POCO C65

The POCO C65 retains its 50MP primary and 2MP macro camera setup from its predecessor, but now features an "AI lens" for improved colour detection. There's also an 8MP front camera instead of a 5MP camera for selfies.Generally, phones under Rs 10,000 perform similarly with some tweaks here and there. POCO C65's 50MP camera isn't extraordinary in that sense, but I was surprised by its results, especially under bright lighting conditions.Most images in daylight (outdoors) include a fair amount of details with moderate grains. In some cases, colours were inconsistent, but not to a point that needed heavy editing. The dynamic range in photos is also fine if you manage to get good lighting. You can fix such images with a variety of filters within the gallery app.POCO C65's primary camera captures videos in a similar fashion. Videos in good lightning conditions were decent, though they lacked accurate colours and stability. The phone supports up to full HD videos at 30fps. Photos and videos in low light are average at best. Most of the images lack colours and include heavy noise. Some images also have the oil-painting effect to smoothen the details. I noticed the same oil painting effect with the upgraded 8MP selfie camera - be it daylight or low light. The macro camera, in my review, failed to detect the subject.

The new POCO C65 has gotten rid of the 64GB storage option, and the top model now includes 256GB storage and 8GB RAM (plus 4GB of virtual RAM, which utilises idle ROM). As I mentioned, the company's decision to offer 128GB storage for the base variant is a move in the right direction.It is worth noting that the 256GB version of the POCO C65 is priced at Rs 10,999 - the same as the initial price of the POCO C55's 6GB RAM + 128GB storage option. However, I would advise you to hold off on making any decisions. That's because the base POCO M6 5G with 4GB RAM + 128GB costs Rs 10,499. If you spend an extra Rs 1,000, the 6GB variant of the POCO M6 5G is available at Rs 11,499.I received the variant of the POCO C65 with 8GB RAM (LPDDR4X) and 128GB storage (UFS 2.2), and it did decently in benchmarks (images below). However, the POCO M6 5G with the Dimensity 6100+ SoC performed better in Geekbench 6 and AnTuTu tests. In fact, the POCO C55 also scored marginally better in the same tests.In real-life cases, you may not notice differences between the POCO C55 and POCO C65. Both phones operate more or less smoothly, with some visible stutters while opening or switching apps, which is common among smartphones in this range. The POCO C65 felt easier to operate than some sub-Rs 10K Motorola phones that I've reviewed in the past.You can also do some mild gaming but don't expect to run heavy titles in the highest settings. Surprisingly, BGMI in moderate settings ran quite smoothly. Some games, such as the new Netflix-provided GTA II, remain unavailable to download.The POCO C65 runs on Android 13-based MIUI 14, which includes some of my favourite smartphone features, including the reading mode with an e-paper-like finish. The timeline for its Android 14 update remains unclear, though it's safe to assume another three months (at least). Like most smartphones in the range, the POCO C65 includes loads of pre-installed apps. Some of them are useful, but most of them are eating storage.

The POCO C65 offers brilliant battery performance. This result is expected due to the phone's modest specifications, including a 90Hz refresh rate, HD+ display resolution, and 4G support. The phone easily lasts for an entire day per charge despite mild gaming, 90Hz refresh rate enabled, and calling. Even on PCMark's battery test (with 50 per cent brightness and flight mode enabled), the phone lasted for roughly 12 hours.The POCO C65 supports 18W charging, yet the box includes a 10W charger. The phone achieved only a 21 percent charge in 30 minutes with the bundled charger, which falls below most charging standards. A full charge can take over 1.5 hours. Thankfully, the phone now comes with a Type-C charging port instead of the micro-USB port.