Xiaomi started operations in India in 2014. In these 4 years, it has grown much more than any other brand in terms of sales numbers. In 4 years alone, it has managed to beat Samsung to be the No.1 Smartphone Brand in India. During these years, it has worked its way up the market share solely by providing high-end specifications at a price less than the competitors. This practice led to high competition among smartphone makers. In this race, OnePlus was the leader once but with OnePlus 5 and beyond, their prices starting rising beyond the point their phones could be called ‘flagship killers’. They grabbed this opportunity and introduced a device which disrupted the market and even killed the ‘flagship killers’. Xiaomi launched the Poco F1 with flagship grade specs at a mere ₹21,000 ($300) price point. This Poco F1 phone review will help you decide if this device is worth your money.
Xiaomi Poco F1 Phone Review And Specifications:
Poco F1 features a 6.18-inch LCD screen with FullHD+ resolution (1080×2246 pixels). To match the modern standards it has an 18.7:9 aspect ratio and a notch up top. Contained inside is the major attraction of this smartphone, the Snapdragon 845 processor coupled with 6GB of Ram and up to 256GB of UFS 2.1 storage. This pretty much defines the flagship phones of 2018. The fact that this phone can provide the same components at nearly 1/3rd the price makes it 10 times more interesting.
Xiaomi also claims to have used liquid cooling on this device to prevent over-heating during long gaming sessions. The 4000mAh battery complements the powerful specs and makes the Poco F1 feel like more of a package deal. The compromise lies in the plastic chassis that this device bears. Plastic is common in mid-range devices and it reduces the weight so they got away with it.
About Camera:
The camera department is the one where you’d expect Xiaomi to have cut the corners, but it is surprising enough that this is not the case with the Poco F1. There is a dual camera setup on the back which borrows the primary sensor from the Mi 8. This is the same 12MP Sony IMX363 sensor complemented by a 5MP depth sensor. The primary camera has 1.4µm pixel size, f/1.9 aperture and supports PDAF. The shots in broad daylight seem to be quite impressive with accurate colors and no noise or over saturation. HDR and portrait mode also works well on this device. It can record video up to 4K. This makes me believe this phone delivers far better camera performance than we expected. It struggles a bit in low-light but that is kind of standard at this price. The selfie camera is again borrowed from the Mi 8, a 20MP shooter which takes photos detailed enough to flaunt them on social media.
The Problems With Xiamomi Poco F1:
If you’re reading this Poco F1 phone review, I’m pretty sure you must have heard about the problems and issues with this device. The Poco F1 does not have the specified certification to stream video in HD quality on platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. This incapability is not applicable to offline video and YouTube though. Another issue is that the screen curvature near the chin of the device is more than what we see usually which blocks a part of the content from the screen.
Also, some users have reported a bug where the device cannot respond to ‘Ok Google’ to activate Google Assistant. All these flaws make this device look less amazing but this is what you get when you buy flagship power at this price. That being said, none of these problems are big enough to be deal-breakers.
The Verdict:
The Xiaomi Poco F1 phone review tells us that this device promises to deliver flagship grade performance for the price of a mid-range device. And that is exactly what it does. It does not promise to provide the best display or the best sounding speakers. It keeps everything simple and straight with focusing on what matters the most.
You can never go wrong with the Snapdragon 845 on board. The performance is unmatched compared to any other similarly priced device. The cameras also seem to hold up well. Taking everything into consideration, if you’re in the market for a new smartphone and want the best bang for your buck, getting the Poco F1 would be the safest bet.
Xiaomi Poco F1 Pricing:
The Poco F1 is available via Flipkart in India. It was initially available only in flash sales but it will be on open sale starting September 14.
- The 6GB/64GB is version priced at ₹20,999.
- 6GB/128GB version at ₹23,999 and 8GB/256GB at ₹28,999.
Color options include Graphite black, Steel blue and there is also an armoured edition.
So, it was the detailed Xiaomi Poco F1 Phone Review, If you want more such depth reviews on other gadgets than stay connected with us via our facebook page.
RECOMMENDED: