POCO F9 Pro and F9 Ultra go global with 185Hz screens
Xiaomi's POCO sub-brand put two Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 phones on sale worldwide on 1 September, starting at $699, both with 200MP main cameras and a separate graphics co-processor.
The details
- Both models were announced at a global launch event on 1 September 2026.
- The F9 Ultra uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5; the F9 Pro uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V-series version.
- Both carry HyperRGB AMOLED panels running at 185Hz: 6.59in at 2510×1156 on the Pro, 6.9in at 2608×1200 on the Ultra.
- POCO quotes peak brightness of 4,500 nits over a 25% window and 10,000 nits over a 1% window, with 480Hz touch sampling.
- A dedicated 12nm VisionBoost D8 graphics chip handles AI frame generation and super-resolution.
- The F9 Pro has a 6,330mAh battery; the F9 Ultra has an 8,050mAh silicon-carbon battery.
- Both support 100W wired charging, 50W wireless, 27W wired reverse and 22.5W wireless reverse.
- Both use a 200MP main camera with OIS; the Ultra adds a 50MP 120mm periscope telephoto and a 50MP ultra-wide, with a 32MP front camera.
- Storage options run to 16GB RAM with 1TB UFS 4.1 on the Ultra, and 12GB with 512GB on the Pro.
- Both are rated IP68, use Gorilla Glass 7i and ship with Xiaomi HyperOS 3.
Pricing
- POCO F9 Pro 12GB/256GB: $699 (global launch price, early-bird $649)
- POCO F9 Pro 12GB/512GB: $769 (early-bird $699)
- POCO F9 Ultra 12GB/256GB: $799 (early-bird $729)
- POCO F9 Ultra 16GB/512GB: $949 (early-bird $799)
- POCO F9 Ultra 16GB/1TB: $1,199 (early-bird $1,059)
Why it matters
The F-series has historically been POCO's cheap route to flagship silicon. Starting the Pro at $699 and topping the Ultra out at $1,199 moves the line into mainstream flagship pricing, which changes who it competes with in Europe and India.