The POCO X6 Neo 5G is the latest in the brand’s X series. There is a lot to say about this phone but let’s talk to the elephant in the room before we get into the nitty-gritty. The new POCO phone shares its specifications with the Redmi Note 13 5G (review), except for a new ultra-vid camera sensor on the latter. Most of the differences between the two phones are in the imaging department or software. The POCO X6 Neo currently has a starting price of Rs 15,999. Even leaving out the Redmi handsets, there are some affordable handsets in this price range that offer some impressive specs. Does the POCO phone have some trickery up its sleeve to make it a good buy? Read my detailed review below to find out.
Rating: 7/ 10
Verdict
POCO X6 Neo is a well-rounded smartphone that offers reasonable specifications and features on every front. The handset offers excellent value for money and comes with the slimmest design ever on a POCO phone. Since this price segment is very competitive, some other phones offer highly capable processors in this price range. However, considering aspects like camera performance, display quality, and design, the X6 Neo makes a strong case for itself.
Design and Display
- The POCO X6 Neo adopts a minimalist design language and is available in Astral Black and Martian Orange.
- Notably, this is the thinnest POCO phone ever made. The handle is only 7.69 mm thick. With a weight of 175 grams, the phone feels very light in hand.
- The phone has a fingerprint sensor built into the power button, which is easily accessible and easy to use.
- The handset features a 6.67-inch 120Hz AMOLED display with FHD+ screen resolution and 1000 nits of peak brightness. Thanks to its punch-hole design, the phone offers an immersive experience (93.3 percent screen-to-body ratio).
- The phone offers punchy colors (ideal for multimedia use) and the outside visibility is also reasonable.
- You get useful features like a 3.5mm audio jack and an IR blaster for extra functionality.
Cameras
- Equipped with a 108MP primary camera, the POCO X6 Neo delivers well-balanced images with excellent retention of detail.
- The 2MP macro camera further expands the creative possibilities, although there are some problems with low-light performance.
- The 16MP front-facing camera stands out in daylight conditions but falters in low-light environments, providing improved results.
- I encountered some issues with video stabilization while shooting video because it shakes. Camera modes on offer include 108MP, Documents, Night, Pro, Short Video, Panorama, Slow Motion, Time-Lapse, and AI watermark.
- These modes are fairly standard and unlike some other phones that offer templates for short videos to be shared on social, you don’t have additional options here.
- Despite offering nearly the same hardware as the Redmi Note 13, the camera performance of the POCO X6 Neo was quite different from its Redmi counterpart.
- The X6 Neo produced some bright aggressive images compared to the Redmi Note 13 5G, even overexposed in a few cases.
- While the overall picture was decent, if you want your photos to be accurate in color and skin tone, you may be left wanting more.
Performance and software
- Powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6080 SoC and paired with up to 12GB of RAM and a 256GB storage plan, the POCO X6 Neo delivers commendable performance in everyday usage.
- I didn’t encounter any stuttering or lag issues while playing even required titles on the handset and app load times were pretty good.
- The phone allows you to expand the memory by shifting the storage to RAM up to 12GB.
- In the AnTuTu benchmark, the handset managed a score of 445887, which isn’t the best in this price range but still respectable.
- When running the Geekbench benchmark, the handset scored a single-core score of 759 and a multi-core score of 1941. Again, there are phones in this price range that took significantly higher but positive scores in all of these.
- The handset runs MIUI 14 and comes with some pre-installed apps out of the box.
- Some of the more useful features offered by the phone are Dual Apps and Floating Windows. The former allows you to use two instances of the same app that allows you to use two accounts on the same phone.
- The latter provides easy access to the most used apps. The Second Space feature lets you have a second account on the phone.
- This can be useful if you want to entrust your phone to someone else but don’t want to compromise your privacy.
Battery and Charging
- The POCO X6 Neo is powered by a 5,000mAh battery with 33W of efficient charging included, ensuring all-day usage. By the end of the day after regular use, you will need to recharge the handle and keep it in until an evening of heavy use.
- In the PCMark battery test, the handset managed to last 10 hours and 38 minutes. Compared to other phones in this price range, this shows the lower side.
Final Verdict
To sum up, the POCO X6 Neo faces some stiff competition in terms of pricing against the likes of Moto G54 5G (review), Lava Blaze Curve 5G (review), and of course, the Redmi Note 13 5G while the former two phones deliver better performance (at least by benchmark numbers). ), while the Redmi wristband improves camera performance. All said and done, the X6 Neo emerges as a great option for buyers looking for a blend of performance, versatility, and value. While it may not change the smartphone landscape, aspects such as striking design, reliable display, and immersive display make it a worthy contender in its price segment.
To learn more about POCO X6 Neo 5G