A new brand has entered the Indian markets, it is called POCO and it is a Xiaomi brand. The new brand launched their first smartphone in India called the Poco F1. This is Snapdragon 845 octa core powered and price starts from Rs. 20,999.
First of all why a new brand, I guess when users look at the Xiaomi brand they are looking for quality product at cheaper price. So probably the Poco brand was created to cater to Mid Premium segment, for those looking for a better, powerful and latest hardware and are ready to spend. Also since Poco is backed by Xiaomi users will be comfortable with this new brand.
There is a market in the mid premium segment, but not as much as in the budget segment, another reason for creating the Poco brand is to have a separate sales figure not affecting the Xiaomi sales that does really good for under Rs. 20K.
Poco F1 review
Poco F1 unboxing – do check the video review where I have done the unboxing of this product. I got the Poco F1 Armored Edition. Inside the box you will get the handset, SIM ejector pin, user manual, warranty card, data cable (USB to USB Type C) and travel charger 12V/1.65A. SAR Value as mentioned on the box is 0.719 head and 0.746 body. This product is Made in India.
The unit that I got is Armored Edition made of Kevlar material, it is really tough and made so as to avoid users from using a case for protection. Build and finishing is awesome and handset feels really good to hold and operate. The other Poco F1 variant is policarbonate body.
Poco F1 is Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa core powered and also using Liquid Cooling Technology to enhance overall performance in the long run. You can say this is specially made for gaming users in mind.
MIUI 9 runs out of the box based on Oreo, there is Poco Launcher and some interesting stuffs like ability to use mobile data during VoLTE calls on the secondary SIM. The 845 chipset supports dual VoLTE. This F1 comes with Hybrid dual SIM slots.
There is LED notification, OTG is supported and the Poco F1 is loaded with all the important sensors that you will get in a premium smartphone. The Unit that I got is special edition it comes with 8GB RAM and 256GB ROM.
Screen is 6.18 inches supporting FHD+ resolution and it does come with a notch. Screen aspect ratio is 18.7:9. Screen is Corning Gorilla protected.
The moment I opened the box and started using the handset, I just fell in love with it. The overall performance was buttery smooth. I got Antutu score of 265593. PUBG game played really well, buttery smooth and heat up was under control.
The Liquid Cooling system will help keep the performance at an optimal level, so you will hardly get any lags and also helps control the heat buildup. In simple words you can continue playing the PUGB game for a much longer period of time.
Overall the Poco F1 is power packed however there is no NFC.
Coming to the camera on the rear there is 12MP + 5MP dual cameras and on the front there is a 20MP camera. Camera quality is excellent, do check the camera samples below. Bokeh looks perfect and so is the edge detection. Camera some with AI features that help get perfect shots in any lighting conditions. F1 can shoot 4K videos. If you need Video Stabilization then shoot in 1080p resolution or below. You can also shoot Slow motion videos at 240 fps.
Poco F1 camera samples
The finger print sensor and the face unlock work almost instantly. The best part is the face unlock works in dark conditions too.
Coming to the battery the Poco F1 houses a 4000 mAh non-removable battery with fast charge QC 3.0 support. It took me about 1 hour 45 minutes for a full charge and battery life – you can expect one day of heavy usage and one and a half day of mixed usage with ease.
So should you buy the Poco F1?
If you are a gaming user you will love the F1 and if you are not a gaming user you still should buy this handset, if it fits your budget.
Poco F1 is for now the cheapest and the best Snapdragon 845 powered handset available in India.
Poco F1 price in India starts from Rs. 20,999.
Poco F1 8GB / 256GB price is Rs. 29,999 Armored edition
Poco F1 6GB / 64 GB Rs. 20,999
6GB / 128GB Rs. 23,999
8GB / 256GB Rs. 28,999.
Poco F1
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Overall Rating
Hi gogi
Which device want to buy
Oppo F9 PRO OR poco F1
will it gets heat/warm during calls/volte calls? i am user whic has to do a lot of calls. kindly tell thanks! also does it has camera2api enabled? does google cam works?
Hi, Gogi ji, How is the audio quality via good earphones, as somebody mentioned that it have dedicated audio chip set, will it make any difference?
Quality is really good I am using the F1, also much of it depends on the quality of earphone.
Hi gogi
Which device want to buy
Oppo F9 PRO OR poco F1
Hi, Please inform about the call quality, loudness and network connectivity and also GPS lock. Earlier you used to mention about these points in all your reviews. I buy mobiles based on your reviews and recommend others also. Thanks.
For the latest chipset and specially with snapdraon you do not have to worry about call quality, loudness, connectivity and GPS lock. I do check those, if any issue it will be mentioned.
Thank you.
will it gets heat/warm during calls/volte calls? i am user whic has to do a lot of calls. kindly tell thanks! also does it has camera2api enabled? does google cam works?
Hi, Please inform about the call quality, loudness and network connectivity and also GPS lock. Earlier you used to mention about these points in all your reviews. I buy mobiles based on your reviews and recommend others also. Thanks.
For the latest chipset and specially with snapdraon you do not have to worry about call quality, loudness, connectivity and GPS lock. I do check those, if any issue it will be mentioned.
