The Pro version has taken center stage ever since the POCO X6 series was released in the Indian market. The Pro phone in this category attracted a lot of interest because it is the first in India to be equipped with the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 Ultra processor. Furthermore, the phone was the first from POCO to ship pre-installed with the brand-new Xiaomi HyperOS rather than MIUI.
Because of this, my initial thought after receiving the phone was whether the extra cost between the Pro and regular versions justified giving up these functions. I now know the answer after using the POCO X6 5G for almost two weeks. However, it is not as simple as answering yes or no. To understand what I mean by this, see my analysis in detail below.
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Verdict
One of the greatest phones available in India right now for about Rs 20,000 is the POCO X6 5G. The phone has a sharp display, reliable performance, and quick charging. This is a respectable phone in and of itself, and it checks nearly all the boxes, even though it lacks the bells and whistles of the POCO X6 Pro. This phone’s performance makes it simple to recommend, even though the low-light camera performance leaves you wanting more.
Design and Display
With a large rounded rectangular cutout for the camera sensors at the rear, the POCO X6 5G has an attractive appearance. It would be an understatement to say that the back camera sensors bulge out from the phone’s body—the modules are distinctly noticeable.
If the phone is resting on a flat surface, this causes significant shaking, especially if the case is not on. Fortunately, the retail package itself comes with a decent case from the company. But this is the central mystery here. With its sand-like texture on the back, the Snowstorm White phone looks fantastic and is one you’d want to use without a protection.
Cameras
A 64MP main camera with an f/1.79 aperture, an 8MP ultra-wide camera with an f/2.2 aperture, and a 2MP macro camera with an f/2.4 aperture are included with the POCO X6 5G. Moreover, the phone has a 16MP front camera with an f/2.45 aperture. I found the camera on this phone to be rather uneven, despite the brand’s promises that the fully refactored camera architecture and integrated hardware and software produce a new POCO image engine for excellent camera performance.
The phone’s selfie camera did a great job capturing skin tone and facial characteristics. The phone’s cameras excelled in edge recognition in portrait orientations, for example.
Regarding video recording, the POCO X6 5G’s rear camera can capture footage in 4K quality (3,840 x 2,160 pixels) at 30 frames per second, 1080p (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) at 30 frames per second or 60 frames per second, and 720p (1,280 x 720 pixels) at 30 frames per second. The front-facing camera can capture 720p at 30 frames per second and 1080p at 60 frames per second. Even at 4K resolution, the visual quality is passable but not particularly noteworthy. But even when I was filming, the phone did generate very steady movies because to the combination of OIS and EIS.
Performance and software
With its 4nm production process-developed Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 processor, the POCO X6 5G effortlessly handles most tasks. There is 512GB of storage and up to 12GB of RAM in the phone. To maximize performance, the phone’s memory may be upgraded by up to 12GB to 24GB total RAM using the Memory Expansion 3.0 function.
I didn’t experience any app crashes or UI stuttering when using it on a daily basis. I didn’t even feel like the phone slowed down at all when I had several applications running in the background or while I was multitasking. For its price range, the phone did quite well even in benchmark testing. 593702 was its AnTuTu benchmark score.
Now for the software: the X6 comes pre-installed with MIUI 14.0.2. A number of pre-installed apps, including Netflix, Snapchat, Spotify, Bubble Shooter, Opera browser, and others, are there when the phone powers up. It is a jumble of the applications you would never use and the ones you might install on your phone eventually. As it stands, the MIUI is a useful operating system with a few handy features. If you are familiar with MIUI, you will know precisely what to anticipate from this experience. In fact, since we discovered some problems with the Xiaomi HyperOS on the POCO X6 Pro, it is fortunate that the company has stayed true to its tried-and-true MIUI recipe for the phone’s basic model.
Battery and charging speed
A 5,100mAh battery that supports 67W rapid charging is included with the POCO X6 5G. You’ll be happy to hear that POCO still includes the 67W charger in the retail package, in contrast to several other companies. During our tests, the phone took about 45 minutes to fully charge from 0% to 100%. The phone also features a Smart Charging option to guarantee battery health
The phone performed admirably, lasting 12 hours and 47 minutes in our PCMark Work 3.0 battery life test. After disconnecting the phone at 100%, I discovered that after a day and a half of regular use, I needed to put it in again for charging. Even with frequent use, you should be able to go through a day on the phone with ease.
Final verdict
The performance-focused, no-frills POCO X6 5G is the perfect phone for multitasking, gaming, and watching movies. Although it may not always take good photos, the phone does manage to take some passable ones. Even though I think the phone looks good, if you’re not a fan of phone covers, this one could be problematic for you because the protruding camera sensors make the phone wobble while it’s resting on a flat surface.
I can’t think of a phone that performs better in this price bracket, so if you’re searching for a phone that meets these expectations, the X6 is a no-brainer. But, there are other choices available if you’re searching for a phone with a superior camera, such the Samsung Galaxy F54, Realme 11 Pro, and Moto Edge 40 Neo.
