The Poco X6 Pro: A Mid-Range Beast With A Few Hiccups
Poco has consistently delivered impressive smartphones, particularly in the budget and mid-range categories. The Poco X6 Pro is one such phone, and it’s poised to make waves in the mid-range market. It evokes memories of the Poco F1, a phenomenal first offering from Xiaomi’s sub-brand. The X6 Pro boasts features typically found in significantly more expensive devices. While there’s a lot to love, there are also a couple of drawbacks. Having used the Poco X6 Pro for over a week, here’s my comprehensive take.
Poco X6 Pro 5G Price In India
The Poco X6 Pro is available in India in two variants: the base model with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, priced at Rs. 26,999 and the higher-end variant with 12GB RAM and 512GB storage, priced at Rs. 28,999.
The phone comes in three color options: Poco Yellow, Racing Grey, and Spectre Black. The Poco Yellow variant sports a vegan leather finish back panel, while the other two options have a glossy plastic panel. The Racing Grey variant, which was my review unit, is a stunning color.
The box includes a silicone case, SIM ejector tool, paperwork, USB Type-A to Type-C cable, 67W fast charger, and a pre-applied screen protector.
Poco X6 Pro Review: Design
The Poco X6 Pro, despite its starting price of Rs. 26,999, exudes a premium look and feel. Although there’s no glass back or metal frame, the glossy plastic back panel feels and looks remarkably like glass. Likewise, the flat plastic frame mimics an aluminum finish. The curved back and rounded edges contribute to a comfortable grip.
The phone has a substantial weight, and the build quality is excellent. The iconic sizeable rectangular camera module, covering the entire top of the rear panel, houses three cameras and an LED flash within four separate rings. The Poco branding also adorns this area.
The phone’s front boasts a premium design, too. The display boasts thin bezels all around, with a chin only slightly thicker than the rest. At first glance, the bezels seem uniformly thin. The Poco X6 Pro has a hole-punch cutout at the top, with a slit above it for the earpiece. The volume and power buttons are located on the left frame.
The Poco X6 Pro features an IP54 rating for dust and water resistance, meaning you can use it in the rain without worry. However, immersion in water is not recommended. This is an excellent feature to have at this price point, particularly as the recently launched Redmi Note 13 offers the same at a lower price.
Poco X6 Pro Review: Specifications And Software
The Poco X6 Pro packs a powerful punch under the hood. It features a 4nm MediaTek Dimensity 8300 Ultra SoC. The review unit is equipped with 12GB LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB UFS 4.0 storage. It’s worth noting that there is no microSD card slot, meaning you cannot expand the storage. However, a virtual RAM boost feature is available, adding an additional 6GB of RAM when needed.
The bottom SIM tray supports dual SIM cards with dual 5G standby. The phone also includes a USB Type-C 2.0 port at the bottom, alongside a microphone and speaker. There’s another speaker on the top rail, a microphone, and an IR blaster. The Poco X6 Pro supports Bluetooth 5.4, dual-band Wi-Fi 6, NFC, and various GPS connectivity options.
Poco has integrated an optical in-display fingerprint scanner, positioned towards the bottom of the display. While I wasn’t fond of the sensor’s placement, it performed admirably in my experience. The sensor is fast and responsive.
The phone boasts a 5,000mAh battery that consistently delivered impressive results. I easily exceeded a day of battery life with gaming, photography, YouTube watching, and standard daily phone usage. The battery charges quickly, too. The included 67W fast charger brought the Poco X6 Pro from zero to 100% in 58 minutes. In fact, I could charge it from 6% to 100% in just 47 minutes, approaching the advertised 45-minute charge time.
The Poco X6 Pro is one of the first phones in India to launch with Xiaomi’s new HyperOS user interface. This Android 14-based UI brings an enhanced interface with a new control center, customizable lock screen, AI object detection, hidden apps, new fingerprint animations, the MiSans system font, a refined multi-window interface, large folders, and a Game Turbo mode. Poco has promised three years of OS updates and four years of security updates.
While the software is generally excellent, the phone comes with an abundance of pre-installed apps, including games. While most of these can be deleted, there are a few exceptions. This is perhaps the most significant drawback of the HyperOS experience on the Poco X6 Pro.
