POCO unveiled two flagships on September 1 – the F9 Pro and the F9 Ultra. Both run on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, both use 185 Hz AMOLED panels and a 200 MP main camera, and both carry unusually large silicon-carbon batteries. The core hardware is identical, so the choice comes down to size, camera and price: the Pro is the smaller, lighter and cheaper phone, while the Ultra adds a 6.9-inch display, a 5x periscope telephoto, an 8,050 mAh battery and a 2.1 speaker system with a subwoofer. The source author’s own pick is the Pro, arguing that the Ultra’s advantages show up less often in everyday use than the price difference does.
POCO F9 Ultra and F9 Pro in burgundy and silver
What you need to know
- Both phones use the 3 nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 plus a separate 12 nm VisionBoost D8 graphics chip for frame generation, and both are claimed to run more than twenty games at 185 fps.
- The F9 Pro has a 6.59-inch 185 Hz AMOLED, a 6,330 mAh battery, a 50 MP 2.5x telephoto and weighs 206 g; the F9 Ultra has a 6.9-inch 2608 x 1200 panel, an 8,050 mAh battery, a 5x periscope telephoto and weighs 235 g.
- Both charge at 100 W wired and 50 W wireless, carry IP68 ratings, Bose-tuned audio and a 200 MP stabilized main camera; the Pro’s cameras record video at up to 8K.
- The Ultra scores over 4.1 million points in AnTuTu according to the source, offers up to 16 GB of RAM and up to 1 TB of UFS 4.1 storage; the Pro comes with 12 GB and 256 or 512 GB.
POCO F9 Pro: the flagship without the premium
The F9 Pro is the junior model, but not a stripped-down one. The short version, as the source puts it: the Pro was made more compact and cheaper, and a few of the headline extras – the periscope camera and the subwoofer – were reserved for the Ultra. The core internals are the same.
Up front is a 6.59-inch POCO HyperRGB AMOLED running at 185 Hz. Brightness is quoted at up to 4,500 nits across a quarter of the screen and up to 10,000 nits at peak, which should keep the display readable in direct sunlight. It is covered by Gorilla Glass 7i, and fingerprints are read by an ultrasonic sensor under the display.
POCO F9 Pro in green
Performance and memory
Performance comes from the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, built on a 3 nm process, paired with a dedicated VisionBoost D8 graphics chip on a 12 nm process that handles frame generation. Together, the two chips are claimed to push games to 185 frames per second in more than twenty titles – the reason many buyers look at the F series in the first place. The 185 fps gaming target had been reported before the launch and is now official, according to the source. Memory is 12 GB of LPDDR5X with 256 or 512 GB of UFS 4.1 storage, and the phone ships with Android 16 and HyperOS 3.
Cameras
The main module is a 200 MP camera with optical stabilization. It is joined by a 50 MP floating telephoto with 2.5x zoom and macro support, plus an 8 MP ultra-wide. The front camera is 32 MP, and both the front and rear cameras record video at up to 8K.
Battery, audio and build
The battery is a 6,330 mAh silicon-carbon cell with 100 W wired and 50 W wireless charging. There are stereo speakers tuned by Bose, IP68 dust and water resistance, and a weight of 206 grams. The Aurora Green version has a back panel that reacts to light with a glowing effect.
Choosing the right configuration and coupon for the lowest price on the POCO F9 Pro
At the time of the source’s writing, the base 12/256 GB F9 Pro was listed on AliExpress at 53,500 rubles with an automatically applied coupon. Pricing and availability vary by region and retailer, so international readers should check local listings.
POCO F9 Ultra: maximum on every front
The F9 Ultra is the same POCO recipe with everything turned up. It is formally the most expensive phone in the line-up, but the source notes that POCO prices have dropped noticeably and the gap between the two base models is not as large as one might expect. The extra money buys a bigger screen, a bigger battery and a considerably more serious camera setup.
Display
The display grows to 6.9 inches with a 2608 x 1200 resolution; the panel type and refresh rate are unchanged – a POCO HyperRGB AMOLED at 185 Hz. Brightness figures are the same as on the Pro: up to 4,500 nits over a quarter of the screen and up to 10,000 nits at peak. An LED ring around the camera module lights up for notifications.
POCO F9 Ultra in cherry red
Performance
Inside is the same Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 with Adreno graphics and the same VisionBoost D8 co-processor. According to the source, the phone scores more than 4.1 million points in AnTuTu, one of the highest results currently on the market. Games run at the same 185 fps target, but with more headroom. RAM goes up to 16 GB and storage up to 1 TB, again on UFS 4.1.
Cameras
The camera system is where the Ultra pulls ahead. The 200 MP stabilized main sensor is the same, but the telephoto is replaced by a periscope with 5x zoom, which the source says delivers 10x magnification without quality loss and up to 20x with AI-assisted processing. The ultra-wide is upgraded to 50 MP, while the front camera remains at 32 MP.
Battery, audio and build
The silicon-carbon battery is rated at 8,050 mAh, in a body less than 9 mm thick. Charging is unchanged at 100 W wired and 50 W wireless. Audio is a step up from the Pro: a 2.1 system with two speakers and a dedicated subwoofer, also tuned by Bose. IP68 protection carries over, the phone weighs 235 grams, and it comes in black and Dark Cherry.
How to get the lowest price on the POCO F9 Ultra
The base 12/256 GB F9 Ultra was listed at 58,530 rubles with a coupon at the time of the source’s writing – just over 5,000 rubles more than the Pro. As with the Pro, exact prices depend on the market and retailer.
Which POCO F9 to choose
Both phones share the same silicon and are equally fast, so the decision reduces to size, camera and budget. The Pro is the compact – as far as 6.59 inches can be called compact – and lighter phone that costs less. The Ultra is larger, 30 grams heavier and noticeably stronger for photography.
POCO F9 Pro next to POCO F9 Ultra
Key differences at a glance
| Spec | POCO F9 Pro | POCO F9 Ultra |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.59-inch HyperRGB AMOLED, 185 Hz | 6.9-inch HyperRGB AMOLED, 2608 x 1200, 185 Hz |
| Chipset | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 + VisionBoost D8 | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 + VisionBoost D8 |
| Memory | 12 GB / 256 or 512 GB UFS 4.1 | Up to 16 GB / up to 1 TB UFS 4.1 |
| Main camera | 200 MP, OIS | 200 MP, OIS |
| Telephoto | 50 MP, 2.5x, macro | Periscope, 5x |
| Ultra-wide | 8 MP | 50 MP |
| Battery | 6,330 mAh | 8,050 mAh |
| Charging | 100 W wired / 50 W wireless | 100 W wired / 50 W wireless |
| Audio | Stereo, Bose tuning | 2.1 with subwoofer, Bose tuning |
| Weight | 206 g | 235 g |
The decisive differences are optics and endurance. The Ultra has the 5x periscope and a full 50 MP ultra-wide; the Pro makes do with a more modest 2.5x telephoto and an 8 MP module. The Ultra also carries an 8,050 mAh battery against 6,330 mAh, and 2.1 audio with a subwoofer against plain stereo.
The source’s recommendation: if you plan to keep the phone for years, shoot a lot and want two days of battery, paying extra for the camera and battery is justified – go for the Ultra. If compactness, weight and price matter more, and long zoom and a giant screen are not priorities, the F9 Pro handles the same tasks for less. The source author says they would personally choose the Pro, reasoning that the spec differences are real but felt less often in daily use than the price gap.
Note that the performance and camera claims above are manufacturer specifications and the source’s summary of them, not independent test results.
