Beebom
Rating7.5
The Poco M8 Power gets the essentials right with a lovely AMOLED display and a massive battery that just won't quit. Long-term software support and solid everyday performance round out the package well. The phone is not flawless, though, as cameras are just okay, charging is slow and gaming has limits, while HyperOS needs a little more polish. But at Rs 24,999, amid the ongoing RAM crisis, it's a smart, well-judged buy.
Pros
- Excellent battery life
- Large AMOLED screen
- Long-term OS support
- Good performance for everyday use
Cons
- Average cameras
- Software needs better optimisation
- Not good for gaming
The POCO M8 Power is a phone that strikes an interesting balance between what matters most in everyday use and what it takes to keep the price in check. After spending several weeks with it, I found plenty to like, along with a few areas where the experience could have been better. So, how does the M8 Power hold up in its segment? Let's find out in this POCO M8 Power review.
Poco M8 Power Unboxing
In classic Poco fashion, you get a solid starter kit in the Poco M8 Power box:
- Poco M8 Power smartphone
- USB-A to USB-C cable
- 45W charging adapter
- Black silicone case
- SIM ejector tool
- Paperwork
With that out of the way, here's a quick rundown of the Poco M8 Power specs before we get into the detailed review:
Poco M8 Power Key Details
Note: Our testing, opinion, and rating for this review are based on the phone's launch price. We recommend checking the current price before making a purchase decision.
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Design and Build
- 169.7 x 79.1 x 8.5 mm
- 225 grams
- IP65 rating
I have with me the Blaze Orange colourway of the phone, and if you ask me, it's certainly eye candy. The big camera module island at the back could be a little too much, maybe, but overall, it's a colourway that could turn heads.
One of the other things I noticed about the Poco M8 Power is that it doesn't really feel like a phone with an 8,000mAh battery inside (more on this later). At 8.45 mm, it's reasonably slim for a phone carrying such a massive cell, and while the 225-gram weight is definitely noticeable, my big hands didn't find it awkward to hold.
The weight is fairly well distributed too, so it doesn't constantly feel like the camera module is pulling the phone forward. The height, however, is something I couldn't ignore. At 169.7 mm, the M8 Power is a seriously tall phone, and I found myself shifting my grip whenever I needed to reach the top of the screen.
Scrolling and typing one-handed were okay at best, but pulling down the notification shade was worse and usually meant moving the phone lower in my palm. If you're used to a smaller phone, you'll definitely need a couple of days to get used to it.
But I do quite like the flat frame here because it gives me a more secure grip than a rounded frame would on a phone this large.
The frame and rear panel are both plastic, so the phone doesn't really feel premium. However, I do appreciate the matted-out back, as it doesn't pick up fingerprints nearly as easily as the glossy plastic backs we've seen on other phones. So I didn't constantly feel the need to wipe it down.
The large camera module at the back does look a little loud. The button placement is fairly conventional, with the volume rocker and power button on the right. I had no trouble finding either with my thumb, although the phone's height meant I still had to adjust my grip from time to time.
There's also an IR blaster on the top, which is one of those features I don't use every day but am always happy to have when I need to control a TV or AC without hunting for the remote.
My clumsy self appreciates the added protection with the IP65 rating and Gorilla Glass 7i protection at the front as well.
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Display and Audio Quality
- 6.99-inch AMOLED Eye-Care display, 2396 x 1080 pixels, 120 Hz refresh rate, 240 Hz touch sampling rate
- Up to 1,800 nits of peak brightness
- Gorilla Glass 7i protection
The 6.99-inch AMOLED display is easily one of my favourite things about the Poco M8 Power. At a price where many phones are still using LCD panels, getting a screen this large and vibrant feels like a genuine upgrade.
The moment I turned it on, the deep blacks and punchy colours were immediately noticeable. Poco doesn't go overboard with saturation in the default mode either, and if you prefer a more natural look, there are colour and contrast profiles in the settings to tone things down.
The size also makes the M8 Power particularly enjoyable for watching videos and browsing. It's a big, tall slab of AMOLED, and I found myself appreciating that extra screen real estate more than I expected.
