The POCO X6 Pro 5G deserves to be crowned the value king in the sub-₹30,000 price segment. Starting at a competitive price of ₹26,999, the POCO X6 Pro 5G offers flagship-grade performance with impressive cooling, Android 14 and HyperOS out of the box, a decent build, and an improved camera. It butts heads with more expensive offerings in the market such the iQOO Neo 7 Pro and provides comparable performance on a discount.
Tech enthusiasts will undoubtedly reminisce about POCO’s initiation of the ‘flagship killer’ movement with the iconic POCO F1 (review). Since then, the brand has consistently demonstrated commitment to delivering unparalleled value without compromising on quality. Fast forward to 2024, and POCO continues this legacy with the introduction of its POCO X6 series of smartphones. In my hands for review is the POCO X6 Pro 5G, a device that left me in awe of its formidable power, complemented by a robust array of specifications and features.
The POCO X6 Pro 5G sets the bar high for phones under ₹30,000. It boasts the formidable Dimensity 8300 Ultra processor, an AMOLED 1.5K resolution display, rapid 67 W charging, immersive stereo speakers, and a 64 MP OIS-enabled camera. However, amidst the ever-intensifying competition in the Indian market, the pertinent question arises: Can the POCO X6 Pro 5G carve out a space for itself? Let’s find out.
The POCO X6 Pro 5G is offered in three color options – Spectre Black, Racing Grey, and the quintessential POCO Yellow. The yellow variant stands out with its premium vegan leather rear panel, while the other two feature glossy plastic back panels. However, a notable issue arises with the latter as they tend to accumulate fingerprints and smudges rapidly. The circular rings around the camera lenses also collect a lot of dust. A case is almost necessary for the non-leather variants.
Despite this concern, the phone boasts a solid build quality. Its compact design makes it easy to hold, and the rounded edges on the back enhance the overall comfort of wielding it. I got the Racing Grey variant for review. This version showcases a dual-tone design on the back, with the rectangular camera module in black, contrasting against the grey rear panel.
The camera module houses three cameras and an LED flash within four circular rings, and the POCO branding is positioned on the right side. At the bottom of the rear panel, a simple 5G symbol is present.
Although the phone’s frame is crafted from plastic, it cleverly mimics the appearance of metal. The right side features tactile volume rocker and power buttons. The bottom of the phone houses the USB-C charging port, a SIM card tray, and a speaker.
At the top, there’s another speaker along with the return of the IR blaster. On the front, a flat display with slim bezels and a punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera completes the device. There’s an in-display fingerprint sensor which proved to work almost flawlessly in my time using the device.
The POCO X6 Pro 5G boasts a monstrous display. With a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen, it delivers a sharp 1.5K resolution, supports a staggering 68 billion colors, and operates at a smooth 120 Hz refresh rate. The inclusion of Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support elevates its status as a top contender for content consumption under ₹30,000.
The display itself is vibrant, providing crisp visuals with deep blacks and outstanding contrast. HDR content looks sublime. You’ve got decent viewing angles and exceptional brightness levels, reaching up to 1,440 nits during testing (though POCO advertises up to 1,800 nits of peak brightness), make it easily readable even in the brightest outdoor conditions. This brightness feature ensures usability on the sunniest of days.
Enhancing the overall multimedia experience, the phone is equipped with dual stereo speakers featuring Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Audio support. While these speakers produce full-bodied and rich sound, they could be a bit louder, in my opinion.
Performance is at the core of POCO’s strategy, and it unquestionably excels here. It stands out as the first smartphone in India to feature the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 Ultra chipset – a flagship-grade powerhouse clocking in at a maximum speed of 3.35 GHz. Teamed up with the processor is up to 12 GB LPDDR5X RAM and up to 512 GB UFS 4.0 storage. Notably, POCO has chosen the 256 GB storage variant as the base model, a commendable decision.
Let’s kick things off with synthetic benchmarks. The POCO X6 Pro 5G outperforms all of its rivals in the AnTuTu benchmark, achieving an impressive score of 1,315,523 points. This surpasses more expensive competitors like iQOO Neo 7 Pro (review). The score has even doubled compared to its predecessor, the POCO X5 Pro.
