POCO is putting battery life and long-term support as its major selling points for its next M-series phone. Ahead of its India launch on August 21st, the POCO M8x has now been detailed on its Flipkart microsite, revealing its design, Snapdragon chipset, 7,900mAh battery, charging speeds and software update commitment.
The POCO M8x 5G is confirmed to launch in India on August 21st at 12 noon and will be sold through Flipkart.
Specifications and features
Ahead of the launch, POCO is revealing details via the Flipkart microsite. After detailing the chipset, the company has now shared more information on the design, colour options and other specifications of the phone. The POCO M8x is shown in Blue, Black and Leather Green finishes, with the latter featuring a textured rear panel and metallic-finish frame.
The biggest highlight is the 7,900mAh battery, which POCO claims can deliver up to three days of use. The company quotes up to 35 hours of social media scrolling, 27 days of messaging, 13 hours of navigation and around 13 hours of uninterrupted gaming. It supports 45W wired charging, with a claimed day’s charge in 30 minutes, and 22.5W reverse charging.
The phone is India’s first to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 4 Gen 5, built on a 4nm process. POCO claims a 6,50,000-plus AnTuTu score and 43 percent faster app launches compared with the previous generation. It gets up to 12GB of RAM, including 6GB of virtual RAM, with LPDDR4X memory and UFS 2.2 storage. For sustained performance, the M8x uses a triple cooling system comprising a 12,439 sq mm graphite layer, 1,924 sq mm copper foil and 3.5W thermal gel. POCO says the phone is optimised for 48 months of lag-free use.
The phone has a quad-curved back design, IP64 dust and water resistance, Wet Touch 2.0 technology and Corning Gorilla Glass 7i for display protection. It also promises four generations of Android updates and six years of software updates, which is longer than what many budget and mid-range phones offer.
Expected pricing
POCO has not revealed the price yet, although the M8x should be positioned close to the POCO M8 Power, which launched at Rs 24,999. The M8 Power has the Snapdragon 4 Gen 4 chipset, and the Gen 5 is a minor upgrade over that processor. The M8 Power also has a marginally larger battery with a capacity of 8,000mAh. The M8x, like all mid-rangers these days, is aimed at users who prioritise battery endurance, performance and longevity rather than the highest camera or display specifications in the segment. That’s because with the advent of Si-C technology, bigger batteries are more economical to pack in phones rather than fancy camera sensors or sharp screens.
A tipster had suggested the POCO M8x could be priced below Rs 20,000 but that’s highly unlikely as the chipset is new and an evolution over the one used in the M8 Power. The latter already starts at Rs 24,999, so undercutting wouldn’t make sense. If POCO manages to keep the price competitive with launch offers, the phone will appeal to endurance chasers because of its battery life and extended software policy.
