Poco has made the kind of gaming phone I wouldn't be ashamed to use

You might know Pocophone for its budget and mid-range Android phones that tend to have a focus on processing power - and now the company has taken that to its logical extreme with the new Poco F4 GT.

This is the brand's newest handset and it touts some pretty impressive specs like a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, 120W charging and a big 6.67-inch screen. It also continues Poco's tradition of rather boring names.

Beyond those specs, the F4 GT also has a few gaming-specific features like a 120Hz refresh rate, 480Hz touch input rate and, most interestingly, pop-up trigger buttons that you'll be able to map to functions, giving you a slight edge in competitive online games.

That's a feature we've seen on a few gaming phones in the past, and it would make the Poco seem like a new entry in this market niche - the fact that the device launched alongside some headphones themed around Genshin Impact helps with this reading too.

However the Poco F4 GT has that gaming phone feature, without the big issue that plagues lots of gaming phones.

Opinion: a gaming phone I wouldn't be ashamed to use

When I'm testing gaming phones, I find them useful when gaming out and about, but I'm often rather ashamed to be seen with them. Not because there's still a stigma around gaming phones - it's 2022, everyone and their moms game now - but because these phones are pretty ugly.

These phones are often big, bulky, bedecked with LED lights and angular designs - you can see one such example above.

I'll admit, 'gamer aesthetic' isn't something that really matches with my own fashion, and I'm often tentative about pulling out a giant glowing smartphone as a result.

But the Poco F4 GT has a rather understated design (well, the black and gray versions do, the yellow is arguably a little garish). If you pull one out your pocket, people aren't going to think "what is that?" with a judging stare.

Unlike most other gaming phones, I wouldn't be ashamed to use it in public, or put it on a table when I'm at a pub or restaurant - and for that reason, I'm looking forward to testing it... whenever it comes out. We don't have a launch date or price for it yet, so stay tuned for those, as well as a full review.

• This new phone is more powerful than my gaming PC and I don't know why