The Xiaomi Poco X8 Pro and Poco X8 Pro Max are two mid-range smartphones that have been on the market for some time. The price gap between the two models is about €100-120 in Europe and INR 10,000 in India, which is a significant difference. So, what does the Pro Max have that the regular Pro doesn't? For starters, the Pro Max has a more powerful SoC, a bigger display, and a significantly larger battery. On the other hand, the standard Pro sports the same camera hardware, charging, and design. So, is that going to be enough to choose the more affordable option? Let's find out.
In terms of design, the Poco X8 Pro has a smaller display, making it shorter and narrower than its Pro Max counterpart. It's also sensibly lighter, so it will appeal to users looking for a more compact phone. Both handsets have a Gorilla Glass 7i sheet on the front and aluminum frames, but the X8 Pro also has a glass back panel. Strangely enough, the more expensive X8 Pro Max settles for glass-fiber reinforced plastic. It looks and feels a lot like glass, but it's not the real thing. At least, it should be more durable to drops as it's more flexible than pure glass.
The devices are also well-sealed against water and dust, bagging IP68 and IP69K ingress protection certifications. Keep in mind that the IP69K part is market-dependent, but either way, both phones will offer the same protection regardless of where you buy them.
The display on the Poco X8 Pro Max is essentially identical to the one on the regular Pro. There are no discrepancies feature- and performance-wise, though. You get HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support in either case, more than 3,500 nits on a 10% white surface, and high-frequency PWM dimming at 3840Hz for people with sensitive eyes. So, even if you don't want to overspend on the Pro Max, you still get a flagship-level display.
Battery life is likely to be the deciding factor when choosing one of these phones. The Pro Max offers a huge 8,500 mAh battery (9,000 mAh in some regions), while the X8 Pro gets a smaller, but still generous 6,500 mAh unit. As a result, the X8 Pro Max outlasts the X8 Pro in every battery testing scenario. The Pro Max boasts between 40 and 60% longer battery life, depending on the test.
Both handsets support 100W wired fast charging using Xiaomi's 100W HyperCharge charger. However, the X8 Pro appears to be significantly faster at the 15 and 30-minute checkpoints, and finishes a full charging cycle with only a 10-minute lead. But, the Pro Max has a much bigger battery to fill, so the charging rate in mAh/min at the 15min mark is about the same and so is the average charging rate when charging from 1-100%. At the 30min mark, the Pro Max offers an even higher charging rate than the Pro.
When it comes to speakers, the two phones trade blows, and it depends on what you are looking for. If loudness is what you are after, then pick the X8 Pro Max as it's considerably louder than the X8 Pro. In fact, the Pro Max is one of the loudest devices we've tested. On the other hand, some may find the X8 Pro's tuning a tad better. It has cleaner vocals, despite the slight distortion of the highs at higher volume levels. Alternatively, the X8 Pro Max offers much more pronounced bass and fuller tracks. The downside is that the bass often overpowers the vocals.
The Poco X8 Pro Max has the more powerful SoC of the two. The handset is powered by a Dimensity 9500s, which is a toned-down version of the flagship Dimensity 9500, while the Dimensity 8500 chip inside the regular Poco X8 Pro is a full-fledged mid-range chipset. It's also based on an older 4nm manufacturing process. Benchmark performance shows that the raw performance between the X8 Pro Max and X8 Pro isn't exactly trivial. The Dimensity 9500s outperforms the Dimensity 8500 by about 35% in the pure CPU benchmark test Geekbench 6. In the GPU-heavy 3DMark Wild Life Extreme, the Pro Max outpaces the Pro by more than 50%, while in the combined AnTuTu 10 scenario, the Pro Max shows almost 47% higher performance.
The two phones feature seemingly identical camera systems. The X8 Pro reports it's using the Sony IMX 882 sensor for its main camera, which is also known as the LYT-600, while the Pro Max says it's got a Light Fusion 600 instead, which is suspiciously similar. There are no discrepancies on the ultrawide camera - both the X8 Pro and the X8 Pro Max report the same 8MP SmartSens sensor. The lens has a fixed focus, predictably. A familiar 20MP OmniVision sensor is used on the selfie camera, with a 21mm equivalent lens. No AF, of course.
Daylight and low-light photography results show that both phones take very good photos with their main cameras. They have excellent dynamic range and contrast, white balance is accurate, and colors are looking great. The Pro Max is a touch more vibrant in its presentation, but the Pro is still quite likable. The amount of detail is good, with occasional minor differences in rendition compared to the Pro Max. Overall, though, the differences are hardly significant.
In the dark, both phones return quite similar results with only minor differences in color rendition. Both capture great detail and render it without excessive sharpening, and both have great dynamic range. The Pro Max's highlight rendition is somewhat harsher, but all things considered, dynamic range is good on both. There's not much to separate the ultrawides' clips - they're essentially identical and neither is particularly great.
Selfies are quite good on both phones, considering the class. The Pro's more laid-back processing makes for arguably nicer detail rendition, though it can also look softer than the Pro Max's more heavily sharpened rendition. There are minor differences in skin tones too, but again, it's hardly a deciding factor.
Both phones can record video up to 4K60 with their main cameras, while the ultrawides only go up to 1080p30. Selfie videos do get a 1080p60 option too. HDR10+ recording can be enabled globally in settings, and it covers all three cameras, but up to 30fps. The one sort of meaningful difference is that the Poco X8 Pro Max has a Pro video mode with Log recording among other things, but the Poco X8 Pro doesn't get that.
In conclusion, when comparing two devices with a significant price gap between them, we tend to leave our readers to decide which one brings more value for money in their own context and use cases. However, in the Poco X8 Pro vs. Poco X8 Pro Max comparison, Xiaomi made it easier for us to recommend the Pro Max after evaluating all pros and cons. Even with a price difference of around €100/INR 10,000, the Pro Max brings more to the table, at least in our eyes.
The Pro Max is vastly more powerful and delivers 40 to 60% longer battery life than the regular Pro. You are not just getting a more future-proof chipset, but a considerably larger battery that will serve you better in the years to come. Hence why we think the price difference is largely justified. Get the Xiaomi Poco X8 Pro for the smaller footprint, the more premium glass back (and optional Iron Man edition), the largely similar user experience, and the lower price tag. Get the Xiaomi Poco X8 Pro Max for the larger display, the considerably longer battery life, the notably more powerful chipset, the Pro video mode, and the better low-light 2x zoom photos.
