Xiaomi's once sub-brand,video lucah awek pancut now separate brand Poco made a name for itself by producing no-nonsense phones with all the right features for a very reasonable price.
Now, Poco's back with a new phone, a sort-of-mid-range Poco X3 NFC (why the NFC bit, which is near-ubiquitous on phones these days, was needed in the name eludes me), and it sounds pretty good on paper.
Yes, the Poco X3 NFC makes quite a few compromises: it has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G processor, an LCD display, there's no 5G, and it starts at only 64GB storage.
You May Also Like
But the rest of the specs scream good value. The 6.67-inch FHD+ display has a 240Hz touch sampling rate and a 120Hz refresh rate, a feat typically seen in very expensive flagships. The battery is a massive 5,160mAh cell with 33W fast charging (and yes, you get a 33W charger in the box). On the back, there's a quad camera with a 64-megapixel, Sony IMX682 main sensor, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, a 2-megapixel macro sensor, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. On the front, you'll find a 20-megapixel selfie camera, located in a punch-hole in the top middle of the display.
Other tidbits of note include a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, which is typically a more reliable option than an under-display sensor, dual stereo speakers, liquid cooling tech for those intense gaming sessions, and a 3.5 millimetre headphone jack. The phone is splash-proof with an IP53 rating, which isn't the best but it's better than nothing.
SEE ALSO: Here's how to upgrade to a 5G smartphone without breaking the bankPoco even managed to surprise design-wise. While the phone is a typical slab of glass on the front, with a slight curvature on the sides, the square-on-a-circle rear camera module is actually very cool-looking, and will stand out from the smartphone pack.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Poco advertises the package as "exactly what you need" and I reckon it will make sense for a lot of buyers, given that 5G is still an afterthought in many markets, and storage can cheaply be upgraded.
The best feature of the phone is, of course, the price: it's €199 ($235) for the 6GB/64GB variant, and €249 ($294) for the 6GB/128GB variant. The Poco X3 NFC will be available with an early bird discount from Sept. 8 to Sept. 11 at retail sites like Amazon, AliExpress, Banggood and others.