If there is one thing that Poco smartphones are known for, it’s their eye-catching designs and performance. This applies not only to their popular mid-range phones but also to entry-level devices. I like how Poco is trying to differentiate itself from the competition. Its latest model, the Poco X6 Pro, is no different, and it sets the tone for how the brand positions its smartphones against some of the most popular phones in the mid-end of the market. I have been using the Poco X6 Pro for over a week, and here is what I think about the smartphone.
Vegan leather back panel makes the phone feel premium (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Design: Undoubtedly Poco
As soon as I unboxed the X6 Pro, it was pretty evident that this is a mid-tier Poco smartphone with its Poco Yellow finish, featuring a faux leather back panel, which offers great in-hand feel, reminiscent of the Redmi Note 13 Pro+. The large rectangular camera island, industrial design, and the yellow-coloured power button clearly give this phone a unique look.
It is also worth mentioning that the Poco X6 Pro is the first smartphone from the brand to include an in-display fingerprint sensor, which isn’t even available on the flagship Poco F5 that I tested last year. There is no 3.5mm headphone jack or a microSD card. However, with the base variant offering 256 GB storage and 512 GB storage, based on fast UFS 4.0 storage, that won’t be an issue for most users.
The phone feels light to hold in hand, and there is also a nice grey-coloured case included in the box along with a 67W fast charging adapter. The Yellow variant of the Poco X6 Pro definitely stands out from the crowd.
The display is sharp and bright enough even for outdoor usage (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Display: On par with the competition
120Hz is no longer a luxury, and the Poco X6 Pro has one of the best 120Hz screens that one could find on a sub-Rs 30,000-priced smartphone. The 6.67-inch 1.5K resolution screen on the Poco X6 Pro makes the phone feel a bit compact, especially when compared to devices like the Redmi Note 13 Pro+. Thin bezels (almost symmetrical) on all four sides make the phone look as modern as any recent Android flagship smartphone.
There is also Dolby Vision support, and it supports HDR video playback on platforms like YouTube, where the HDR peak brightness can go up to 1800nits, one of the brightest displays that we have seen on a Poco smartphone. I also appreciate the fact that the Poco X6 Pro comes with a pre-installed screen protector out-of-the-box, which instils confidence to use the phone without worrying about scratches from day one, and even with the screen protector, the optical in-display fingerprint sensor works great.
From binge-watching my daily dose of Bigg Boss on Jio Cinema to catching up with the tech content on YouTube, the Poco X6 Pro offered me a good experience, and I also liked the presence of the stereo speaker setup. Although it is not as loud as the one on the iQOO 12, it does offer clear audio output with lower distortion even at 100 per cent volume.
64 MP primary camera now supports OIS (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Camera: Good for most use cases
The triple camera setup on the Poco X6 Pro includes a 64 MP primary shooter (with OIS), an 8 MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 2 MP macro lens. There is also a 16 MP selfie camera at the front with support for up to 1080p video recording capability. The primary camera really surprised me, especially with its daylight performance, where the photos had a lot of clarity, low noise, with slightly boosted colours. I felt that the Poco X6 Pro takes slightly better pictures than the Redmi Note 13 Pro+, and even in night mode, I like how the Poco X6 Pro takes sharp-looking images, without overprocessing the picture.
Here are some camera samples from the Poco X6 Pro:
Poco X6 Pro camera sample 5 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Poco X6 Pro camera sample 4 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Poco X6 Pro camera sample 3 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Poco X6 Pro camera sample 2 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Poco X6 Pro camera sample 1 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Performance: Almost-flagship grade performance
Although the Poco X6 Pro is not the company’s flagship offering, it is currently the most powerful smartphone from the brand. As per the company, the device gets an AnTuTu score of over 1.4 million. However, in my testing, the smartphone posted around 1.3 million, which is still a great number. In fact, this performance (including CPU, GPU, and memory) is similar to phones with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, which usually costs over Rs 45,000.
The device shines on benchmarks like AnTuTu (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
The Dimensity 8300 Ultra not only shines on benchmarks but also delivers stellar real-world performance. Even during my long “Zombie Fire 3D” sessions, which easily extended over an hour, the phone barely got hot, and the experience was similar even while playing slightly more demanding titles like COD: Mobile. Coming to casual gaming, it easily offered 120fps on Subway Surfers.
The high-performance Dimensity 8300 Ultra chip combined with up to 12 GB of LPDDR5x RAM and 512 GB of UFS 4.0 storage makes the Poco X6 Pro a performance powerhouse. The chip should help the device age gracefully, and I expect the phone to offer similar performance for years to come.
The first smartphone to launch with HyperOS out-of-the-box (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Software experience: The most affordable smartphone with HyperOS
The lock screen customisation option is easily my favourite feature of HyperOS, while the rest of the OS feels similar to MIUI 14. The animations and transitions feel smoother; however, it still packs a lot of bloatware with over a dozen apps and games. Luckily, most of them can be easily uninstalled.
And HyperOS does feel a lot similar to iOS 17, which includes lock screen customisations, a control centre, and even the setting menu styling has been heavily inspired by Apple’s iOS.
Other than the bloatware situation, HyperOS on Poco X6 Pro is really optimised, and I did not notice any major bugs or glitches during my usage. The company has also confirmed that the Poco X6 Pro will receive three years of major Android OS updates and four years of security updates.
The phone is quick to charge and offers all-day battery (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Battery life and connectivity: Above average
The Poco X6 Pro has a 5,000 mAh battery with support for 67W fast charging, and the fast charger is included in the box, which takes around 50 minutes to charge the phone fully. Once fully charged, the phone can easily last for an entire day with over 6 hours of screen-on-time, with mixed-use cases like gaming, video streaming, and social media/web browsing. However, this isn’t the fastest-charging smartphone in the segment, and it is the one with the best battery life.
The same goes for connectivity; the device has dual nano-SIM card slots with support for a 5G network on both slots. I had no issues with respect to cellular reception for audio calls and 5G connectivity on the Jio network, and the phone also supports VoNR, a 5G-based calling technology.
An excellent mid-range smartphone (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Verdict: A performance-first mid-range device
The Poco X6 Pro is one such unique mid-tier smartphone that offers some serious performance without compromising on other parameters. This means that the Poco X6 Pro is not only for those who seek a performance-oriented smartphone around the Rs 25,000 price mark, but this is a device for anyone who wants a smartphone that takes care of the basics and offers the latest software experience.
The device is available in the iconic Poco Yellow colour option (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express) 
Vegan leather back panel makes the phone feel premium (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
The display is sharp and bright enough even for outdoor usage (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
64 MP primary camera now supports OIS (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Poco X6 Pro camera sample 5 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Poco X6 Pro camera sample 4 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Poco X6 Pro camera sample 3 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Poco X6 Pro camera sample 2 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Poco X6 Pro camera sample 1 (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
The device shines on benchmarks like AnTuTu (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
The first smartphone to launch with HyperOS out-of-the-box (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
The phone is quick to charge and offers all-day battery (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
An excellent mid-range smartphone (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
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