I didn't think this budget camera phone could get any better, but then along came an extra £100 off

(Image credit: Future)

I don't envy anyone shopping for a new smartphone in 2025, as the playing field is pretty uneven right now, and it can be hard to determine if you're getting true value for money.

What I mean by this, is that you have the choice between some of the best camera phones on the market – such as the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra or the iPhone 16 Pro Max (both priced at £1,200+), but then you also have underdogs like the Poco F7 Ultra with an incredibly sharp camera unit for just £649 (that's half the price of top flagships).

Save: £100

Overview: If you're not familiar with Poco phones, it's a sub-brand of Xiaomi, maker of some seriously impressive flagship camera phones sporting Leica lenses. While the Poco series is intended to be more mid-tier, it doesn't disappoint at all.

Key features: Display: 6.67-inch AMOLED 120HZ | Main Camera: 50 MP f/1.6 (wide) + 32 MP f/2.2 (ultrawide) | Selfie Camera: 32 MP, f/2.0 (wide)| Zoom cam: 50 MP, f/2.0, 60mm (telephoto), 2.5x optical |Storage: 512GB | Battery: 5,300 mAh.

Release date: March, 2025.

Price context: I would say that this definitely falls into budget camera phone territory, although it's not the cheapest Poco model to release this year, given that the Poco X7 series was selling for just £249 / $229 back in January. Still, our sister site, Android Central, called the Poco F7 Ultra the best bargain of 2025.

Price Check: £619 at Mi (Xiaomi)

Review Consensus: I recently tested out the Poco F7 Ultra a few weeks ago, and I mainly focused on its camera performance above all else. Safe to say, I was thoroughly impressed with this phone's ability to capture a sharp shot, especially of moving subjects, at such a good price.

Android Central: ⭑⭑⭑⭑ | TechRadar: ⭑⭑⭑⭑ |

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Beth is Creative Bloq’s Ecommerce Writer and has the fun job of finding you the very best prices and deals on creative tech. Beth kicked off her journalistic career writing for Digital Camera World, and has since earned bylines on TechRadar too. With a Masters degree in Photography, Beth loves getting to tinker with new cameras, especially camera phones, as the resident Samsung fan on the team. Her background working as a tester for CeX let her play around with all kinds of weird and wonderful products, including robots, and she’s recently gotten into 3D printing too. Outside of CB, you’ll find her gaming on her PS5, photographing local shows under the alias Bethshootsbands, and making TikToks of her dog, Tilly.

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