2026 is starting to be the year of mammoth batteries for smartphones. We began to see this trend in 2025, as Android OEMs started launching phones with batteries of 7,000mAh or more. Now, we’re quickly moving up to bigger capacities with the upcoming Redmi Turbo 5 Max confirmed to launch with a 9,000mAh battery. This smartphone is confirmed to debut in China, and it’s speculated that the global variant could launch as the Poco X8 Pro Max.
The Redmi Turbo 5 Max is confirmed to house a 9,000mAh battery, one of the biggest on a commercial phone. With this capacity, one can expect a good two-day usage without having to charge the phone. However, the real-world performance will be determined by not just the battery capacity, but also how well the phone is optimised. One thing is that the Redmi Turbo 5 Max will not let you have any battery anxiety. The smartphone is also expected to come with 100W fast charging support, which is also one of the fastest you can find right now.
Powering the Redmi Turbo 5 Max will be the new MediaTek Dimensity 9500s SoC, which seems to be positioned as a sub-flagship chipset. The 3nm chipset is expected to deliver strong performance on flagship alternatives. The Redmi Turbo 5 Max has been spotted on AnTuTu with a 3.29 million score, and on Geekbench, data revealed 16GB of RAM and Android 16. Redmi’s Turbo series has focused on raw performance and endurance, and the upcoming Turbo 5 Max echoes a similar strategy.
The official teasers of the Redmi Turbo 5 Max show an iPhone 16-like vertical camera design. It’s a premium and sleek-looking design on the phone with rounded edges and a large display with a punch-hole selfie camera.
For now, the Redmi Turbo 5 Max is confirmed to launch in China. But the smartphone could arrive globally under a different moniker. A recent BIS listing with the model “2602BPC18I” under the POCO brand was spotted online. The same model number is believed to be associated with the Redmi Turbo 5 Max. The POCO smartphone in question could be the POCO X8 Pro Max when it launches globally. This is speculation for now, but there is a history of Redmi phones launching under the POCO brand.
Even though the POCO X8 Pro Max launches globally, it may not arrive in India. But since Xiaomi doesn’t cater to the sub-flagship domain yet, we might just see the POCO phone arrive here. The POCO X8 Pro Max will be a top pick for anyone whose priority is top-notch performance and reliable battery life. If you’re in the market for a new phone and battery life is paramount, this could be worth waiting for.
The smartphone is also expected to compete with the OnePlus 15R, a top contender in the sub-flagship category. We should get a better idea as more details are revealed about the Redmi Turbo 5 Max.
