I tested the Poco F9 Pro and its hidden new Snapdragon chip. Here's what it means for you

The Poco F8 Pro hides a secret. It uses a brand-new Qualcomm processor that's still a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, but it's not the same chip found in the Poco F9 Ultra , Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra , or Oppo Find X9 Ultra .

It's called the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series, and this is one of the first phones to use it. Qualcomm kept the launch quiet, so what's the V Series all about, and how does the Poco F9 Pro perform?

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series introduction

How different is it?

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series was quietly introduced in early August 2026, and is very similar to the normal Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, but with some crucial GPU spec changes.

The V Series has the same Qualcomm Oryon CPU with two 4.6GHz Prime cores and six 3.62GHz Performance cores, the same Hexagon NPU, Sensing Hub, and Qualcomm X85 5G modem as the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.

It's in the GPU where we see the major change. The Adreno 840 GPU in the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 uses a sliced architecture with a three-slice design, but the Adreno 840 in the V Series chip uses a two-slice design.

The three-slice design may return better rendering performance, more efficiency, better thermal performance, and a greater ability to render high-end games using ray-traced graphics.

The other change is the V Series' Adreno High Performance Memory (HPM) feature has 12MB of dedicated memory and not the 18MB in the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5's HPM. Otherwise, the two chips appear identical.

What does this mean for the Poco F9 Pro?

Hardcore gamers may notice

If the GPU is the major change in the V Series chip, does it affect the way the Poco F9 Pro plays games?

Playing Asphalt 9: Legends certainly doesn't immediately show up any major differences between playing it on the F9 Pro compared to the F9 Ultra, which has the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 inside. It's still fast and smooth.

If you only play relatively simple mobile games, it'll probably be absolutely fine. If you play high-end, graphically intensive games at maximum settings, and for long periods of time, this may not be as competent as the Poco F9 Ultra, or any other phone with the full Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.

How about the Poco F9 Pro's speakers?

They sound great, but the Ultra still wins

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series is the most interesting technical change between Poco's two latest phones, but what about the speaker system, which is such a big selling point on the F9 Ultra?

The F9 Pro does not have the independent subwoofer on the back, and instead just features the two symmetrical full-range stereo speakers. The Bose tuning is still onboard.

It still sounds great, and arguably shows how much Bose adds to the system, as the vocals are well-balanced against the slightly brighter mids. However, when you directly compare it to the F9 Ultra's 2.1 system, you can really hear the added depth from the subwoofer.

What's interesting is it's not really about extra bass, but more about overall depth in the sound. Vocals are richer, and detail isn't lost in the mid-range.

The Poco F9 Pro's speakers sound good for a phone, but the F9 Ultra's speakers sound incredible for a phone.

What about the rest of the Poco F9 Pro's specs?

A great value flagship

The Poco F9 Pro is a smaller phone than the F9 Ultra. It has a 6.59-inch screen with a 2510 x 1156 pixel resolution. It also promotes a 10,000 peak brightness on 1% of the panel, but the 850 typical brightness is more relevant to everyday use.

On the back is a 200-megapixel main camera, a 50MP telephoto for a 2.5x optical zoom, and an 8MP wide-angle camera.

The 6,330mAh battery has 100W wired charging and 50W wireless charging, there's an IP68 dust and water resistance rating, and a 32MP selfie camera. It's a little lighter than the F9 Ultra at 206 grams, but the phone is just as thick at 8.8mm.

Poco F9 Pro price and availability

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series chip is a key part in reducing the Poco F9 Pro's cost, without compromising on general performance.

There are two versions available. The 12GB/256GB phone is $700 or 900 euros, and the 12GB/512GB version is $769 or 1,000 euros.

You can choose a white or black color scheme, or go for a bright green which has a soft glow-in-the-dark finish in low light. It's typically Poco, and we love the idea.

Poco does not sell its smartphones in the US, but we expect the F9 Pro to be available in the UK, Europe, and other regions.