POCO F6 hands-on: why you don't need a flagship smartphone

The POCO F6 is a midrange smartphone that makes me ask why I actually always spend so much money on flagship smartphones. For an RRP of €449, or €389 from POCO itself at the time of the video, you get everything you need as a standard user, and a few things you wouldn’t expect at that price.

Charging and performance

• Charging: A 90-watt charger is in the box. With it, the 5,000 mAh battery goes from 0 to 100% in 35 minutes. The flagships lying around at my place can’t do that.
• Processor: On paper, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is a bit weaker than the regular Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. In everyday use you notice 99% nothing of that. You still get the full performance.
• The one difference: Videos in low light aren’t enhanced with AI like on the regular Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and don’t look good. Photos in the dark, on the other hand, I like much better.

Camera

I won’t claim it’s top class, but it’s more than appropriate for the price.

• Main camera: 50 megapixels with a Sony lens and a large f/1.59 aperture that captures a lot of light.
• Ultra-wide: 8 megapixels. The shots look good.
• Zoom: There’s a ten-times zoom. With it you can see what the neighbor is eating on the balcony. I wouldn’t use it for serious photography.
• Video: up to 4K at 60 FPS. I was pleasantly surprised by the footage, with nice focus and a natural bokeh effect. Motion tracking keeps the focus when you move.
• Selfie: 20 megapixels in the punch hole. The portrait mode especially surprised me: the subject is cut out cleanly, and the bokeh effect is nice. Videos are only FHD, but at up to 60 FPS.

Display

The POCO F6 has a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with 1.5K resolution. It gets up to 2,400 nits bright and is easy to read in direct sunlight. What surprised me most were the super thin display bezels. That’s not a given in this price segment; even more expensive devices from well-known manufacturers sometimes have thicker and more asymmetrical bezels.

The display runs at 120 Hz, which not even the iPhone 15 has, and that costs twice as much. However, the 120 Hz isn’t switched on from the factory. When scrolling, I first thought it was 60 Hz, until I checked the settings.

Design, software and extras

I like angular designs with a flat frame and rounded corners. The F6 looks modern and futuristic and, at 179 g, sits nicely in the hand. It’s made of aluminum and plastic, but the build quality is high.

The software is HyperOS based on Android 14. I use the Xiaomi 14 Ultra as my daily driver and have gotten used to the interface. What bothered me is that so many apps are preinstalled. They contribute to the low price and can be deleted.

Then there are air gestures: on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube you can swipe through content, answer calls, pause music or change the volume without touching the device. Not many apps are supported so far, and you can be at most 50 cm away from the device. It makes the most sense with wet or dirty hands. It’s not a game changer.

The very accurate face unlock and the optical fingerprint scanner work well; the scanner failed on me exactly once.

What you should know

• Only IP64: protected against dust and splashes, not waterproof.
• The vibration motor doesn’t rattle, but it isn’t as solid and dull as on more expensive devices.

Verdict

The value for money of the POCO F6 is 100% right. The device with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage is available from €389, with a top processor, a camera I didn’t expect in this price segment, the charger and a free case. If I were looking for a smartphone for €350 to €400, it would be right at the front for me. I expect the price to fall a bit more over time.