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Poco X6 Neo Review: The Neo Budget King?

- Updated: 17th Mar 2024, 12:26 IST
  • 1
    Review Summary
  • 2
    Poco X6 Neo Price In India And Variants
  • 3
    Poco X6 Neo Box Contents
  • 4
    Poco X6 Neo Specs At A Glance
  • 5
    Poco X6 Design And Build
  • 6
    Poco X6 Neo Camera
  • 7
    Poco X6 Neo Battery And Charging
  • 8
    Poco X6 Neo Display And Audio
  • 9
    Poco X6 Neo Performance
  • 10
    Poco X6 Neo Software And UI
  • 11
    Verdict
Review Summary

The Poco X6 Neo is the newest addition to the Poco X6 lineup. It promises great specifications at an affordable price. The phone is slim and lightweight, with a stylish design and lightweight build.

Does the Poco X6 Neo have what it takes to become the Neo (new) budget king, or is it just another rebadge of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 13? I have been using the phone for a while, and here is my review of the Poco X6 Neo.

The phone has a 6.67-inch Full-HD+ AMOLED display with very narrow bezels. It also offers a 5,000mAh battery, which can easily last a day.

But how does the MediaTek Dimensity 6080 processor perform in real life? Can the 108-megapixel camera take any good shots? To find out, read my review of the Poco X6 Neo.

PROS

  • Stylish design
  • Great Display With Slim Bezels
  • Long Lasting Battery

CONS

  • Plenty of Preinstalled Apps
  • Average Low Light Performance
  • Ships with Android 13
Key Specs
Battery Capacity5000 mAh
Operating SystemAndroid v13
Screen Size6.67 inches
Highlights:
  • 5000 mAh

  • Android v13

  • 6.67 inches

Poco X6 Neo Price In India And Variants

The Poco X6 Neo base variant, with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, costs Rs.15,999. The 12GB+256GB model is available for Rs.17,999.

Poco X6 Neo Price In India

The phone will go on sale via Flipkart from March 18 at 12 PM IST. It is available in Astral Black, Horizon Blue and Martian Orange.

Poco X6 Neo Box Contents

The Poco X6 Neo packs the following items inside the box:

Poco X6 Neo Box Contents

  • Phone
  • Manual
  • Case
  • Charger

Poco X6 Neo Specs At A Glance

Before we talk in detail about the device, let’s see what the on-paper specs look like:

  • Display: 6.67-inch Full-HD+ AMOLED with 120Hz
  • Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 6080
  • RAM & ROM: 8GB 128GB, 12GB 256GB
  • Software: MIUI 14 with Android 13
  • Rear camera: 108MP + 2MP
  • Selfie camera: 16MP
  • Battery: 5000 mAh
  • Weight: 175 grams
  • Dimensions: 161.1 x 75 x 7.7 mm

Poco X6 Design And Build

The Poco X6 Neo features a plastic back with a matte finish and a design similar to other phones in the Poco X6 lineup. Furthermore, the Martian Orange colour I have has a wavy pattern that reflects under sunlight.

Poco X6 Neo Design

Also Read: Realme 12 5G Review: Stylish Mid-Ranger With Great Cameras

Although the matte finish looks great, it does not provide a good grip, so I highly recommend using the case included in the box. Speaking of the case, Poco has provided a premium rubberised case that fits snugly and offers a good grip. Kudos to Poco for providing a good-quality case instead of the typical transparent ones that become yellow within a few weeks.

Poco X6 Neo Design 2

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A large vertical camera module on the back houses a dual-camera setup with Poco branding and LED flash. The phone is also pretty slim, measuring just 7.69mm, making it the slimmest Poco phone yet. It weighs just 175 grams, making it ergonomic for one-handed usage.

Poco X6 Neo Right

Moving on to ports and placements, you get the volume rocker and power button on the right, doubling up as the fingerprint scanner.

Poco X6 Neo Left

Also Read: Realme 12 Pro Plus Review: New Mid-Range Camera Champion

On the left, you get the hybrid SIM slot, including the micro-SD card slot for expansion.

