Poco’s strategy has always been about offering smartphones with large batteries and designs that please the young audiences at their first glance. The brand has kept its basics clear with its latest Poco M8 Power as well. The company believes that M8 was one of its most liked mobiles from the M-series and after seven months of its debut, the brand is now offering the Poco M8 Power at a starting price of Rs 24,999 for the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage and the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant costs Rs 27,999 in India with a big battery, large screen and familiar design. Whether the handset stands as a strong competitor in the price segment, let us find out in this review.
Poco M8 Power Review: What’s Inside the Box
I received my review unit in the Blaze Orange colour (8GB + 128GB). This smartphone also comes in the green and black colour options. Apart from the device, the box has a SIM ejector tool, a USB Type-C cable, a matte black protection cover, the paperwork and a 45W charging adapter.
Poco M8 Power Review: Design
One thing is very evident, after a popular global brand launched its orange colour for its latest flagship and it became an instant hit among the GenZ, many brands have brought their mobiles also in the similar colour options. Poco rides the same bandwagon in terms of design structure.
Speaking about the in-hand feel, the device feels big and heavy. It weighs nearly 225 gm and measures 169.7×79.1×8.45 mm. One hand operation could be a little tricky for some users. In the day to day usage, it might feel chunky, which could be a trade-off for a 8,000mAh battery.
This smartphone gets a large camera island at the back that almost runs the entire width of the device. Corners are round and it houses two circular cutouts: one of these is for the camera and the other is for the flash along with the Poco branding at top right. The handset comes with a plastic back panel and a plastic flat frame. It gets a matte finish and hence, it will not catch smudges.
In terms of ports and buttons, the device comes with a secondary microphone at the top along with an IR blaster. At the bottom, it gets the primary microphone, the speaker grille, SIM card insertion and a USB Type-C port. The SIM tray offers slots for two Nano-SIMs, with one of them also doubling up for microSD card expansion. At the right hand side, the device offers the power button along with the volume rockers. For durability, the Poco M8 Power comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protection and offers an IP65 rating.
Poco M8 Power Review: Display
This handset features a 6.9-inch AMOLED panel. Display is one of the areas where this one by Poco shines. Amid the rising cost of smartphone components, brands are setting up for LCD panels at this price point; however, Poco chose an AMOLED panel. If you are someone who’s priority is a big screen, then you might like the device.
I watched YouTube videos and binged a couple of anime episodes on Netflix. Colours appear vibrant and punchy. Blacks are truly deep and contrast seems decent. The device runs at 120Hz. Most apps work fine at the top refresh rate. Moreover, the display is bright and even in the harsh outdoor light, it will not disappoint you.
The company also offers TÜV-certified eye protection and Wet Touch 2.0 for better visibility and protection against wet substances. When it comes to bezels, they are minimal to me, in comparison to what the competitors are offering. Although I would still say the chin is a bit thick. As far as it is concerned about the audio experience, this smartphone ships a mono speaker, which might not be the ideal choice as per this price point. Yet, it is quite loud. What was disappointing was haptics. The feedback could have been better.
Poco M8 Power Review: Performance
The Poco M8 Power is powered by the Snapdragon 4 Gen 4, a mid-level performing chipset. It comes at par with Dimensity 6300. This processor comes with up to 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM (expandable with up to 8GB of virtual RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage. As per the AnTuTu benchmark, the device scored 6,31,697, which is decent as per this price point. In the Geekbench testing, the smartphone scored 794 in the single-core score and 1937 at the multi-core score.
Speaking about the daily life usage, the handset manages to deliver everyday tasks. I did not face any major slowdowns or device hanging issues during my testing. I kept switching between tabs, watched YouTube shorts often and played long form content as well. The device worked decently. What surprised me was the device did not heat much during outside usage.
I played BGMI on this handset for a while and while it may not be the best choice for serious gaming, the experience was fairly stable at HD graphics with High frame rates. I did not notice any significant frame drops during my gameplay sessions. For casual gaming, these settings offer a reasonably fine experience.
The Poco M8 Power runs on HyperOS 3. It comes with four years of software updates and six years of security updates. This is something worth appreciating at this price segment. You can find the MIUI-style control center which is optional and you can also use the split-style HyperOS settings. Poco has also been adding up AI features to its devices. This one gets Circle to Search and Gemini support. To extend your images, you can find a special AI tool in the gallery.
For security, the smartphone comes with an in-display fingerprint sensor which works decently. You can also set up the face unlock. One thing that often remains with the HyperOS is bloatware. There are some pre-installed apps and the built-in apps store. Some of these apps can be removed but others cannot be uninstalled. This makes the experience cluttered and may slow down the device as these apps take unnecessary space. Moreover, when you swipe down your home screen, you can sometimes also see a few ads.
Poco M8 Power Review: Camera
The Poco M8 Power features a 50MP sensor. I would say that the camera performance is average. Colours look good and dynamic. Contrast is decent, but photos can lack sharpness and detail. Indoor and low-light shots are not crisp. The portrait mode is also just okay. It is fine for casual photography, but you should not expect too much from it.
Despite the camera module making it look like there are several sensors, only the main camera is actually useful. There is no secondary camera that does any meaningful work. For selfies, the phone has an 8MP front camera, which is a downgrade from the previous Poco M8 device as it gets a 20MP front shooter. Selfies look decent in good daylight, but they can lack detail and sharpness. The overall tone of the pictures lean towards warmer shades.
Video recording is limited to 1080p at 30fps on both the front and back cameras. Stabilisation is one of the phone’s biggest weaknesses. Footage can look very shaky, so it is best to avoid using the phone for videos where you need smooth and steady footage.
The camera is good enough for basic, everyday use, but photography and video are not the M8 Power’s strongest points.
Poco M8 Power Review: Battery
Battery life is one of the biggest strengths of the Poco M8 Power, and it lives up to its name. The phone packs a monstrous 8,000mAh battery. Poco claims that the battery can handle around 1,600 charging cycles while still retaining 80 per cent of its capacity, even after five years.
In my testing, I managed nearly 11 hours of screen-on time with heavy to medium usage. That is a good result. The phone comes with a 45W charger in the box and also supports PD 3.0, so you can use a compatible charger if needed. A full charge from 0 to 100 per cent took around almost two hours, which feels quite slow for a battery this large. The phone also supports 22.5W reverse wired charging, allowing you to charge another device using the M8 Power. Overall, the battery life is impressive.
Poco M8 Power Review: Verdict
As mentioned in the beginning, Poco knows its audience and likes to keep its basics clear. The Poco M8 Power gets a lot right. It comes with a massive battery, a good AMOLED display and a design along with the new orange colour that appeals to GenZ. Performance is decent and the phone handles everyday tasks without any major issues. The cameras are where Poco has clearly made some compromises. Video stabilisation is weak and low-light photos can be disappointing.
At a starting price of Rs 24,999, the Poco M8 Power remains a very decent value-for-money option, especially if battery life and display quality are your priorities. Moreover, the bloatware has always been a turn off. Overall, it is one of the better phones you can buy at this price point, as long as you are comfortable with its compromises.
