Poco F9 Ultra Review Finds Flagship Performance for Hundreds Less Than Samsung and Google Rivals
Poco F9 Ultra review finds flagship performance below Samsung and Google prices, though it costs more than the F8 Ultra.
The review states that the base configuration, with 12GB of RAM and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, starts at $799 in the United States and £899 in the United Kingdom. A later section of the same review gives the UK starting price as £749. Both figures represent an increase over the Poco F8 Ultra, which TechRadar puts at $70 more in the US and £150 more in the UK, with the older model on sale for £649 at the time of writing. Poco told TechRadar it considers the new pricing "competitive" for the specifications on offer, and the reviewer agreed.
The phone carries a 6.9-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1200 x 2608, a 185Hz refresh rate during compatible games and a claimed peak brightness of 10,000 nits. It measures 163.5 x 77.9 x 8.7mm and weighs 235g, and is offered with 12GB or 16GB of RAM and 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of storage, running HyperOS 3 on top of Android 16.
TechRadar describes the F9 Ultra's 8,050mAh battery as one of the largest on a flagship sold in the UK at the time of publication, saying the phone lasted three days under moderate use and could not be drained within a single waking day. Audio is handled by dual speakers plus a Bose-tuned subwoofer mounted on the back, an unusual addition that the reviewer singles out among the best speaker setups on any phone.
The camera array consists of a new 200MP main sensor at f/1.7, a 50MP ultra-wide at f/2.4 and a 50MP 5x telephoto at f/3.0, with a 32MP f/2.2 front camera. TechRadar rates the cameras as capable but not top-tier. The review also notes four years of Android version updates alongside six years of security patches running to 2032, calling the update commitment slightly stingy while welcoming the patch window.
On price comparisons, the review says the F9 Ultra undercuts the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, the only S26-series phone sold in the UK with a Qualcomm chipset, by £380, and comes in well below the £1,279 Google Pixel 11 Pro XL, whose Tensor G6 chipset the reviewer says cannot match the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in performance. At £899, TechRadar adds, the Poco matches the price of the Google Pixel 11 while offering better gaming performance, a larger screen and longer battery life. For buyers chasing the latest Snapdragon chip at the lowest cost, the review says the F9 Ultra is undercut only by Poco's own F8 Ultra and by the Xiaomi 17, which launched at £899 and was on sale for £699.
Availability is limited by region. The phone is not officially sold in Australia, and while $799 is Poco's official US price, the handset is not offered through US carriers and pricing varies by seller. UK availability is described as good.
The reviewer's verdict credits the F9 Ultra with exemplary performance and gaming ability, a large battery with fast charging and strong value for its specifications, while listing the higher price than the F8 Ultra and cameras that fall short of the very best as its main drawbacks. TechRadar awarded the phone four out of five for value and found no deal-breaking flaws.