Poco X6 Neo Top

Similarly, you get the 3.5mm headphone jack, secondary microphone and IR Blaster.

Poco X6 Neo Bottom

At the bottom, you will be greeted with the speaker grille, microphone and USB-C port for charging. In addition, the phone also has an IP54 rating for protection against occasional splashes.

Poco X6 Neo Camera

The Poco X6 Neo packs a 108-megapixel primary camera and a 2-megapixel secondary camera. On the front, there is a 16-megapixel selfie shooter.

Poco X6 Neo Camera

Also Read: Xiaomi 13 Pro Long-Term Review: Pro Grade Flagship Experience

During the day, the phone can take great photos with plenty of detail and sharpness. The images have saturated colours, although the pictures can sometimes be overexposed.

Poco X6 Neo Daylight Sample 1 Poco X6 Neo Daylight Sample 2 Poco X6 Neo Daylight Sample 3 Poco X6 Neo Daylight Sample 4 Poco X6 Neo Daylight Sample 5 Poco X6 Neo Daylight Sample 6 Poco X6 Neo Daylight Sample 7 Poco X6 Neo Daylight Sample 8 Poco X6 Neo Daylight Sample 9 Poco X6 Neo Daylight Sample 10 Poco X6 Neo Daylight Sample 11 Poco X6 Neo Daylight Sample 12 Poco X6 Neo Daylight Sample 13 Poco X6 Neo Daylight Sample 14

Also Read: Poco X6 Pro Review: The OnePlus Killer Is Here!

With the 108-megapixel primary, you can also take 3x zoom shots with in-sensor zoom. The 2-megapixel depth sensor is only good on paper, and its photos are barely usable.

Poco X6 Neo Night Sample 1 Poco X6 Neo Night Sample 2 Poco X6 Neo Night Sample 3

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Similarly, the low-light shots with the 108-megapixel primary are mediocre, with overexposed colours and much noise. This is one segment where budget phones usually falter, and the Poco X6 Neo is no exception.

Poco X6 Neo Selfie Sample

The 16-megapixel selfie camera can take decent shots with accurate skin tones and colours. Regarding video recording, the front and back cameras can shoot videos up to 1080p at 30FPS. If cameras are your priority, then it is best to consider other phones like the Realme 12 5G in this price range.

Poco X6 Neo Battery And Charging

The Poco X6 Neo packs a 5,000mAh battery, which can easily last 6 to 7 hours with normal usage. My usage includes scrolling through social media, watching videos on YouTube and clicking photos with the refresh rate set to 120Hz.

Poco X6 Neo Battery

Also Read: Poco X6 Review: Xtreme Performance On A Budget

Moreover, thanks to the 6nm chipset, you can expect a day of battery backup with moderate usage. Furthermore, you can turn down the refresh rate to 60Hz or use power saving mode to get even more juice out of it.

Poco X6 Neo Charger

The 33W charger can fully charge the phone within 1 hour and 30 minutes, which is decent. However, phones like the Realme 12 5G and OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite offer 45W and 67W charging at the same price segment.

Poco X6 Neo Display And Audio

The Poco X6 Neo boasts a 6.67-inch Full-HD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Furthermore, the phone has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and has 1000 nits of peak brightness.

Poco X6 Neo Display

The bezels surrounding the phone are very narrow, with a centre punch hole cutout, which even some phones that cost twice as much don’t offer(*cough* Galaxy A55 *cough*). Poco claims the phone has a screen-to-body ratio of 93.3 per cent, which is impressive.

Also Read: Poco M6 5G Review: Bringing 5G To The Masses

Moreover, it is rare to see a phone with a 120Hz and AMOLED display in this segment. The display has vibrant colours and is plenty bright outdoors. Thanks to 1000 nits of brightness, I faced no issues viewing the screen under harsh sunlight.

Poco X6 Neo Content Consumption

The colours are set to saturated by default, and watching content on the screen is a pure treat. I enjoyed watching Season 4 of The Sopranos. Moreover, you also get Widevine L1 support to watch 1080p videos on streaming platforms, although there is no HDR here.

