GSMArena Team,
26 November 2025.
1. Introduction, specs, unboxing2. Design, build quality, handling3. Lab tests – display, battery life, charging speed, speakers4. Software, performance5. Camera, photo and video quality6. Competition, verdict, pros and consXiaomi Poco F8 Ultra specificationUser opinions and reviewsReview comments (36)
Entirely reimagined rear cameras
The previous-gen Poco F7 Ultra took the F-series a notch up in class by adding a telephoto camera. This time around the entire camera system gets an overhaul, with a longer tele and larger sensors for the main camera and the ultrawide.
The main camera now adopts an OmniVision sensor that goes by Light Fusion 950 in the Poco promo materials and is listed as OVX9500 in hardware apps. Details on it are murky, but it’s seemingly not the same module found in the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max (Light Fusion 950L). It’s got a 1/1.3″ optical format and large 1.2µm pixels so it’s looking like proper flagship material. We’re speculating it’s a derivative of the OV50H found in the Honor Magic7 Pro and the nubia Z80 Ultra, but don’t quote us on that.
This new generation switches gears on the telephoto front too, and while the sensor remains the same (Samsung JN5 – 50MP, 1/2.76″), the lens goes to 5x zoom (up from the 2.5x on the previous model). It’s a reasonably bright and reasonably close-focusing lens too, so it’s looking like a welcome development all things considered. The main camera will need to be able to cover the 2x level, but we’re sensing it will be up for it.
The ultrawide is also new, a 50MP 1/2.88″ sensor replacing the 32MP 1/3.42″ unit of the predecessor. The new setup comes with a narrower lens, now at 18mm (vs. the 15mm one on the F7 Ultra), which may not be ultrawide enough for some people. The focus remains fixed.
Also fixed is the focus on the selfie camera, yet another iteration based on a 32MP sensor. It’s somewhat unusually wide this time, which could be a welcome change.
Wide (main): 50MP OmniVision Light Fusion 950 (OVX9500, 1/1.31″, 1.2µm – 2.4µm), f/1.67, 23mm, PDAF, OIS; 4K@60fps/8K30fps
Telephoto, 5x: 50MP Samsung ISOCELL JN5 (S5KJN5, 1/2.76″, 0.64µm – 1.28µm), periscope lens, f/3.0, 115mm, multi-directional PDAF (31cm – ∞), OIS; 4K@60fps
Ultrawide: 50MP OmniVision OV50M40 (1/2.88″, 0.61µm – 1.22µm), f/2.4, 18mm, fixed focus; 4K@60fps
Front camera: 32MP OmniVision OV32D (1/3.4″, 0.61µm – 1.22µm), f/2.46, 22mm, fixed focus; 4K@30fps/FullHD/60fps
Daylight photo quality
Main camera
Main camera images from the Poco F8 Ultra are superb. Dynamic range is excellent, giving you well developed tonal extremes, but also nice overall contrast. The white balance is dependable and saturation is well judged to deliver plenty of pop without overdoing it. Detail is nice and sharp and it’s reasonably organically rendered too.
Daylight samples, main camera (1x)
Photos of people are easy to like as well, with accurate skin tones and well presented facial detail. There’s plenty of optical separation between subject and background too thanks to the large sensor/bright lens combo, but you can also summon the portrait mode for a well measured addition of computational bokeh.
Daylight samples, main camera (1x), Photo mode
Daylight samples, main camera (1x), Portrait mode
The 50MP shots, on the other hand, bring little to the table. Unless you’re a fan of oil paintings – in that case you’d probably enjoy them.
Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 50MP
Regular resolution 2x photos, on the contrary, have generally excellent detail. If you specifically go out looking for flaws, you may find the occasional digital pixelated rendition in the grass here or there, but as a whole these are great shots.
Daylight samples, main camera (2x)
That generally remains the case with people shots, which remain detailed, though we did observe some irregular areas of softness for no apparent reason. The Portrait mode images were somehow a little better in this respect, with faces more consistently sharp. Perhaps it’s worth taking a few extra shots to make sure you end up with a keeper, or shoot in Portrait mode with the blur set to minimum. Either way, the 46mm focal length is better suited to head and shoulders framing from a comfortable shooting distance than the main camera’s native focal length.
Daylight samples, main camera (2x), Photo mode
Daylight samples, main camera (2x), Portrait mode
Telephoto camera
Moving up the zoom range, the Poco continues to deliver. Its 5x telephoto camera captures great photos packed with detail, both at close range and from a distance. The excellent contrast and dynamic range is maintained, and color rendition remains easy to love.
Daylight samples, telephoto camera (5x)
You can also count on top-class portraits from the telephoto, whether in Photo mode or in Portrait mode. The 115mm focal length lends itself well to tighter framing and makes for good-looking facial proportions while putting you even further from your subject.
Daylight samples, telephoto camera (5x), Photo mode
Daylight samples, telephoto camera (5x), Portrait mode
The full-res mode is once again more for completeness sake rather than a truly useful tool – images are soft and have this paint brush stroke quality to them.
Daylight samples, telephoto camera (5x), 50MP
10x zoom photos are also pretty good, if not quite perfect. Detail can be very good, though in dimmer indoor conditions things do get softer and distant random detail can be heavily sharpened. Still, it’s hard to complain at this level.