Thank you.
Finally policarbonate back, had enough of glass ones, so easy to break, the cheapest snapdragon 845, dedicated audio chip, which completely destroys everything else on the market with this price. A must buy..bus flash sale?
Hi sir,
Is it possible to play HDR videos in youtube??
Gogi Ji,
Thanks for review. Strangely, I purchased all my electronic items (mobile, tab, smart tv, fan …) based on your reviews and they turn out to be perfect for me.
Should I wait for mi 8 or go with poco f1? What would you suggest: 6gb ram or 8gb ram in poco f1? I somewhere heard there will be performance issues if you have more than sufficient ram. I can stretch my budget if 8gb ram variant is good in the long run for 2-3 years as updates make the device slow if ram is less. I have been using my mi 4i till now. It got damaged and it has become slow also.
I use mobile mostly for Internet, photos and sometimes gaming…
6GB is enough but go with 8GB / 256GB for that 256GB storage..
Done. Going with Poco F1 Armored Edition. It seems 1000 instant discount with HDFC cards. Thanks Gogi Ji.
Yes exciting offer the only issue is availability. But there will be less takers for high end armoured edition so chances of getting one is high.
Wow, same thought here. Thats why going for armoured edition.
Finally policarbonate back, had enough of glass ones, so easy to break, the cheapest snapdragon 845, dedicated audio chip, which completely destroys everything else on the market with this price. A must buy..bus flash sale😢
Hi sir,
Is it possible to play HDR videos in youtube??
I wish Kevlar back panel should have been made standard across all the variants.
that would cost more !!!!
#PocoF1
I Think At 21K This Phone Amazed Everyone.
Liked It Very Much.
Dear Gogi,
Please tell me where it’s camera stands compared to RN5PRO… Superior or inferior or equal…. thanks…
Would say as good as the RN5Pro, and slightly better with AI on on Poco F1.
not fair to compare RN5pro to POCO i guess, i hae RN5Pro, no thappy with camara though !!! i was using mi4 earlier may be thats the reason !!
i agree, RN5PRO is just ok camera, I expect with a better processor POCO will take little less blurred photos in night
Hello gogi ji, can this phone will get future android updates.?
Yes it will.
Thanks
Nobody can get their hands on it for at least 3 months due to the flash sales??? they hav to buy from black market by spending 10 to 25% more
True.. lol ?
I wish Kevlar back panel should have been made standard across all the variants.
that would cost more !!!!
Firstly
Xiaomi kill redmi note 5 with launch of redmi y2, than kill redmi note 5 pro with launch of MiA2, now kill MiA2 with launch of poco F1.
This is strange policy by Xiaomi.
Need Clarification on following things:
1. Does it have IR blaster to control home appliances
2. Is selfie light ( Front cam ) Present ?
3 Can i use dafault MIUi launcher instead of Poco launcher ?
4. Is dual Volte support available ?
Can Pls help with the answers ?
Nothing is killed.
There is noticeably margin in pricing.
RN5 Pro is 14999
Mi A2 is 16999
Poco F1 is 20999
So there is 2000 ₹ gap between RN5 Mi A2 & 400o₹ gap between mi A2 Poco F1 .I dont understand why such people saying xiaomi killing its own phones. Do u think xiaomi is fool? Its we who sud b happy that we are getting such high end specs at low price…
Wow, the camera is so good that at I feel I am standing in the scene!
Sir…SAR value kya hai..
@ sourac Can you please explain what do you know about sar value? And why are you so concerned about it.
#PocoF1
I Think At 21K This Phone Amazed Everyone.
Liked It Very Much.
Dear Gogi,
Please tell me where it’s camera stands compared to RN5PRO… Superior or inferior or equal…. thanks…
Would say as good as the RN5Pro, and slightly better with AI on on Poco F1.
not fair to compare RN5pro to POCO i guess, i hae RN5Pro, no thappy with camara though !!! i was using mi4 earlier may be thats the reason !!
i agree, RN5PRO is just ok camera, I expect with a better processor POCO will take little less blurred photos in night
Hello gogi ji, can this phone will get future android updates.?
Yes it will.
Thanks
Nobody can get their hands on it for at least 3 months due to the flash sales😅💥💥 they hav to buy from black market by spending 10 to 25% more
True.. lol 😃
Firstly
Xiaomi kill redmi note 5 with launch of redmi y2, than kill redmi note 5 pro with launch of MiA2, now kill MiA2 with launch of poco F1.
This is strange policy by Xiaomi.
Need Clarification on following things:
1. Does it have IR blaster to control home appliances
2. Is selfie light ( Front cam ) Present ?
3 Can i use dafault MIUi launcher instead of Poco launcher ?
4. Is dual Volte support available ?
Can Pls help with the answers ?
Nothing is killed.
There is noticeably margin in pricing.
RN5 Pro is 14999
Mi A2 is 16999
Poco F1 is 20999
So there is 2000 ₹ gap between RN5 Mi A2 & 400o₹ gap between mi A2 Poco F1 .I dont understand why such people saying xiaomi killing its own phones. Do u think xiaomi is fool? Its we who sud b happy that we are getting such high end specs at low price…
Wow, the camera is so good that at I feel I am standing in the scene!
