Xiaomi launches Poco F1 Smartphone under its new subbranch Pocophone in India

Finally Indians are getting to buy the new Poco F1 Smartphone of Xiaomi. The phone has been priced at Rs. 20,999 for the default model which comprises of 6 GB + 64 GB configuration. The phone is also available in kevlar-backed armoured edition in an 8GB + 256GB configuration which can be purchased for Rs. 29,999.

There's also a 6GB RAM and 128 GB variant which is priced at Rs 23,999 and an 8 GB RAM, 256 GB storage standard edition priced at Rs 28,999.

The phone will go on sale starting 29 August exclusively on Flipkart and Mi.com at 12 pm. Xiaomi lovers will go crazy as the phone will debut with an introductory price of just Rs 19,999, Rs 22,999 and Rs 27,999 with an additional rebate of Rs 1,000 for HDFC debit and credit cards.

The phone is available in 3 colours to choose from - Rosso Red, Steel Blue and Graphite Black.The Poco F1 features what the sub-brand is calling "LiquidCool Technology", a thermal solution that features a copper heat pipe inside the phone to help dissipate heat quicker and better.

The phone features a 5.99-inch full HD+ display with a 1080 x 2248 pixels resolution. The screen has a 19:9 aspect ratio, and includes a notch. That notch even houses an infrared face-unlock feature.

Under the hood, it is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC paired with an Adreno 630 GPU and comes with 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage. The storage can be expanded via a microSD card.

For optics, it sports a dual camera set up at the back, which is a combination of a 12 MP and a 5 MP sensor. The primary sensor comes with dual-pixel autofocus. The front-facing camera, on the other hand, is a 20 MP camera with a f/2.0 aperture. Both support a whole host of AI scene modes that will assist the camera in picking the right settings for a shot.

Connectivity options include Bluetooth and Wi-Fi of course, and there is a USB Type C port. A fingerprint sensor is mounted on the rear. The device will run a customised version of MIUI 10 with a 'Poco Launcher' based on Android Oreo 8.1, with a promised upgrade to Android P later this year. Poco Launcher includes an app drawer and app grouping options.

Pocophone's product head, Jai Mani also claims that the Poco F1 is the first smartphone in India to feature 4G+ support. The phone basically combines different spectrums for better coverage and speed. This, as per Poco, results in up to 275 percent faster data throughput over conventional 4G.

It is powered by a 4,000 mAh battery paired with support for Qualcomm's Quick Charge 3.0. Better still, Poco even throws in a fast charging adapter into the box.

Published on 22nd August 2018.