The POCO X8 Power (review) is designed around one very simple idea: give users as much battery life as possible. Its 10,000mAh battery is certainly the headline feature, but the phone also brings a 1.5K AMOLED display, a Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 processor, durable build quality, and long software support. There are, however, a few compromises to consider before buying it. Here are four reasons to buy the POCO X8 Power and three reasons why you might want to skip it.
Table of Contents
Reasons to buy
The battery delivers what it promises
The biggest reason to buy the POCO X8 Power is obviously its 10,000mAh battery, but the good thing is that the huge capacity isn’t just a number on the spec sheet. In my use, the phone comfortably lasted around two days with moderate usage and roughly 4-5 hours of screen-on time. It dropped just 3 per cent during an hour of YouTube streaming and around 4.5 per cent after 30 minutes of gaming.
The 100W charging also means you don’t have to wait around forever when the battery eventually runs low. The handset took around 1 hour and 20 minutes to go from 20 to 100 per cent in my testing. You also get 27W reverse-wired charging, which can be useful for topping up accessories and other devices.
Display is excellent for entertainment
The POCO X8 Power comes with a 6.83-inch 1.5K AMOLED display that bears a 120Hz refresh rate, 12-bit colour depth and up to 3,500 nits peak brightness. It also supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, making it a particularly good phone for watching content.
I found the panel vibrant, sharp, and well suited to both gaming and content consumption. The stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos also add to the experience, although I would recommend keeping the 400 per cent volume boost turned off since it can distort the audio.
| Smartphone | Display | Peak Brightness |
| POCO X8 Power 5G | 6.83 inches - AMOLED | 3500 nits |
| realme P4 Power | 6.8 inches - AMOLED | 6500 nits |
| OnePlus Nord CE 6 5G | 6.78 inches - Sunburst AMOLED | 3600 nits |
| iQOO Z11 5G | 6.83 inches - AMOLED (Curved Display) | 3000 nits |
Satisfactory everyday performance
The Snapdragon 6 Gen 5, paired with up to 8GB LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB UFS 4.1 storage, gives the X8 Power more than enough performance for everyday use. I didn’t encounter any major stutters, and switching between apps and handling heavier tasks was generally smooth.
Gaming performance is decent enough too. For instance, a demanding game like BGMI can run at up to 90fps currently. Other heavy games such as Genshin Impact and Wuthering Waves can maintain around 60fps on lower graphical presets. It isn’t a gaming-focused phone, but there is enough power here for most users who play games occasionally.
A very durable build
Despite its 10,000mAh battery, the POCO X8 Power doesn’t feel like you’re carrying an actual power bank at all. It is undoubtedly heavy at 229 grams, but the weight is fairly balanced, and the 8.6mm thickness is good enough for a phone with such a large battery.
| Smartphone | Thickness | Weight | IP Rating |
| POCO X8 Power 5G | 8.65 mm | 229 grams | IP68 +IP66 +IP69K +IP69 |
| realme P4 Power | 9.08 mm | 219 grams | IP68 |
| OnePlus Nord CE 6 5G | 8.5 mm | 215 grams | IP68 |
| iQOO Z11 5G | 7.99 mm | 199 grams | IP68 +IP69 |
The phone also has IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings, along with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the display. The multiple IP ratings ensure the phone is highly resistant to both dust and water. The Victus 2 is one of the best possible glasses for display protection, which will help secure it against accidental drops.
Reasons not to buy
Software is very cluttered
This is probably my biggest annoyance with the POCO X8 Power. The phone ships with 83 pre-installed apps, including 35 third-party apps. That’s a lot of clutter for a mid-range phone, and it is immediately apparent during the initial setup.
Most of these apps can be removed manually, but you’ll have to spend some time cleaning up the interface and disabling app suggestions in search menus. The actual HyperOS 3 software is capable, and POCO promises four years of OS updates and six years of security updates, but the amount of pre-installed software drastically undermines the first impression.
It is still a heavy phone
The 10,000mAh battery comes with an obvious trade-off. At 229 grams and around 8.6mm thick, the X8 Power is not exactly a lightweight phone. The weight is well balanced, and I got used to it after some time, but users who prefer slimmer, lightweight phones may have trouble adjusting.
The phone comes in a matte black finish or the familiar POCO yellow vegan-leather option, but the design itself is fairly basic. There isn’t much here that makes the phone visually distinct. The Vivo T5 and Motorola Edge 70 remain a better option if you are looking for a sleek and relatively lightweight smartphone in the segment.
The secondary cameras could be better
The 50MP primary camera with OIS is surprisingly capable, particularly in low light. The same, however, can’t be said for the rest of the camera setup.
The 8MP ultrawide comes with a big drop in detail compared to the primary camera, while the 32MP selfie camera applies fairly aggressive beautification even when you turn it down to zero.
Conclusion
The POCO X8 Power is a phone that does a lot of things well while putting battery life front and centre. The 10,000mAh battery is easily its biggest selling point, but you also get a very good AMOLED display, reliable everyday performance, and a durable build. POCO hasn’t sacrificed the rest of the phone’s aspects just to fit in a bigger battery.
Naturally, there are also some compromises to keep the costs down. The 229-gram weight takes some getting used to; the software comes with far too many third-party apps, and the secondary cameras could certainly be better. For users who want a lighter phone, cleaner software, or better cameras, there are other options to consider.
But if battery life is your biggest priority, the X8 Power’s value is hard to beat. It can comfortably last around two days with moderate use while still offering enough performance and features to work well as an everyday phone. The POCO X8 Power is priced in India starting at Rs 35,999.
