Xiaomi’s sub-brand Poco has partnered with Bose for the second time on its flagship F9 Pro and F9 Ultra models. The standout features of the series are a powerful sound system, extremely bright displays, large batteries and the brand’s most ambitious camera hardware to date.
The F9 Ultra retains the Bose-branded 2.1 sound system used in last year’s F8 Ultra. While the two main speakers have been upgraded, the subwoofer has been retained; a white LED ring has been added around its connection, which can be used during calls and for notifications, as well as while gaming or listening to music. The phone features two sound profiles prepared by Bose, a customizable equalizer and Bose’s gaming sound engine, which can highlight enemy footsteps in games.
The Ultra model features a 6.9-inch OLED display, peak brightness of 10,000 nits and a 185Hz refresh rate that can be used in compatible games. More than 20 games, including Clash of Clans and GTA: Liberty City Stories, are expected to support this refresh rate at launch. The device comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, up to 16GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, an 8.050mAh silicon-carbon battery with 100W charging support, a 200-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel 5x periscope camera and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera.
The F9 Pro features Bose stereo speakers without a subwoofer or LED, a 6.59-inch display with the same brightness and refresh rate, a 6.330mAh battery, and lower-spec telephoto and ultra-wide-angle cameras. The phone uses an 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series processor with slightly reduced performance.
The F9 Ultra is priced at €1,099.90, with an early-bird price of €829.90; the F9 Pro, meanwhile, costs €899.90, with a launch offer of €739.90. Both models will receive four years of operating system updates and six years of security support.
Why it matters
Poco’s approach with this series highlights not only processor and camera performance but also the audio experience and gaming use as differentiating factors in high-end phones. The differences between the F9 Ultra and F9 Pro are pushing buyers to choose between a more advanced speaker system, camera hardware and battery capacity, and a lower price. In particular, the fact that the 185Hz refresh rate can only be used in compatible games remains a detail that limits the extent to which the display’s technical capabilities translate into everyday use. Four years of operating system updates and six years of security support, meanwhile, offer a comparable benchmark for those looking to assess the devices’ usable lifespans alongside their high-end hardware.