The POCO F6 reaffirms POCO’s knack for delivering fantastic value, blending top-notch performance with a rich feature set at a great price. It’s not just a gaming beast; the POCO F6 shines across the board. The Sony IMX882 primary camera is a big step up, and the 6.67-inch AMOLED display is stunningly vibrant and crisp. Plus, the beefy 5,000 mAh battery easily gets you through a busy day, and the included 120 W charger is a real treat for quick top-ups. Sure, the lack of expandable storage and some bloatware in HyperOS are minor hiccups, but they hardly overshadow the overall package.
When POCO exploded onto the smartphone scene in 2018, it redefined value with the iconic POCO F1 (review), setting a new benchmark for the price-to-performance ratio. Since then, the brand hasn’t quite delivered another shocker like the POCO F1. But now, with the launch of the POCO F6, it seems POCO is returning to its roots, offering a flagship-grade processor and exceptional performance at a remarkably reasonable price. The POCO F6 is the first phone in India to feature the new Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor, promising top-tier performance.
Back in 2018, the POCO F1 was the undisputed champion of performance in its price range. Fast forward to today, the POCO F6 faces a formidable rival – the iQOO Neo 9 Pro (review). This competitor is so powerful that it has outperformed some flagship phones, making the competition even fiercer. At the time of writing, the exact price of the POCO F6 remains unconfirmed, but leaks suggest it could be priced under ₹35,000. (Edit: The POCO F6 is priced starting at ₹29,999!) With this in mind, let’s dive into my detailed POCO F6 review to address the all-important question – should you buy this phone, or are there better options on the market worth considering?
POCO F6 Review: Build and Design
The POCO F6 embraces a minimalist, industrial aesthetic, featuring subtle design choices and understated colours. Available in Titanium and Black, the Titanium variant, in particular, radiates a touch of elegance and sophistication. Despite this, a group of gamers – fans of the bold, gamer-centric look of the POCO F3 GT – found the new design underwhelming. Clearly, the POCO F6’s design doesn’t cater to the gaming crowd’s flashy tastes.
The rear panel of the phone sports a matte finish, effectively resisting fingerprints and smudges. The dual camera setup is neatly housed in two large, circular modules on the left side, complemented by a ring flash system adjacent to the cameras. While the back is crafted from polycarbonate, the frame is a hybrid of polycarbonate and metal, according to POCO.
Weighing in at just 179 grams, the POCO F6 is delightfully lightweight and comfortable to hold, thanks to the subtle curvature of the back panel that enhances its ergonomic feel. With a svelte thickness of just 7.8 mm, it’s also impressively slim.
Though the buttons are a tad softer than preferred, they function adequately, and the in-display fingerprint sensor is both fast and accurate. The phone boasts a stereo speaker setup with Dolby Atmos support, delivering sufficiently loud and decent sound quality. Moreover, the POCO F6 carries an IP64 rating, ensuring protection against environmental elements and resilience to light splashes.
POCO F6 Review: Display
The POCO F6 has a stunning display, framed by impressively slim bezels. This 6.67-inch AMOLED panel boasts a 1.5K resolution and 120 Hz refresh rate, creating an outstanding experience for content consumption. Adding to its allure, the display supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, complemented by stereo speakers for an immersive viewing experience.
This 12-bit panel, capable of showcasing 68 billion colours, covers 100 per cent of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, ensuring vibrant visuals. Topping it off, the display is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus, a rare and valuable feature at this price point.
The POCO F6’s display is not just vibrant but exceptionally crisp, with deep blacks and excellent contrast levels that make HDR content shine. Its brightness peaks at an impressive 2,400 nits, as claimed by POCO, and in my tests, it reached 1,078 nits under direct sunlight in Auto Brightness mode – more than enough to ensure readability even on the sunniest days.
In the realm of content consumption under ₹40K, this display stands out as one of the best. While the iQOO Neo9 Pro offers an LTPO panel, giving it a slight edge, it lacks Dolby Atmos support and features a 10-bit display compared to the superior 12-bit panel on the POCO F6.
How does the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 perform?
During a media briefing for the POCO F6, the company emphasized their ambition for the POCO F6 to transcend its gaming phone roots and become a well-rounded smartphone. Despite this broader focus, the POCO F6 retains the core elements of a high-performance gaming device: a flagship-grade processor, robust cooling system, and the latest RAM and storage technologies.
Under the hood, the POCO F6 features the cutting-edge Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor, paired with up to 12 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 512 GB of UFS 4.0 storage. However, the absence of expandable storage is a letdown, particularly for gamers with storage-intensive titles like Genshin Impact, which can take up nearly 22 GB. The device also includes POCO’s Wildboost 3.0 technology to enhance frame rates during gaming sessions, and the Iceloop cooling system, which boasts a larger heat dissipation area than traditional VC cooling systems.
Benchmark tests underscore the phone’s impressive performance. On AnTuTu v10, the POCO F6 scored nearly 1.4 million, making it the second-highest mid-range score recorded, just behind the iQOO Neo9 Pro’s 1.63 million. In Geekbench, it achieved top-tier scores, again only bested by the iQOO Neo9 Pro. However, in PCMark Work, the POCO F6 led the pack with a score of 14,634.
