Poco's Next Smartphone Teased to Launch Soon in India

After the initial success of the Poco F1, Xiaomi is apparently all set to bring its successor that could debut as the Poco F2 - or at least, the next model in the Poco lineup. While the Chinese company hasn't revealed any concrete details around the development, Poco India General Manager C Manmohan on Monday teased the arrival of a new Poco smartphone through a tweet. The company launched the Poco F1 back in August with a starting price of Rs. 20,999. One of the key attractions of the Poco F1 is the presence of the Snapdragon 845 SoC that made it a strong competitor against the OnePlus 6T and other mid-range flagship models.

Manmohan in a tweet posted on Monday confirmed that Poco India is set to bring a new Poco model to the country in the coming future. "I have a surprise for all of you," he said in the tweet. "A #NewPOCO is coming. Can you guess when?"

Back in October, Flipkart suggested that Poco F1 is set to receive its successor as early as the next eight months. The online marketplace brought a buyback guarantee policy under which hinted at the arrival of the new Poco phone.

As we mentioned, Xiaomi's sub-brand Poco launched the Poco F1 as its first smartphone back in August. The handset was launched in four distinct variants that offered up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB storage. The smartphone also has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC along with a LiquidCool technology and a 6.18-inch display to counter the likes of the OnePlus 6T.

At the time of its formal launch, the Poco F1 got the 'real Kevlar' finish sporting Armoured Edition for the 8GB RAM/ 256GB storage model that was priced at Rs. 29,999. However, tipster Ishan Agarwal recently claimed that there are plans to bring the Poco F1 6GB RAM/ 64GB storage and 6GB RAM/ 128GB storage variants with Kevlar finish. The tipster said that while some European markets will receive the new variants first, India is also on the radar for the new finish.

The Poco F1 was launched with a starting price of Rs. 20,999. However, just earlier this month, Poco announced a price cut and brought its base variant to as low as Rs. 19,999. The handset also started receiving an MIUI 10 update based on Android Pie.

Poco F1 specifications

The dual-SIM Xiaomi Poco F1 features a 6.18-inch full-HD+ (1080x2246 pixels) display along with a 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Under the hood, there is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC, paired with 6GB and 8GB RAM options. The smartphone has a dual rear camera setup along with a 12-megapixel Sony IMX363 primary sensor along with a 1.4-micron pixel size and dual-pixel autofocus and a 5-megapixel secondary sensor. At the front, there is a 20-megapixel camera along with HDR and AI Beautify features. The smartphone also has an IR light that works with a pre-installed Face Unlock feature.

Poco F1 Review

The Poco F1 comes in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB of onboard storage options that all are expandable via microSD card (up to 256GB) in a hybrid SIM slot configuration. On the connectivity front, the smartphone has 4G+, VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v5.0, USB Type-C, 3.5mm headphone jack. Sensors on board the handset are an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, digital compass, gyroscope, and proximity sensor. Besides, there is a 4,000mAh battery that supports 18W charging and Quick Charge 3.

Xiaomi Poco F1 looks great value for the price, but is there a catch? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.