a more diverse future.