Sir…SAR value kya hai..
@ sourac Can you please explain what do you know about sar value? And why are you so concerned about it.
Now, that’s what you call a masterstroke !!! SNAPDRAGON 845 under 20000 INR with Liquid Cooling technology, it has simply murdered OPPO, VIVO, SAMSUNG in the 2000 INR price bracket.. ????
It’s a dejavu feeling, history is repeating itself after around 3 years. Couple of year back , we had a flood of affordable flagships priced in the vicinity of 20k. Mi3, OnePlus one and later on OnePlus 3 letv max, le 2 and mi5 and Lenovo z2 plus.
Most of them offered flagship SD 820 SOC near 20k bracket. The mid-range bracket maxed at 12k with redmi note 3 and le 2 sharing honors. SD 650 and 652 were better performing SOC before Sd 625 came and took over though less performance but better battery life.
Father that all of them started competing with established players. OnePlus and xiaomi increased prices and almost reached level of earlier Samsung flagships.
The popularity of only two online platforms ensured less competition and prices remained same even 6 to 8 months after launch.
However as companies like vivo Asus and realme joined the show , xiaomi gave us Poco.
The focus of Poco is pure performance and that’s why it cut corners on other things to make it a real affordable flagship speced phone
I need these all pics file to compare with mi a2 please provide us
Camera rating please. That’s really matters…
Any chance of getting stock android sd 845 phone this year? Sd 845 is too tempting at 21k
Yes .. Google Pixel series is releasing soon 🙂
If Apple or blackberry made it, they’ll easily sell it above 60 or 70k. You can’t deny it
respected sir,
kindly guide me, my budget is around 20 K. should I go for redmi note 5 pro 6gb variant or poco f1 6gb variant…I am not game lover. I need it for normal browsing and Instagram blogging…guide me
Then you go for poco f1 if your budget is 20k gogi sir all ready said that in video review,,
I’m I correct gogi Ji..?
You don’t need to have 6gb Ram if you
are not a gamer.
Nonetheless,
Go for Poco… excellent cameras
and good Battery.
Mi a2
Poco F1
Blindly u can go for Poco F1 instead of RN 5 Pro..
Simply,
Notch with Stock Android – Mi A2
Notch without stock Android – Poco F1
Without notch without stock Android – RN5 Pro
Sorry, my bad!
Mi A2 is without notch!!
Now, that’s what you call a masterstroke !!! SNAPDRAGON 845 under 20000 INR with Liquid Cooling technology, it has simply murdered OPPO, VIVO, SAMSUNG in the 2000 INR price bracket.. 👌👌👍👍
It’s a dejavu feeling, history is repeating itself after around 3 years. Couple of year back , we had a flood of affordable flagships priced in the vicinity of 20k. Mi3, OnePlus one and later on OnePlus 3 letv max, le 2 and mi5 and Lenovo z2 plus.
Most of them offered flagship SD 820 SOC near 20k bracket. The mid-range bracket maxed at 12k with redmi note 3 and le 2 sharing honors. SD 650 and 652 were better performing SOC before Sd 625 came and took over though less performance but better battery life.
Father that all of them started competing with established players. OnePlus and xiaomi increased prices and almost reached level of earlier Samsung flagships.
The popularity of only two online platforms ensured less competition and prices remained same even 6 to 8 months after launch.
However as companies like vivo Asus and realme joined the show , xiaomi gave us Poco.
The focus of Poco is pure performance and that’s why it cut corners on other things to make it a real affordable flagship speced phone
Excellent review sir . In my opinion chin is too big compared to its rivals…
I need these all pics file to compare with mi a2 please provide us
Sir Does the vbase version has ufs 2.1 storage?
Please publish read and write speed
Yes ufs 2.1.
Gogi, the variant with 6 GB Ram and 64 GB storage has back panel made of metal or fibre
It’s is not metal.
Hi can you tell me the sar value?
Camera rating please. That’s really matters…
Gogiji please give a camera comparison with Mi A2
Any chance of getting stock android sd 845 phone this year? Sd 845 is too tempting at 21k
Yes .. Google Pixel series is releasing soon 🙂
If Apple or blackberry made it, they’ll easily sell it above 60 or 70k. You can’t deny it
whoes camera better mi a2 or poco f1
A2
respected sir,
kindly guide me, my budget is around 20 K. should I go for redmi note 5 pro 6gb variant or poco f1 6gb variant…I am not game lover. I need it for normal browsing and Instagram blogging…guide me
Then you go for poco f1 if your budget is 20k gogi sir all ready said that in video review,,
I’m I correct gogi Ji..?
You don’t need to have 6gb Ram if you
are not a gamer.
Nonetheless,
Go for Poco… excellent cameras
and good Battery.
Mi a2
Poco F1
Blindly u can go for Poco F1 instead of RN 5 Pro..
Simply,
Notch with Stock Android – Mi A2
Notch without stock Android – Poco F1
Without notch without stock Android – RN5 Pro
Sorry, my bad!
Mi A2 is without notch!!