In GeekBench, it records a solid score of 1,256 in the Single-Core test and 4,093 in the Multi-Core Test – placing it among the top contenders in its price segment. The PCMark Work score of 14,573 is equally impressive. I also ran the CPU Throttling Test to assess sustained performance under load which revealed that the phone only throttled to 83 percent of its peak performance. However, the phone does not run GPU benchmarks such as 3D Mark and GFXBench, a common occurrence with Xiaomi and POCO phones.
As expected, the phone excels in real-world gaming tests. Titles like Call of Duty: Mobile, Pokemon Unite, and BGMI run seamlessly even at the highest graphics settings, with no signs of lag or stuttering, and the device remains cool during extended gaming sessions. In everyday tasks, the phone effortlessly handles navigation, thanks to the 120 Hz refresh rate support. The only drawback is the presence of bloatware.
The POCO X6 Pro introduces Xiaomi’s new HyperOS out of the box. It also runs Android 14. This software is fluid, feature-rich, and user-friendly. However, the persisting issue is the bloatware. Upon booting up the device, users are greeted with nine preinstalled games and numerous third-party apps. Although most of these can be uninstalled, such practices are not welcome in 2024. I POCO addresses this concern in future releases.
On a positive note, there is an improvement in OS support. POCO has extended the update commitment, promising three years of OS updates and four years of security updates – an excellent move forward.
It’s not just the performance that has taken a leap forward, the POCO X6 Pro also features an improved primary camera. Although, the numbers have gone down on paper – from 108-megapixels to 64-megapixels, the camera is substantially better and comes equipped with Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS). The phone houses a 64-megapixel primary camera with OIS, an 8-megapixel ultrawide shooter, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. On the front, there’s a 16-megapixel selfie shooter as well. Video recording is capped with 4K at 30 fps on the rear camera, and the phone supports gyro-EIS for stabilisation.
In daylight conditions, the primary camera captures commendable photos. Colors remain close to natural, although there’s a tendency to wash out human subjects and smoothen skin textures. While detail retention is solid, the dynamic range falls short as shadows are underexposed. Nonetheless, the photos are suitable for social media posting, exhibiting a natural look without excessive oversharpening.
Portrait images are pleasing, with slight face washout but excellent edge detection and portrait blur for the price. Unfortunately, consistency is an issue; the portrait blur effect doesn’t apply if light levels dip below a certain threshold. I tried multiple times; even tried applying bokeh post clicking the picture in HyperOS’ new photo editor, but it didn’t work. The phone is just not capturing portrait data in low light. We hope that POCO can fix this via an OTA update.
The 8-megapixel ultrawide camera delivers decent performance in daylight, though corners lack sharpness. Macro photography excels, capturing intricate details effectively.
Transitioning to low-light photography, the phone encounters challenges. While an improvement over the POCO X5 Pro, there’s still some noise and haziness. Selfie photos, under optimal lighting conditions, exhibit good color and detail. However, in challenging lighting situations, the photos tend to become soft and blurry.
The POCO X6 Pro 5G keeps the lights on with a 5,000 mAh battery. The battery life is pretty decent; it can last over a day if you’re a light user. However, if you’re someone who games heavily, the phone will require a top-up in the evening. In our 4K video loop test, the POCO X6 Pro lasted for over 14 hours from a full battery to empty.
Using Google Maps for an hour drained the battery by 5 percent, while playing Call of Duty: Mobile for 15 minutes drained another 4 percent. These are pretty decent numbers and match up to most of its competition. The phone comes with 67W fast charging, which topped off our review unit from an empty battery to full in merely 49 minutes.
The POCO X6 Pro 5G deserves to be crowned the value king in the sub-₹30,000 price segment. Starting at a competitive price of ₹26,999, the POCO X6 Pro 5G offers flagship-grade performance with impressive cooling, Android 14 and HyperOS out of the box, a decent build, and an improved camera. It butts heads with more expensive offerings in the market such the iQOO Neo 7 Pro and provides comparable performance on a discount.
The phone is not perfect though – the non-leather variants attract fingerprints, the bloatware issue is rampant, and the portrait camera is a bit of a hit-or-miss, but most of these are minor issues in the grand scheme of things. If you’re looking for unbridled performance without burning a hole in your pocket, the POCO X6 Pro 5G is one of the best options you consider.
