Apple iPhone Air vs (Xiaomi) Poco F8 Ultra

Verdict

Apple iPhone Air and (Xiaomi) Poco F8 Ultra tie on the OH Rank at a score of 67. Apple iPhone Air wins on Main Camera and Selfie; (Xiaomi) Poco F8 Ultra wins on Performance and Battery. (Xiaomi) Poco F8 Ultra is 3.1mm wider than Apple iPhone Air. (Xiaomi) Poco F8 Ultra is the more recent release, from Nov 26, 2025.

Score Breakdown

Category

Apple iPhone Air

74.7mm (2.94in) · Sep 2025 · Rank #128

(Xiaomi) Poco F8 Ultra

77.8mm (3.06in) · Nov 26, 2025 · Rank #114
Performance /15
11
13
Battery /15
6
11
Screen /15
11
11
IP Protection /15
12
12
Main Camera /15
12
9
Selfie /5
5
3
Video /5
5
3
SD Memory /5
0
0
Software /5
5
5
Desktop Replacement /5
0
0
TOTAL
67
67
Apple iPhone Air
74.7mm (2.94in) · Sep 2025 · Rank #128
11+6+11+12+12+5+5+0+5+0 = 67

EDITORIAL: Like Samsung, Apple has introduced a slim phone this year. And just like Samsung’s, Apple’s new entry replaces the bigger non-Pro model that wasn’t selling too well. 17 Air is the only iPhone this year to keep the Titanium build and the only one to come with just 2 lenses: one on the front and just one in the back. Other then being 5.6mm thin, 17 Air offers the same screen with anti-reflection coating and the same new “Center Stage” selfie camera as this year’s Pro’s. It’s A19 Pro chip has 1 core less and a noticably slower performance when compared to 17 Pro Max. Night mode photos are painfully slow to take. The still and video imaging is very good but remember: you won’t have access to any meaningful zooming or ultrawide action. At least, Air’s battery life is better then Samsung Edge’s. We wish it more luck then iPhone Plus had.

PROs
strong titanium uni-body, good A19 Pro performance, up to 1TB of storage, sharp 460ppi LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED with Dolby Vision screen, great imaging from a single 48MP OIS PDAF main, excellent new Center Stage 18MP selfie with OIS PDAF, stable iOS with up to 6 years of updates
CONs
short sub-24hr endurance from an old-tech lithium 3150mAh battery, slow >90min 25W wired (20W wireless) charging, screen with just 1000nits brightness, only 1 camera on the back, no SDmemory slot nor desktop replacement feature, slow USB-C 2.0 without Video-Out support, expensive (updated Sep 26, 2025)
(Xiaomi) Poco F8 Ultra
77.8mm (3.06in) · Nov 26, 2025 · Rank #114
13+11+11+12+9+3+3+0+5+0 = 67

EDITORIAL: Another Ultra phone from Poco brings updates but also some downgrades to excellent F7 Ultra. F8 Ultra advantage of being a cheap flagship phone is fading with higher pricing and exposing it to last year’s best phones of the same price. Still, it offers top processor with fastest memory, great endurance and screen (tho non-LTPO) and solid performance main and periscope tele cameras. Bose partnered to create the first 2.1 sound on a phone – standard two channels that add a woofer speaker located in the camera island. It produces excellent sound.

PROs
top SD 8 Elite Gen 5 with UFS4.1 performance, 36hr battery endurance from 6500mAh battery with sub-60min 100W (40W wireless) charging, good sub-420ppi AMOLED with Dolby Vision (tho non-LTPO and with sub-1100nits brightness), IP68 protection. many great pics from 50MP 23mm OIS PDAF main + 50MP 115mm PDAF periscope telephoto + 50MP 18mm ultrawide back cameras, up to 5 years of OS updates, fast USB-C 3.2 port with OTG and Display Out and excellent sound co-designed with Bose
CONs
almost 3mm wider then F7 Ultra, heavier too, poor performance under prolonged maximum load (gets very hot too). mediocre 32MP 21mm selfie, mediocre video recording, no expandable memory, lacking in advanced AI tricks competitors have and no desktop replacement functionality

Both phones here were scored by me, using the same ten categories, with no ads, sponsorships, or manufacturer relationships — this comparison is as objective and honest as it gets.

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