Poco X6 Neo Refresh Rate

Also Read: Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro Review: The Perfect Mid-Ranger?

Thanks to the 120Hz refresh rate, navigating through the user interface remains smooth and fluid. Furthermore, you can switch between default, which automatically sets the refresh rate based on the content, and Custom, which keeps it at a constant 120Hz.

Poco X6 Neo Display 3

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You get a single speaker with Dolby Atmos support at the bottom for audio. It is loud enough and comes with a Volume Boost feature that increases the volume to 200 per cent. However, given the single speaker setup, it is easy to cover it with your right hand when holding it in your hand.

Poco X6 Neo Lockscreen

There is also a 3.5mm headphone jack, a dying breed on smartphones these days. Moreover, there is a side-mounted fingerprint sensor that is fast and accurate, as well as an IR Blaster for controlling appliances.

Poco X6 Neo Performance

The MediaTek Dimensity 6080 chipset powers the phone, which is paired with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage. Interestingly, this 6nm chipset is a rebrand of the MediaTek Dimensity 810, which debuted two years ago.

Also Read: Oppo Find N2 Flip Long-Term Review: Can It Flip The Competition?

The phone remained smooth during day-to-day tasks, and I faced no problems switching between multiple apps like Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc. Furthermore, the 12GB of RAM ensured that most apps stayed in memory.

Poco X6 Neo Gaming

Also Read: OnePlus 11 Long-Term Review: A True Flagship Killer

When it comes to intensive tasks like gaming, you can play games like BGMI at Smooth and Ultra (40 FPS) and CODM at Medium and High Frame Rates (60 FPS).

Poco X6 Neo Benchmarks

Moving on to benchmarks, the Poco X6 Neo has a Geekbench score of 657 in single-core and 1853 in multi-core test. Furthermore, the phone throttles to 95 per cent in the 15-minute CPU throttling test and a stability score of 99.2 per cent in the 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Stress Test.

It has a score of 450773 in the AnTuTu V10 benchmark and a score of 44301 in the AnTuTu storage test. Overall, the Poco X6 Neo is a great performer in daily tasks and playing casual games.

Poco X6 Neo Software And UI

The Poco X6 Neo ships with MIUI 14 based on Android 13 out of the box. It is disappointing to see a phone arrive with Android 13 in 2024, especially when its elder sibling, the Poco X6 Pro 5G, runs Android 14 out of the box.

Poco X6 Neo MIUI Version

Also Read: Nothing Phone (1) Long-Term Review: Still A Worthy Contender?

Hopefully, future Poco phones will debut with the latest Android version out of the box, and the Poco X6 Neo will soon receive the HyperOS update.

Poco X6 Neo Bloatware

There are plenty of bloatware apps on the phone, such as Block Puzzle Guardian, Crazy Juicer, Facebook, Jewels Blast, Netflix, Phone Pe, Snapchat, Spotify, etc. Thankfully, you can easily uninstall them from the settings.

Poco X6 Neo Features

Also Read: Apple iPhone 14 Pro Long-Term Review – Worth to Buy in 2024?

The usual MIUI customisation options include themes, Always On Display support, live wallpapers and more. You also get features like Quick Ball, One-Handed Mode, Screen Recorder, Floating Window, Second Space and Dual Apps. There is also support for virtual RAM extension up to 12GB.

Poco X6 Neo Memory Extension

Poco has promised two years of OS updates and four years of security patches for the phone. This means the phone will receive updates till Android 15, which is disappointing, to say the least.

Verdict

The Poco X6 Neo continues the company’s tradition of offering value-for-money smartphones with plenty of features. It offers a great AMOLED display with slim bezels and remains one of the few phones in this segment to provide an AMOLED screen.

You also get a slim body with a lightweight design, decent performance, and excellent battery life. If you can look past the average low-light camera output and bloatware-ridden Android 13, then the Poco X6 Neo is a great all-rounder smartphone at its price. You can also take a look at other options, such as the Samsung Galaxy F15 5G, Realme 12 5G, and the Lava Blaze Curve 5G.



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