Poco, Xiaomi’s sub-brand, has launched its debut smartphone in India called Poco F1 featuring Snapdragon 845 SoC, up to 8GB of RAM, and dual rear camera setup. The company is touting it as “master of speed,” well, with such powerful specifications, it’s not wrong.
Exclusive to Flipkart, Xiaomi Poco F1 is being offered in three storage configurations- 6GB/ 64GB, 6GB/ 128GB, and 8GB/ 256GB priced at Rs. 20,999, Rs. 23,999, and Rs. 28,999 respectively. There is also an Armoured Edition which comes with a back panel built with DuPont Kevlar aramid strong, heat-resistant fiber. The special edition variant with 8GB/ 256GB storage configuration has been priced at Rs. 29,999 and that’s the only option available.
Head over to Flipkart or Mi.com to grab the smartphone on August 29, 2018, at 12:00 pm. Launch offers listed on Flipkart include no cost EMIs from Rs. 3,334 per month and 5 percent instant discount for Axis Bank Buzz credit card holders, on the other hand, Mi.com is offering Rs. 1000 instant discount to HDFC Bank debit/ credit card holders, free 3-month Hungama Music subscription, and Mi exchange. The smartphone comes bundled with a soft case and there is an ultra-slim hard case available at extra Rs. 399. The company is offering Kevlar-finished Armoured case at Rs. 799.
Coming to the specifications and features, the smartphone sports 6.18-inch FHD+ (2246×1080 pixels) IPS LCD display with 18.7:9 aspect ratio, 403ppi pixel density, 500-nits brightness, 84 percent color gamut and on top of the display is the Corning Gorilla Glass. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon octa-core (4×2.8 GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 385 Silver) 845 SoC paired with Adreno 630 GPU and up to 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM. The processor comes integrated with AIE (artificial intelligence engine) which is 300 percent more powerful than Snapdragon 835 and also features a LiquidCool technology that keeps the Poco F1 cool even at peak CPU usage and boasts high-frequency output “no matter how intensely you game.”
The internal storage which is set to 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB can be expanded further up to 256GB via microSD card. Poco F1 runs Android 8.1 Oreo-based customized version of MIUI called MIUI for Poco which has been optimized for speed and the launcher resembles stock Android’s UI. The company has also promised Android 9.0 Pie upgrade. Fingerprint sensor comes mounted on the rear side of the smartphone below the camera module.
In terms of camera, Poco F1 packs dual rear camera setup which includes a 12MP primary sensor with 1.4um pixel size, f/1.9 aperture, and dual pixel autofocus and a 5MP secondary sensor with 1.12um pixel size and f/2.0 aperture. The rear setup comes paired with single-tone LED flash and supports features such as portrait mode with background blurring, dual-pixel autofocus, low-light enhancement, HDR, panorama, burst mode, face recognition, EIS (electronic image stabilization), AI beautify, and AI dirt detection. The notch on top houses 20MP infrared selfie sensor with f/2.0 aperture lens and an infrared light sensor which gives face unlocking an extra boost by letting users unlock the device even in complete darkness. The front camera comes coupled with 4-in-1 Super Pixel based on pixel binning technology and also supports AI portrait mode, face recognition, and AI detection of 10 different scenes. Both side AI cameras support AI Scene detection which can intelligently distinguish across 206 scenes and automatically adjust exposure, saturation, and other photo optimizations.
It’s a dual SIM (Nano) smartphone that comes with a hybrid slot (nanoSIM + nanoSIM/microSD). Poco F1 packs 4000mAh battery and supports Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging technology. It is rated to deliver 30 hours of calling or 146 hours of audio playback on a single charge. Connectivity options onboard Xiaomi Poco F1 include 4G+/4G/3G/2G, VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS/ GLONASS/ BEIDOU, FM Radio, USB Type-C port, and 3.5mm audio jack. Sensors on the smartphone include proximity, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, vibration motor, hall, and ambient light.
Poco, led by former Google executive and Xiaomi’s Lead Product Manager Jai Mani, announced at the event that Poco F1 will also be launched in Hong Kong, Paris, and Jakarta on August 27, 2018.