The 1800-nit peak brightness (confirmed using our Luxmeter) helps, too. I could comfortably read the display outdoors under harsh midday sunlight without constantly searching for shade. Poco's Sunlight Display mode also kicks in reliably, which makes a noticeable difference when you're using the phone outside.
The 120 Hz refresh rate can switch between 60 Hz, 90 Hz and 120 Hz depending on what you're doing, and scrolling feels properly smooth. More importantly, I didn't notice the inconsistent frame pacing that can sometimes make budget phones feel less fluid despite having a high-refresh-rate panel.
There's also 240 Hz touch sampling, which can jump to 2160 Hz in Game Turbo mode. The latter is obviously a peak figure rather than something you'll experience constantly, but touch response felt quick and immediate during my gaming sessions.
There are a couple of limitations worth knowing about. The display doesn't support HDR, so HDR content from YouTube and streaming services is played back in SDR. There's also no 4K playback, although that's more of a chipset limitation than an issue with the panel itself.
For everyday use, neither bothered me much. Widevine L1 certification also means Netflix and Prime Video can still stream in Full HD, so most of the content I watched looked sharp and suitably detailed.
Where the M8 Power falls short is audio. There's only a single bottom-firing speaker, and while it gets loud enough for calls, YouTube videos and casual listening, it sounds noticeably flat.
Once I turned the phone sideways to watch a movie, the lack of stereo separation became even more obvious. For anything I actually wanted to enjoy, rather than simply hear, I found myself reaching for my earbuds.
It's a shame because the phone's enormous AMOLED display feels tailor-made for multimedia, and a stereo speaker setup would have completed the experience nicely. This is one area where Poco has clearly cut a corner.
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Performance Tested
- Snapdragon 4 Gen 4 chipset
- Up to 8 GB LPDDR4X RAM and 128 GB UFS 2.2 storage
Being upfront about the Snapdragon 4 Gen 4 chipset, it's an entry-level 4nm chipset that's designed for more efficiency than raw performance. For everyday use, the trade-off mostly works. I could open apps, scroll through Instagram, jump between WhatsApp and the camera and move around HyperOS without feeling like the phone was constantly struggling.
The 120 Hz display helps here, too, making animations and scrolling feel smoother than the underlying hardware might suggest. It's when I started pushing the phone a little harder that the limitations became obvious.
With several apps open, switching back to something I had used earlier occasionally meant waiting a second longer than I would have liked, with some apps or browser tabs reloading in the process.
The 8 GB of RAM and optional virtual RAM expansion sound generous on paper, so I was hoping for better memory retention. In my experience, though, the limitation felt more like a combination of the entry-level chipset and HyperOS's memory management than a lack of RAM itself.
The benchmark numbers tell pretty much the same story:
Gaming is where I think it's important to set expectations early. Casual titles such as Subway Surfers and puzzle games run without any issues, but BGMI and CoD Mobile are best played at lower graphics settings. Push things further and the experience starts to fall apart.
More demanding games like Genshin Impact aren't really what this phone is built for, and the Adreno 613 GPU simply doesn't have enough headroom for sustained high-quality gaming. If gaming is high on your priority list, I'd look elsewhere.
The good thing is that the phone stayed cool even during extended sessions of lighter gaming. Poco has included a sizeable graphite cooling system, and while the Snapdragon 4 Gen 4 doesn't exactly push it to its limits, it's good to know that the Poco M8 Power isn't struggling with heat when you do put some load on it.
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Software and Updates
- Android 16-based HyperOS 3.0.302.0.WPUINXM.C10
- Four Android OS upgrades and six years of security updates
The POCO M8 Power runs HyperOS 3 (3.0.302.0.WPUINXM.C10 build to be exact) based on Android 16. The biggest highlight here is Poco's update promise of four years of OS upgrades and six years of security updates. For a budget phone, that's a genuinely strong commitment and one that should keep the M8 Power relevant for long.
