Poco M8x Review: Reliable Daily Driver with Battery Superpowers and a Budget Price Tag

The Poco M8x is the latest phone from Xiaomi's sub-brand, Poco, and is targeted at the budget segment. The phone is the first in the Indian market to come with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 5 processor and also boasts a massive 7900 mAh battery.

At Rs 20,999, the Poco M8x packs a punch in everyday use. It cuts some corners in the display department, but remains a very good option for those wanting reliable performance on a budget.

Design and Display

The Poco M8x may be a budget smartphone but does not look like it. We received the Leather Green variant, and it is, without a doubt, the best-looking version of the device. The back has a rectangular camera unit with rounded sides, and the front of the phone is more regular-looking with a tall display, surrounded by bezels.

The phone is big, and this is immediately noticeable – it is 170 mm tall and 78.4 mm wide. It is relatively slim at 8.8 mm, but at 232 grams, it makes its presence felt both in hand and in pocket.

Performance

The Poco M8x delivers the performance its spec sheet promises. The processor and RAM combination is budget-level, and the phone manages to get through everyday smartphone tasks with ease.

Jumping from one app to another, social media scrolls, messaging, emails, photography, and calls are all handled without strain. Casual games like Tetris and Subway Surfers run with ease too.

Cameras

The Poco M8x comes with a 50-megapixel main sensor on the back paired with an auxiliary lens. The daylight performance of the main camera is pretty good, capturing basic shots well with a decent amount of detail.

The front camera also performs surprisingly well for a modest-sounding 8-megapixel shooter, in terms of both color and detail.

Battery

The phone comes with a massive 7900 mAh battery, and it is safe to say it just keeps going on and on. The combination of a low-resolution display, an efficient everyday processor, and a big battery is a terrific one.

The Poco M8x comfortably lasted for two days of hectic usage, with hours of Instagram scrolls, YouTube, and some Modern Family episodes here and there, emails, messaging, WhatsApp, calls, sessions of Tetris, and some photography.

UI and Software

The Poco M8x comes with Android 16 with Hyper OS 3, and on budget devices, Hyper OS is a bit of a mixed bag. The first thing that hits you when you fire up the phone is the large number of third-party apps.

However, HyperOS is otherwise quite functional and customizable, with a number of personalization options – from icons to fonts, to themes and wallpapers.

Price

The Poco M8x comes with a starting price of Rs. 20,999 for its 4 GB/ 128 GB version, while the 6 GB/ 128 GB version is priced at Rs. 22,999.

Keeping in mind the rising prices of smartphones, the Poco M8x is quite fairly priced for the specs it offers.