The Nothing Phone 3 is perhaps the hottest upcoming phone we’re expecting over the coming weeks. But there’s a spanner in the works in the form of the brand new Poco F7.

It gives potential Nothing buyers more than a little to think about, with the starting price clocking in at $399/£389 and early bird pricing available for an incredible $339/£319.

That’s scarcely believable and undercuts most mid-rangers. We already know the Nothing Phone 3 will launch with the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor as the Poco F7. The more comparable Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro feature the previous Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip. Since the Gen 4 is new the F7 also boasts quite a lot of ticked boxed, with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, NFC and all the key 5G standards supported.

Once more Xiaomi offshoot Poco has outdone itself, with a smart, flagship-level design and 6.83-inch 1.5K AMOLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate and 1700nits of peak brightness protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 7i. I loved the Poco F7 Pro from earlier this year, but this model has also really impressed me during my testing. I’ll have a full Poco F7 review for you very soon.

Aside from the Snapdragon platform, highlights of the 216g F7 include a huge 6500 mAh battery and up to 90W charging (22.5W reverse, too). It’s IP68 rated for dust and water resistance and the main camera is a 50MP Sony IMX882 unit with image stabilisation (there’s a 20MP selfie camera, too). The phone runs Xiaomi’s HyperOS 2 which is based on Android 15 with full access to Google Play and Google apps.

As you can see from my images I have all three designs in hand (white, black and silver), including the stunning Cyber Silver Edition (above) complete with Snapdragon logo and other design flourishes (you won’t be surprised to hear this one is my favourite given how much better it looks than its brethren.