POCO X3 launching in India soon: should you wait or buy the POCO X2 instead?

Published On: September 19, 2020

Highlights

POCO X3 is set to launch in India on September 22nd
The phone is expected to be priced around Rs 20,000
POCO X2 is currently available in India starting at Rs 17,499

POCO X3 NFC was unveiled globally earlier this month and is confirmed to launch in India on September 22nd. The company’s India GM C Manmohan revealed that the smartphone will launch in India at around Rs 20,000. Now, whether the starting price is below Rs 20,000 or above is something we will have to wait and see. The POCO X3 is an iterative update to the POCO X2, which was launched in the country earlier this year. The new POCO phone shares a lot of the same DNA as its predecessor but offers some upgrades to the chipset, battery, cameras, and so on. The POCO X2 is still one of the best value for money phones in India right now. So, should you wait for the POCO X3 or buy the POCO X2 instead?

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Also read: POCO X3 India launch date revealed by Flipkart listing

POCO X3 vs POCO X2 price

The POXO X2 price in India starts from Rs 17,499 for the variant with 6GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. The 8GB + 256GB variant is priced at Rs 21,499. The smartphone is available on Flipkart in Atlantis Blue, Matrix Purple, and Phoenix Red colour options.

Meanwhile, POCO X3 global model is priced starting at 229 Euro (approx Rs 19,800) for the variant with 6GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. The 6GB + 128GB model is priced at 269 Euro (approx Rs 23,300). There is no 8GB RAM model available, although POCO may launch the option in India. POCO GM C Manmohan suggested that the POCO X3 India price will be around Rs 20,000, which means it will be a few notches higher than the POCO X2.

POCO X3 specifications: how much has changed since POCO X2?

POCO X3 features a 6.67-inch 120Hz LCD display, which is similar to the one on the POCO X2. The new model gets a single centre-aligned hole-punch cutout as opposed to the elongated cutout on its predecessor. This means that the POCO X3 offers a single selfie camera while the POCO X2 features a dual selfie camera setup.

POCO X3 is the first smartphone to ship with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G chipset. The SoC is a minor upgrade to the Snapdragon 730G that powered the POCO X2. The new Snapdragon 732G offers a faster 2.3GHz CPU clock speed and enhanced Adreno 618 GPU compared to its predecessor. This means the POCO X3 should deliver a faster performance, both in day-to-day usage and gaming, compared to the POCO X2, although we can only know for sure after testing the phone.

POCO X3 has been launched globally with 6GB RAM whereas the POCO X2 comes with up to 8GB RAM in India. We cannot say for sure whether the company will launch an 8GB RAM variant of the POCO X3 in the country. The POCO X3 also runs on the latest MIUI 12 with POCO Launcher 2.0 out of the box while the POCO X2 can be updated to MIUI 12.

The latest POCO phone gets a similar quad camera setup as its predecessor. However, the 64MP camera on the POCO X3 is the Sony IMX682 sensor, while the POCO X2 uses the Sony IMX686 sensor. The ultra-wide lens has also been upgraded to a 13MP sensor from 8MP. The POCO X3 cameras also get some additional features like AI Skyscaping 3.0 mode, Kaleidoscope mode, Pro mode, Gold Vibes mode, and Cyberpunk mode. Meanwhile, we see only a single 20MP selfie camera on the X3 while the predecessor gets a 20MP + 2MP setup.

Lastly, the POCO X3 gets a bigger 5,160mAh compared to the 4,500mAh capacity on the POCO X2. In fact, there are rumours that the POCO X3 India model will come with a 6,000mAh battery, which would be quite interesting if true. The company has also bumped up the fast charging support on the new device to 33W from 27W. This suggests the POCO X3 should last longer and charge faster than the POCO X2.

Should you wait for the POCO X3?

The bottom line is that the POCO X3 does come with a few upgrades that are worth checking out. With the launch just a few days away, it might be worth waiting to see how POCO prices the POCO X3 (given the new GST rate) and whether it is worth buying over the POCO X2. The POCO X2 is still fresh on our minds and has held up well in this segment compared to the competition. With a starting price of Rs 17,499, the POCO X2 is still a compelling phone under Rs 20,000.