Poco went all out with the X8 Pro Iron Man edition. The Chinese OEM broke with the conservative phone design ethos of the past few years and created something with flair and personality. It has Iron Man himself etched into the back, and a real Arc Reactor light.

The phone itself is an affordable midrange flagship killer. It offers fans a rare combination of genuine Marvel nostalgia and modern hardware for a price that does not require a Stark-sized bank account. Most of all, it proves there is still room for some personality in the mobile phone market.

The suit makes the hero

Unboxing the Poco X8 Pro Iron Man edition was unlike any other unboxing I’ve done. The device arrived in a massive red and metallic box that looks like an Iron Man suit carrying case. Inside, I found a large cardboard separator with stunning Marvel graphics and custom paperwork that felt like a mission briefing. Cool.

The back panel on the phone itself stole the show with the Iron Man logo and character etched directly onto the phone. The designers used a multi-layered graphic approach. A deep matte background provides a canvas for a glossy Iron Man figure, while the Stark Industries badge sits on the lower half. The entire camera system is outlined in gold accents that catch the light beautifully and give the phone a premium feel.

My absolute favourite feature was the Arc Reactor. Poco placed the LED flash directly in the centre of the Arc Reactor graphic, so turning on the flashlight or receiving a notification makes the phone look like it is powering up for flight. I found myself leaving the phone face down all the time just so I could see the reactor glow.

Cameras that look as good as they shoot

The camera island on the back features two gorgeous snappers that dominate the upper half of the phone. The main 50MP camera uses a Sony IMX882 sensor, so it captures sharp images and keeps colours vibrant. The second lens is an 8MP ultrawide for those landscape views or group shots.

The gold rings make the lenses look like pieces of precision machinery. Most budget phones try to hide their cameras, but Poco made them stand out on this device. These lenses look like the eyes of the Iron Man suit itself and give the phone a symmetrical look you don’t usually find in the midrange segment. The 20MP front facing selfie is okay. At least it sits in a small hole punch at the top of the display.

The best case in the business

I usually avoid putting cases on my phones because I find they hide the beautiful design of the device and add bulk. But the Stark Industries case included with the Poco X8 Pro Iron Man phone was seriously the nicest case I have ever used for any phone.

Poco crafted this case from hard polycarbonate with an industrial, mechanical aesthetic. It features grooves and ridges that mimic the plating on the Iron Man suit. It feels sturdy in the hand and adds a layer of grip that the matte glass back lacks. But more importantly, it made the phone look cooler, like a piece of military hardware from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Performance under the hood

The internals provide a decent amount of horsepower for daily tasks. This is a midrange phone, despite all the Iron Man sparkle. It has a MediaTek Dimensity 8500 chipset to power it all, with 12 GB of RAM. The phone is smooth and responsive and this is the first time I actually found myself warming up to MediaTek chips.

Poco claims the 6.59-inch AMOLED display hits 3,500 nits. I didn’t have any problems reading the screen in the sunlight, so this claim stands up to real world tests. It has 120Hz refresh rate to make animations feel fluid. It’s a great screen for this price point.

This is a hero on a budget

This device costs just $399 and can be purchased online from Poco’s global site with free delivery. That gets you 512GB of storage, and a phone sure to turn one or two heads.

This phone is part of Poco’s partnership with Marvel and a tribute to the Avengers. It really offers the perfect balance of style, performance and power, exactly how Tony Stark would have wanted it.

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