The POCO M6 Plus aims to bring 5G connectivity to an affordable price point. It does that while bringing excellent battery life and a good-looking design to the table. However, it falls short in several areas. The bulky design, lacklustre display, and average camera performance make it less appealing for users looking to purchase a well-balanced budget 5G phone.
In the bustling sub-₹15,000 segment, POCO has made a name for itself with budget-friendly phones like the POCO C65, which offered solid performance but lacked 5G connectivity. Now, POCO is shaking things up with the POCO M6 Plus 5G, a new entrant in the budget 5G market. This model mirrors the Redmi 13 5G in specifications and performance but with a new design twist. It not only brings 5G to a price point where it was previously rare but also builds upon the foundation laid by the POCO M6 5G, which set a precedent for affordable 5G smartphones. With features like a premium glass back, a 108 MP primary camera, and a 120 Hz FHD+ display, the POCO M6 Plus 5G is positioned to disrupt the budget 5G landscape. Let’s dive into how it performs against competitors like the iQOO Z9X (review), CMF Phone 1 (review), and Realme C65 5G (review) to determine if it truly offers the best value under ₹15,000.
POCO M6 Plus 5G Review: Build and Design
The POCO M6 Plus 5G, with its 8.3 mm thickness and 205 g weight, might not win any awards for comfort. Its bulky build can feel a bit unwieldy, and the slippery glass back doesn’t help with extended use. The corners can dig into your hands, making it less than ideal for long sessions.
On the bright side, the phone does have some style points. The Misty Lavender variant is especially eye-catching with its pastel hue. If lavender isn’t your thing, there are also Graphite Black and Ice Silver options that look decent as well. I got the Ice Silver variant for review, and while it looked nice, the back is a bit of a fingerprint magnet.
However, glass backs are a rare find in this price range, which gives it an edge over the competition. Sadly, though, it doesn’t come with Gorilla Glass protection on the back. Still, it seemed durable enough during our testing period, but I advise using the phone with a case. There’s also a handy LED Ring Flash that doubles as a notification light for calls and alarms.
Practical features include an IR blaster, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. Plus, it supports Wet Touch for use in the rain and has an IP53 rating for water resistance.
POCO M6 Plus 5G Review: Display
The POCO M6 Plus 5G sports a 6.79-inch IPS LCD display with Full HD+ resolution and a 120 Hz refresh rate. It’s protected by Gorilla Glass 3. Now, the display lacks vibrancy and colour accuracy, making content appear a bit dull. It does support Widevine L1 for HD streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime, but I was not satisfied with the overall viewing experience.
The 120 Hz refresh rate ensures smooth scrolling, and you can toggle an Adaptive Refresh Rate to save battery life, adjusting between 30, 48, 60, 90, and 120 Hz.
Another downside is the screen’s low brightness, topping out at 468 nits, which makes it hard to read in direct sunlight. In contrast, the iQOO Z9X offers a brighter display in a similar price range. The single-speaker setup also leaves something to be desired for media consumption.
How’s the performance?
Under the hood, the POCO M6 Plus 5G is powered by the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 Accelerated Edition chipset, paired with up to 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. There’s also support for expandable storage up to 1 TB. While it’s a step up from the Realme C65 in some benchmarks, it lags behind the SD 6 Gen 1 in the iQOO Z9X and the Dimensity 7300 in the CMF Phone 1. In GPU benchmarks, the POCO M6 Plus falls behind by a massive margin, impacting gaming experience on the device.
So, while the phone handles basic tasks with ease, but it struggles with more demanding apps and games. Titles like BGMI and Call of Duty run only somewhat smoothly on low settings, making it less ideal for serious gamers. Turn the graphics up to medium and you’re going to experience a lot of frame drops.
The phone launches with HyperOS, which offers a smooth UI and customisation options, but it’s weighed down by bloatware, dark patterns, and persistent ads. The promotions widget in the App Vault is particularly annoying, but it can be removed.
POCO M6 Plus 5G Review: Camera
The POCO M6 Plus 5G features a straightforward camera setup with a 108 MP Samsung ISOCELL HM6 primary camera and a 2 MP macro lens. While it doesn’t have OIS, it does offer HDR, Auto-Night Mode, and 3x in-sensor zoom.
However, the 108 MP camera struggles with dynamic range, resulting in crushed shadows and overexposed highlights. Portrait mode photos tend to look overly smooth with unnatural skin tones. While the detail is decent for the price, the camera performance is average at best, with noticeable noise in low-light and moderate daylight.
For a better camera experience on a budget, the Realme C65 is a solid alternative, offering better exposure and colour accuracy.
Excellent battery life
On the plus side, the POCO M6 Plus excels in battery life. The 5,030 mAh battery delivers an impressive screen-on time of 9-10 hours with heavy use. In our 4K video loop test, the phone lasted 992 minutes, or just over 16.5 hours—beating both the Realme C65 and iQOO Z9X in endurance.
Charging speeds, however, leave much to be desired. The 33W charger takes about 75 minutes to fully charge the battery, whereas the iQOO Z9X offers faster 44W charging.
Should you buy the POCO M6 Plus 5G?
The POCO M6 Plus aims to bring 5G connectivity to an affordable price point. It does that while bringing excellent battery life and a good-looking design to the table. However, it falls short in several areas. The bulky design, lacklustre display, and average camera performance make it less appealing for users looking to purchase a well-balanced budget 5G phone. For gamers, the iQOO Z9X and the CMF Phone 1 offer better performance, while the Realme C65 provides a more balanced experience with superior camera quality.
POCO M6 Plus 5G Key Specs, Price and Launch Date
| Release Date: | 08 Aug, 2024 |
| Market Status: | Launched |
Key Specifications
Storage
128 GB
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Battery capacity (mAh)
5030
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Rear Camera Megapixel
108 + 2
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Screen size (in inches)
6.79
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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
