The Poco F6: A Budget Flagship with a Punch
The Poco F6 is the latest offering from Poco, a brand known for its budget-friendly yet powerful smartphones. With the F6, Poco aims to provide a flagship-like experience at an affordable price. But does it deliver? Let’s dive in and find out.
Performance
The Poco F6 is powered by the latest Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset, making it one of the first smartphones in India to feature this processor. The 8s Gen 3 is a souped-up version of the 7+ Gen 3, with higher-frequency cores and a slightly more potent GPU. In our testing, the F6 performed admirably, with smooth gaming performance and efficient thermal management.
Gaming on the Poco F6 is a breeze
However, the F6 did tend to run hot during extended gaming sessions, with temperatures peaking at 49 degrees Celsius. While this didn’t affect performance, it’s something to keep in mind for heavy users.
Software
The F6 runs on HyperOS, a custom skin built on top of Android 14. While it’s not the most intuitive UI, it’s feature-rich and offers a lot of customization options. Poco has promised three major Android updates and four years of security updates, which is great to see.
HyperOS offers a lot of customization options
One area where the F6 falls short is bloatware. There’s a lot of pre-installed apps that can’t be uninstalled, which can be frustrating for users who prefer a clean interface.
Design
The Poco F6 takes a minimalist approach to design, with a subtle aesthetic that’s sure to appeal to a wide audience. The phone’s full-plastic construction keeps it lightweight, making it comfortable to hold and use for extended periods.
The Poco F6’s design is subtle yet appealing
The phone’s rear is dominated by two large camera lenses, flanked by a big flash ring that bears a resemblance to Vivo’s Aura Light. The front of the phone is visually appealing, with slim bezels and a high-quality AMOLED display.
Display
The Poco F6 features a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, 1.5K resolution, and HDR & Dolby Vision certification. The display is bright, with a peak brightness of 2400 nits, making it usable even in direct sunlight.
The Poco F6’s display is bright and vibrant
Cameras
The Poco F6 has a dual rear camera setup consisting of a 50MP sensor and an 8MP ultrawide. The main camera includes the Sony IMX882 sensor, which has become fairly common in mid-range phones this year.
Camera samples from the Poco F6
The camera performance is decent, with good dynamic range and natural colors. However, portrait mode could be improved, and the lack of a 2x zoom option is a drawback.
Battery Life
The 5000mAh battery on the Poco F6 provides good endurance, with around 8.5 hours of screen time with mixed use. The phone also supports 90W fast charging, which can fully charge the battery from 0 to 100% in approximately 40 minutes.
The Poco F6’s battery life is impressive
Verdict
The Poco F6 is a solid offering from Poco, with a great balance of performance, display, and battery life. While it’s not perfect, with some thermal management issues and bloatware, it’s a great option for power users who prioritize performance without breaking the bank.
The Poco F6 is a great option for power users
