POCO F6 Review – Flagship Performance Without the Flagship Price Tag

The budget phone market is a dynamic and competitive space, with manufacturers striving to deliver high-quality products at affordable prices. Introducing the POCO F6, the successor to the highly acclaimed F5. The F5 garnered significant attention for its impressive features, and now the F6 aims to carry on that legacy.

The F6 boasts impressive features, including a powerful processor, a smooth display, and a long-lasting battery, all at a price that will catch the attention of budget-conscious shoppers. But can it truly compete with its rivals, or does it fall short of its aspirations to be a flagship phone? Let’s find out in our review.

POCO F6 Design

The design of the POCO F6 prioritizes functionality and user comfort over groundbreaking aesthetics. While it may not win any design awards, it is well-built and sturdy.

The phone is made of a combination of metal, glass, and plastic, which helps keep the weight down and makes it comfortable to hold for long periods. The matte plastic finish on the back may not look premium, but it does a good job of repelling fingerprints. The phone is available in Black and Titanium colors, and we have the Black color for our review.

On the back, you’ll find a dual camera setup with individually placed lenses, as well as the POCO branding at the bottom. Flipping the phone over, you’re greeted by a large 6.67-inch display with a centrally located punch-hole selfie camera. The bezels are minimal, providing a modern and immersive viewing experience.

In terms of button placement, the power and volume buttons are located on the right side, while the USB-C charging port, primary speaker grille, and microphone are located at the bottom. However, one notable omission is the 3.5mm headphone jack. This may be a dealbreaker for users who still rely on wired headphones or prefer not to use a separate adapter.

POCO F6 Display

The POCO F6 boasts a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1220 x 2712px. The display is notable for its minimal bezels, lending a premium feel.

AMOLED displays are renowned for their deep blacks, vibrant colors, and excellent contrast, and the F6 lives up to these expectations. It delivers an immersive viewing experience, making it ideal for watching movies, browsing photos, or playing games.

While the F6 lacks an LTPO display, the panel used here can dynamically adjust its refresh rates up to 120Hz. This higher refresh rate ensures smooth scrolling on social media feeds or web pages, and it’s particularly advantageous for gamers. It minimizes input lag and provides a smoother, more competitive gaming experience. Whether you’re playing a fast-paced shooter or a fighting game, the POCO F6’s display keeps up with the action.

In our tests, the display of the POCO F6 performed exceptionally well in all key aspects. The colors appeared realistic, and visibility outdoors was satisfactory. Thanks to its high pixel count, Dolby Vision support, and HDR10+ certification, videos looked clear and sharp on the device. Moreover, the software offers additional display customization options in the settings, allowing users to choose from Saturated, Standard, and Advanced color settings if they find the default Vivid mode too vibrant.

POCO F6 Software

Regarding the software, the POCO F6 comes with HyperOS layered on top of Android 14 right out of the box. This handset will receive major software updates for three years and security updates for four years.

The HyperOS experience is similar to previous MIUI builds. It offers a wide range of customization options, such as themes, icon packs, and the ability to modify system animations and sounds. Additionally, it includes built-in features like a second space for separating work and personal data, a call recorder, and a suite of productivity tools.

The software is user-friendly and intuitive. However, there are several pre-installed third-party apps that you may need to manually go through. Currently, there are 16 such apps, but fortunately, most of them can be easily uninstalled if desired. At the moment, the POCO F6 does not have any exclusive features, except for upcoming support for AI air gestures through a future OTA update. This feature will allow users to navigate compatible apps using hand gestures recognized by the front camera, similar to what has been seen on some Realme smartphones.

One area where POCO needs to improve is the frequency of software updates. They have been slower than competitor brands in providing the latest security patches. However, to their credit, POCO promises three Android version upgrades for the phone. This means that the F6 will receive the Android 17 update when it is launched three years from now.

POCO F6 Performance

The POCO F6 is equipped with the highly acclaimed Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor, renowned for its exceptional performance in the mobile industry. Paired with a generous 12GB of RAM and speedy UFS 4.0 storage, this combination guarantees a fast and seamless user experience.

We conducted various benchmarks on the Redmi Turbo 3 to assess its performance. The phone performed exceptionally well in benchmarks such as AnTuTu and Geekbench, surpassing most competitors within its price range. These outstanding scores translate to real-world performance, enabling effortless handling of even the most demanding tasks.

With 12GB of RAM and an additional 8GB of virtual RAM, the POCO F6 effortlessly manages multiple apps simultaneously. Switching between apps is instantaneous, without any lag or stutter, even when running memory-intensive applications like photo editing software or games. This makes the phone ideal for power users who require multiple apps to be open simultaneously.

During our testing, we observed that the POCO F6 did warm up slightly under sustained heavy loads, such as gaming. However, it never became uncomfortably hot or experienced significant performance throttling.

Beyond benchmark results and gaming, the true measure of a phone’s performance lies in everyday use. The POCO F6 excels in this aspect. Apps launch instantly, web pages load swiftly, and navigating the user interface feels incredibly smooth and responsive. Whether you’re checking social media, browsing the web, or streaming videos, the POCO F6 ensures a lag-free and enjoyable experience.

The phone is equipped with a decent 5,000mAh battery, which should comfortably last most users a full day with moderate usage. However, heavy users who extensively game or push the phone to its limits may need to recharge before the day ends. Fortunately, the phone supports 90W fast charging, allowing for a quick recharge.

POCO F6 Camera

The camera system of the POCO F6 takes a mid-range approach. While it offers decent image quality in good lighting conditions, it falls short in low-light scenarios and lacks some features found on higher-end phones.

The phone is equipped with a dual rear camera system, consisting of a 50MP Sony sensor and an 8MP ultrawide sensor. On paper, the 50MP main sensor sounds promising, as it has the potential to capture high-resolution photos with good detail. However, it’s important to remember that megapixel count isn’t everything.

In good lighting conditions, the main sensor can capture decent photos with accurate color reproduction and a reasonable level of detail. However, some users might find the images to be slightly oversaturated, with colors appearing more vibrant than they are in real life.

As lighting conditions worsen, the limitations of the camera system become more apparent. Photos taken in low light can appear noisy and lack detail. However, the Night mode feature helps to bring out more details in such situations.

The 8MP ultrawide sensor is a decent addition, allowing you to capture wider scenes. However, compared to the main sensor, the image quality suffers. Photos taken with the ultrawide sensor often show noticeable distortion around the edges and lack the same level of detail and sharpness.

The 20MP front-facing camera takes decent selfies that are suitable for sharing on social media or for video calls. However, it won’t win any awards for selfie quality, but it gets the job done adequately.

POCO F6 Price & Availability

The POCO F6 comes in 2 different memory configurations and is priced accordingly. This phone is exclusive to Flipkart.com and will be available from 29th May 2024. The prices for the different configurations are as follows:

• 8+256 GB – INR 29,999
• 12+256 GB – INR 31,999
• 12+512 GB – INR 33,999

The Verdict

The POCO F6 is an enticing option for those who prioritize high performance and an excellent display while sticking to a budget. Gamers will love its smooth performance, and everyday users will appreciate its responsiveness. However, it falls short of true excellence due to its camera system, and some users may find the software experience to be a bit overwhelming.

If you’re looking for a smartphone that offers impressive performance and visual quality without breaking the bank, the POCO F6 is definitely worth considering. However, if you require a broader range of features and capabilities, it may be worth exploring other options.

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