Xiaomi Poco Sub-Brand Announced, Pocophone Focus on Speed and India Launch Hinted At

Xiaomi has started teasing its sub-brand 'Poco' in India ahead of the launch of Pocophone F1. Following several rumours about Xiaomi's Pocophone F1, it seems there is finally some confirmation about the existence of the smartphone. The Chinese manufacturer has not only teased that Poco as a Xiaomi sub-brand, but also hinted that the Poco smartphones will be launching in India. Interestingly, Xiaomi is teasing the sub-band as Pocophone for global markets but it is named Poco in India. The specifications for a smartphone under the new sub-brand are quite sparse for now, but at least we now know that the handset will be coming to India.

Jai Mani, Lead Product Manager for Xiaomi India, in a tweet said that he has been working on the new project called 'Poco by Xiaomi'. The tweet highlights two new Twitter handles for India as well as global markets for the forthcoming Pocophone. Though the new accounts do not reveal any details of the upcoming handset, it does hint that products under Poco brand would be launched in India. Additionally, Xiaomi India has also responded to the tweet, wishing Mani well for the new project. Notably, there are no official details about the new smartphone, but a handset allegedly named Pocophone F1, which could be the first handset under the sub-brand, has been a part of the rumour mill for a long time.

Later in the week, Xiaomi SVP Wang Xiang tweeted his support for Jai Mani's latest tweet on the brand. Mani's new tweet elaborated further on his first, and detailed the brand as well as its first product. He said, "Poco is all about making powerful smartphone with the technologies that truly matter. Recently it feels like the pace of innovation in the smartphone industry has slowed down, while prices are creeping up with flagship smartphones now past the $1,000-mark. We set out to build something to buck this trend. For the first product, we got back to basic and focus entirely on speed. Not just peak performance speed, but actual, real world, speed."

He added that the Poco team was a "small outfit within Xiaomi" that had the freedom to "start from scratch, zeroing in on the product choices that matter". Mani said, "At the same time, with Xiaomi's supply chain, operations, and service infrastructure behind us, we can ensure the highest quality for our fans."

To recall, the brand name Pocophone was trademarked by Xiaomi a while ago, and the company was even reported to be making a flagship device for international markets, especially India, powered by the Snapdragon 845. In terms of specifications, a recently leaked unboxing video of the Xiaomi Pocophone had tipped that the smartphone packs a Snapdragon 845 processor with a liquid cooling system, a 4000mAh battery, a 20-megapixel selfie camera, and IR Face Unlock. It is also said to come with a 3.5mm audio jack at the top and a USB Type-C port at the bottom. A Bluetooth SIG Certification had previously suggested that the phone will feature a 12-megapixel + 5-megapixel dual camera setup with 1.4-micron large pixels and dual pixel autofocus on the main sensor. The front camera is said to support Super Pixel technology.

When it comes to the price of the Pocophone F1, a recent report had suggested that the handset will come in two variants and the 6GB RAM/ 64GB storage model will be priced in Eastern Europe for EUR 420 (roughly Rs. 33,800), and the 6GB RAM / 128GB storage model will cost EUR 460 (roughly Rs. 37,000). The smartphone may sport a 5.99-inch (1080x2160 pixels) display, and come in Blue and Grey colour options for international markets.