In GPU benchmarks, the phone scored a solid 3032 on 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme and performed well in GFXBench, although it didn’t surpass the iQOO Neo9 Pro. The POCO F6 excelled in the CPU Throttling Test, maintaining 88 per cent of its peak performance, demonstrating its efficiency under sustained loads.
Beyond synthetic benchmarks, the POCO F6 delivers a smooth and responsive real-world experience. Despite my reservations about HyperOS, with its bloatware and somewhat clunky design, the POCO F6 handled everyday tasks with ease, including web browsing, social media, gaming, and video editing, all without lag or stutter.
Gaming performance is equally impressive. Call of Duty: Mobile and Genshin Impact ran flawlessly. Genshin Impact performed smoothly on Medium graphics without significant heat, though there was some throttling at high settings, which is typical even for flagship devices. COD: Mobile played responsively at Very High Graphics with Max frame rate, and Low graphics with Ultra frame rate.
While HyperOS, layered over Android 14, offers high functionality and customisation, its bloatware and UI design hinder the overall experience for me. Nonetheless, POCO’s commitment to three years of software updates and four years of security updates is reassuring and aligns with industry standards.
Are the cameras any good?
The POCO F6’s camera setup marks a significant upgrade over its predecessor. The primary camera now features a Sony IMX882 sensor with both OIS and EIS support, a notable improvement from the 64 MP Omnivision sensor on the POCO F5. Additionally, there’s an 8 MP ultrawide lens, while the previously included 2 MP macro lens has been dropped—a move that won’t disappoint many, given the limited utility of such low-resolution cameras. On the front, a new 20 MP Omnivision selfie camera has been introduced.
In optimal lighting conditions, the primary camera of the POCO F6 captures good-looking photos with impressive dynamic range and detail retention. Colours are slightly white-washed, but close-up shots exhibit vibrant details with a pleasing natural bokeh effect. Indoor photos, while slightly softer in detail, still look impressive and flattering.
Portrait mode has seen significant improvement, with superb edge detection and decent colour reproduction. However, the default beauty mode should be turned off for a more accurate representation of subjects.
Low-light performance of the main camera is commendable, producing impressive results for the price. Although there is a noticeable drop in detail compared to daylight photos, this is primarily evident when zooming in. Lens flare is minimal, though some noise is apparent, particularly in the skies.
The ultrawide lens produces decent photos, albeit with some compromises in sharpness. The overall aesthetic is consistent with the primary camera, with a respectable dynamic range. There is some loss of detail in the shadows, but it’s not a significant drawback. The 20 MP selfie camera performs well in daylight, delivering good-quality photos, though it struggles in low-light conditions, where the quality noticeably degrades.
POCO F6 Review: Battery life
The POCO F6 features a robust 5,000 mAh battery with support for 90 W fast charging, and pleasantly surprises with a 120 W charger included in the box. Notably, the POCO F6 boasts one of the best battery performances in the mid-range segment, thanks in part to the power-efficient Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor.
With heavy usage, including extensive benchmarking, photography, and gaming, the POCO F6 comfortably lasts a full day. By 10 PM, after a demanding day, I still had around 20 per cent of battery remaining. In our 4K video loop test, the phone demonstrated impressive endurance, lasting 16 hours and 33 minutes. Streaming Netflix for half an hour only consumed 3 per cent of the battery, while an hour of using Google Maps drained just 6 per cent. Whether you’re a casual user or a gamer, you can expect good battery life from the POCO F6.
Charging speed is another highlight. Using the 120 W charger included in the box, the phone charged from zero to full in just 38 minutes, making it incredibly convenient to charge the phone in a pinch.
Should you buy the POCO F6?
The POCO F6 reaffirms POCO’s knack for delivering fantastic value, blending top-notch performance with a rich feature set at a great price. It’s not just a gaming beast; the POCO F6 shines across the board. The Sony IMX882 primary camera is a big step up, and the 6.67-inch AMOLED display is stunningly vibrant and crisp. Plus, the beefy 5,000 mAh battery easily gets you through a busy day, and the included 120 W charger is a real treat for quick top-ups.
Sure, the lack of expandable storage and some bloatware in HyperOS are minor hiccups, but they hardly overshadow the overall package. The POCO F6 isn’t just for gamers. It’s a versatile smartphone that hits most of the right notes for both power users and casual folks. The iQOO Neo9 Pro is a fantastic alternative, but it is more expensive. If you’re after a well-rounded phone with killer performance and loads of features under ₹30K, the POCO F6 should definitely be on your radar.
POCO F6 Key Specs, Price and Launch Date
| Release Date: | 17 May, 2024 |
| Market Status: | Launched |
Key Specifications
Storage
256 GB
-
Battery capacity (mAh)
5000
-
Rear Camera Megapixel
50 + 8
-
Screen size (in inches)
6.67
Follow Us
Dhriti Datta
Perpetually sporting a death stare, this one can be seen tinkering around with her smartphone which she holds more dear than life itself and stuffing her face with copious amounts of bacon. View Full Profile