Poco X6 Pro Review: Performance
The Poco X6 Pro excels in its category. Even smartphones like the Oppo Reno 11 Pro (review) and the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ can’t compete with the X6 Pro in terms of performance. The 4nm MediaTek Dimensity 8300 Ultra chip delivers impressive results. In AnTuTu, with performance mode enabled, the phone scored an impressive 14,37,717. In Geekbench 6, with performance mode enabled, the phone achieved a single-core score of 1420 and a multi-core score of 4404. Even with performance mode disabled, the phone still managed 1.39 million on AnTuTu and very similar Geekbench scores.
The X6 Pro is a true gaming powerhouse. The WildBoost Optimization 2.0 feature further enhances the gaming experience, while the 5,000mm squared liquid vapor chamber keeps the phone cool. I played BGMI on the highest settings in HDR mode without experiencing any lag.
The Poco X6 Pro also boasts a fantastic display. It features a 2160Hz touch sampling rate (ideal for gaming) and a 120Hz refresh rate. The 6.67-inch AMOLED display offers 1.5K resolution with HDR 10+ and Dolby Vision support. The panel offers 500 nits typical, 1,200 nits HBM, and 1,800 nits of peak brightness. This ensures readability even under direct sunlight. The display supports 68 billion colors and the DCI-P3 wide color gamut. The Poco X6 Pro provides three preset color modes (Original Color Pro, Vivid, and Saturated) and an Advanced mode with customizable RGB options. The viewing angles are excellent.
The phone features dual stereo speakers with excellent audio quality and impressive volume. While there’s not a lot of bass, there’s no noticeable distortion at high volume.
In my experience, the Poco X6 Pro exhibited no software lag or stuttering. The heat generated during intensive gaming was manageable, with the phone never getting excessively hot to touch even after extended camera usage. Overall, the Poco X6 Pro is an excellent choice for daily use and even extreme gaming.
Poco X6 Pro Review: Cameras
The cameras are not the strongest point of the Poco X6 Pro. The phone features a 64-megapixel OmniVision OV64B rear primary camera with OIS, an 8-megapixel OmniVision OV08D ultrawide unit capable of 0.6x photos with a fixed-focus lens, and a 2-megapixel Macro sensor.
Photos from the primary camera are decent, with a good amount of detail and some saturation. It performs well in daylight but struggles in low light, especially as it gets darker. It can shoot 4K videos at up to 30 fps and 1080p resolution at up to 60 fps. The available HDR mode in both photo and video delivers mixed results. The stabilization isn’t exceptional, and some noise is present even in videos shot in bright sunlight. A 2x in-sensor zoom option is available and performs well in good daylight. The ultrawide camera performs adequately in low light, with some loss of detail and noticeable lens distortion around the edges.
The Macro mode is tucked away in a drop-down menu, and for good reason. It captures decent close-up shots, but nothing to write home about. The Portrait mode is also underwhelming, with issues detecting edges accurately. You can adjust the depth on the camera app even after taking a portrait photo.
The front-facing camera uses a 16-megapixel OmniVision OV16A sensor for selfies and video calls, producing satisfactory results. It offers a portrait selfie mode, night mode, and AI beauty features. The front camera can record videos at 1080p up to 30 fps.
The camera interface is user-friendly, with all controls readily accessible. A 64-megapixel mode captures photos in full resolution, packed with detail. Slow-motion video recording is also supported, with up to 120fps at 1080p resolution. A Night mode is available, improving light capture, but the results aren’t dramatically better than without it. In conclusion, the Poco X6 Pro delivers well-detailed but slightly saturated photos in daylight and performs reasonably well in low light.
Poco X6 Pro Review: Verdict
Having spent over a week with the Poco X6 Pro, I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a powerful mid-range smartphone. If you desire a phone under Rs. 30,000 that’s capable of handling any game, boasts an impressive display, provides excellent battery life, and offers a decent camera system, the Poco X6 Pro is an excellent choice. HyperOS is a solid user experience, but you’ll need to overlook the bloatware. Except for the camera performance and IP rating, I’d suggest the Poco X6 Pro over the Oppo Reno 11 Pro and Redmi Note 13 Pro+.