Daylight samples, telephoto camera (10x)
Closeups
The telephoto camera’s 30-ish centimeter close-focusing distance isn’t exactly impressive, and it’s a notable downgrade from the 8.5cm on the previous model. On the other hand, this one zooms in twice as close, so the difference in magnification shrinks considerably (though the F7 Ultra still has the upper hand). Either way, the F8 Ultra’s telephoto is just about good enough for some nice closeups. We had a bunch of cooperative bees to illustrate the phone’s capabilities and we do enjoy the results.
Daylight samples, telephoto camera (5x), closeups
You can achieve tighter framing and larger reproduction at 10x, but we wouldn’t say we like the pixel-level detail in those circumstances.
Daylight samples, telephoto camera (10x), closeups
Ultrawide camera
The ultrawide camera’s output is also wonderful from a global perspective, giving you great dynamic range and pleasing colors. It’s plenty sharp and detailed too, impressively so, though that’s probably easy to explain with the relatively narrow field of view and fixed focus – a lens less extreme in its coverage and simpler because of lack of moving bits can be made nicer for a tighter sweet spot.
We’re conflicted about this, but if you only use your ultrawide for shooting (moderately expansive) vistas, you’ll probably very much like this one. If you prefer to use it for exaggerating perspectives with nearby subjects, this one won’t do.
Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.7x)
Once again, not much point in switching to the 50MP mode.
Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.7x), 50MP
Selfies
The front-facing camera of the Poco F8 Ultra also lacks autofocus, but its wider-than-usual focal length and well judged focus distance ensure you get sharp results at arm’s length but also from quite up close too (not with your nose pressed against the screen, okay). The usefulness of the full 32MP nominal resolution remains questionable, but in terms of detail there’s a great 12MP or so image hiding in there. Skin tones are nice though colors are a little muted overall, dynamic range is very good.
Selfie samples
Low-light photo quality
Main camera
The F8 Ultra’s main camera does an excellent job in the dark. It exposes expertly and has dynamic range to spare for both highlights and shadows. The white balance is on point and color rendition is top-notch. Detail is great, with some softening only in particularly dark areas.
Low-light samples, main camera (1x)
The 2x zoom results are quite alright too. They’re not pin-sharp, but they’re still reasonably detailed – we’d almost say they offer better quality and consistency than some proper top-tier cameraphones we’ve tested recently.
Low-light samples, main camera (2x)
Telephoto camera
At 5x zoom, the Poco’s telephoto takes great shots. They’re nicely detailed, even if there’s some graininess in there – we’re almost liking them more for it. Exposures are on point and dynamic range is nicely wide, white balance is consistent and colors are quite pleasing (except that somewhat bleached fourth sample, but that scene tends to confuse phones one way or another).
Low-light samples, telephoto camera (5x)
Things do turn a little soft at 10x, but the photos remain usable – good, almost, if you don’t look too closely.
Low-light samples, telephoto camera (10x)
Ultrawide camera
The ultrawide’s low-light photos are pretty soft, with low-contrast detail in the darker areas getting smoothened out. With mode light to work with, the camera does a little better, but it never truly excels at night.
Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.7x)
Video recording
The Poco F8 Ultra can record video up to 4K60 with all of its rear cameras, with the main one adding 8K30 capability on top of that. The selfie camera maxes out at 4K30 (or 1080p60 if you’re willing to trade resolution for more frames). There’s no 24fps capability, not even in the Pro video mode.
The default codec is h.265 but you can switch to h.264. The phone can record in HDR10+ if you enable the toggle in settings (a more accessible button in the viewfinder would be welcome), but you can only do that on the main camera, and only in 4K30. Dolby vision recording isn’t available. The Pro video mode does add a Log option, with a Rec.709 LUT for live preview, as well as the option to load your own LUT. The Pro mode features all sorts of aids, including audio level monitoring, zebras for highlight clipping, and a tiny histogram, which can be switched for a tiny waveform – pretty solid.
There’s an always-on regular electronic video stabilization for all resolutions and frame rates. On top of that, you get a ShootSteady mode that locks you into 2.8K30 for all rear cameras.
You can check out the playlist below, which includes multiple video samples.
Daylight 4K30 clips from the Poco’s main camera are very good, getting you the same nice colors and wide dynamic range you have in photos, plus pretty solid detail too (not quite spectacular, but not half bad either). Switching to 60fps makes no significant difference in quality so that’s on the table too. At 2x zoom, the results aren’t quite so hot, but quality remains usable. The 5x zoom footage is also easy to like in terms of detail and overall properties. The ultrawide, in turn, doesn’t disappoint with colors and dynamic range, but is a touch softer than expected, particularly after we’ve seen how sharp its stills can be.
The main camera does an excellent job stabilizing footage when you’re shooting from a fixed position and does pretty well to iron out walking shake too. The ultrawide is also nicely stable when used while standing in one place. Both cameras also pan smoothly – no issues. The telephoto is a little bit fidgety – it’s probably not a dealbreaker, but it can be annoying.
In the dark, the main camera captures good videos, with excellent colors and dynamic range, but falling a little short of the mark in terms of detail. The ultrawide is downright soft and we could probably go ahead and call it unusable. The telephoto is arguably the most competitive of the three, in its own context, of course – it’s a bit gritty, but it’s got very good detail and excellent exposure, dynamic range, and colors. The periscope lens’ inability to deal with bright lights shining into it remains a bit of an issue though it’s something that can be observed with all such designs.