Honestly, the pricing is decent. In the market of overpriced smartphones (looking at you samsung). The specs are decent. 12GB ram, 512GB UFS 4 at $350 and dimensity 8300. This is a banger. Also better value than the redmi 13 series.
I would recommend the pro over the regular one just for one missed update (android 13 vs 14 at launch)
LOL Xiaomi is still pulling their bullshit with software updates. 4 months after the launch of Android 14 their latest phone is still running Android 13. 3 OS version upgrades is now more like 2 then. Absolutely fucking criminal. This shit should be illegal.
Take this from me: Never buy a Xiaomi/POCO phone. I’m not even gonna open the can of worms that is their software. I had a POCO X3 and a POCO F4. Upgraded to a Pixel 6 Pro for GrapheneOS so I gave both of them to younger family members. Both of them had dead motherboards. Never again.
If I am not mistaken the whole poco lineup seems to be using the same average 1/2 omnivison sensor. Perhaps Gcam can Improve the output.
They could’ve also improved their processing and used the newer processors to their benefit. Pixel was using the same sensor for the longest time everyone knew.
Gcam could improve the output but you could also look at the redmi 13 series if the camera is a priority or an equivalent smartphone with better camera specs and processing.