Poco F8 Ultra review: the flagship-killer smartphone now slashed in price for Black Friday

The whirlwind of hype that accompanies any new launch of Apple, Samsung, or Google smartphone, especially the flagships, might make it seem like they're the only brands worth considering. But that simply isn't the case.

Sure, you could spend over £1,000 on a top iPhone, or you could squander your salary chase the ever-evolving Samsung range. But there's really no need.

Because there are plenty of brands out there that are quietly nipping at their heels, often doing a better job for less money. How about a £500 flagship with better features than an iPhone 17 Pro?

Enter Poco, which has just launched its F8 series. Poco is a relative newcomer, but it hasn't come from nowhere. It's a sub-brand of the well-established Chinese tech powerhouse Xiaomi.

So it has pedigree, then. It also has a different ethos to most brands, pitching itself as a youthful, fun brand offering decent value for money for decent specs.

This exciting new direction is evidenced by the denim surface on the back of my top-spec F8 Ultra test handset. Yes, I kid you not, it's a smartphone in jeans.

There's another eye-catching feature on the Poco F8 Ultra, though, a little button-sized panel with the word "Bose" on it.

We're no stranger to tech collabs these days, but this one's particularly exciting. It hints at some serious audio credentials, and I'll come back to them shortly.

Because the rest of the spec on this newcomer is very impressive. For starters, it packs a sizeable 6.9-inch AMOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate, up to 3,500 nits peak brightness, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.

Under the hood is Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 CPU, with up to 16GB RAM and 512GB storage.

Battery life shows a lot of promise, with a hefty 6,500mAh battery made from silicon carbon and it supports 100W wired fast-charging and 50W wireless charging.

The camera is also justifiably impressive. There's a triple 50MP rear array and a 32 MP front camera.

In practice, this all adds up to become a wonderfully user-friendly smartphone, that has a very premium flagship feel about it, a delightful display, impressive camera capabilities, and serious battery life and charging capacity.

It's another big success from another Chinese brand, then, and it should definitely give Samsung devotees some food for thought.

Because I haven't got to the best bit yet. The nice people at Xiaomi have just let me know they're extending their Black Friday discounts until December 10 - and they're very impressive.

For example, the mid-range Poco F8 Pro, in 12GB/256GB guise starts out at £549 and drops to £349.

The top spec F8 Ultra, even with the maximum 512GB of storage, is currently £549 instead of its usual £799. The 256GB version is £499. There are tempting trade-in deals, too.

This means the F8 Ultra is a genuine flagship, with genuine flagship features, for mid-market money. If you can catch the Black Friday deal, it's incredible value. And even if you miss it, it still undercuts the big boys by quite a margin, spec-for-spec.

And we haven't even got to the icing on the cake yet. That Bose badge.

In essence, the round protrusion on the back is a small subwoofer, which drives deeper frequencies than the other two standard speakers.

The reality of this isn't quite what you'd expect. This is not a reason to get rid of your bulky Bluetooth party speaker. It is absolutely not going to fill a room, or offer any sort of deep rumble.

What it does is fill in the frequency gap very well, and it gives music and movies a bit more depth. Not a lot, but enough to give the sound output an overall clarity that you simply don't get in other phones.

The upshot is, this is the best speaker setup in any current phone and, yes, I do include all current iPhones in that.

I grant you, this sublime sound quality might not be enough to sway if for you, but combine it with a quality camera setup, a gorgeous display, smooth animations and an overall premium feel, and you'll be bowled over by how much it offers for the price.

Just make sure you don't miss the deal.