In everyday use, HyperOS 3 feels fairly well matched to the Snapdragon 4 Gen 4. The animations are more restrained than what I've seen on pricier Poco and Xiaomi phones, but I suspect that's intentional.
Rather than loading the interface with effects the chipset can't handle comfortably, the Poco M8 Power has kept things relatively light. However, I have noticed some awkward stutters in the UI during regular navigation.
I also noticed that when updating the phone to 3.0.304.0.WPUINXM, the process would abruptly disrupt on its own, causing me to manually restart it all over again. The downloading and installation of an update is also tediously slow for some reason.
The AI features are also fairly limited. You get the usual Gallery tools, such as object removal, image expansion and sky replacement, which work well enough for quick edits. However, the more advanced AI features found on pricier Poco phones aren't here, and I don't really see that as a problem given the hardware.
I did appreciate some of the smaller touches. HyperConnect makes it easier to interact with other Xiaomi and Poco devices, while HyperIsland provides live activity-style information around the punch-hole for things like music and timers. The IR blaster also gets some use through Mi Remote, letting me control TVs and other appliances directly from the phone.
The bigger annoyance is the bloatware. Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, LinkedIn, Netflix and several apps and games come pre-installed, although I could uninstall all of them within minutes. Setup also tries to push a few additional app recommendations.
Thankfully, despite the various recommendation panels and ad-related settings, I didn't encounter intrusive ads during my testing.
Cameras Reviewed
- 50 MP Light Fusion 400 AI dual rear camera sensor, f/1.8 aperture, 5P lens
- 8 MP front camera
- Up to 1080p @ 30 FPS video recording through both front and rear cameras
The Poco M8 Power cameras are what you would call manageable at best. There's what the brand is calling a 50 MP AI dual rear camera, which uses the Light Fusion 400 sensor. Meanwhile, at the front, there's a single 8 MP shooter for selfies and video calls.
Daytime Shots
During the day, the main camera does turn up some usable shots here and there. For example, if you take a look at the shot of the cell tower below, you will see how nice the colour of the sky and surrounding vegetation looks.
It doesn't oversaturate anything unpleasantly and sticks to getting the basic colour spectrum right. You will also notice the good colour production in shots of the food prop and the vintage telephone. When you zoom in on those shots, you will also notice decent details, and if you ask me, they can be posted on social media without any editing of sorts.
However, in some shots, you will also notice how the dynamic range is off by a noticeable margin, with the shadows overpowering the highlights and making the nearest leaves appear darker than in real life.
The foreground and background separation is not that great, and unless you are trying to appear larger and trying to hold the tip of the Taj Mahal from a distance, it won't do you much good.
Night Shots
Things get very strange at night, with the main rear camera having a tough time keeping colours consistent. For example, if you take a look at the park sidewalk shot below, you will see how faded out the colours are, making the shot appear almost monochromatic.
At the same time, the shot of a busy marketplace turned out just fine. Light sources were also handled decently without them bleeding into other objects in the frame.
Details certainly do take a hit, though, and upon zooming in you will realise how smudged up everything is. There's also a decent bit of noise creeping up. If you ask me, these night shots will require some fine-tuning before posting them on social media.
Selfie Cameras
I was actually surprised by how well the selfie camera performed, despite being an 8 MP unit. Yes, it won't give you a lot of details to boast about, but the skin tones are handled well. Moreover, in portrait mode, the background mapping and edge detection are good enough for you to post as an Instagram story.
Video Recording
Sadly, video recording on the Poco M8 Power is a bit of a letdown. Due to the lack of OIS and a 1080p @ 30 FPS cap on both the front and rear cameras, I rarely found myself tapping into the video recording mode.
Battery Life and Charging
- 8,000mAh Silicon Carbon battery
- Up to 3 days of power (as claimed by the brand)
- 45W fast wired charging, 22.5W reverse wired charging
Battery life is easily the M8 Power's biggest strength, and the numbers back it up. With 5G, Wi-Fi, a 120 Hz refresh rate, social media, streaming, calls and some camera use, I consistently got around 8–9 hours of screen-on time spread across nearly two days.
For lighter users, stretching this to two-and-a-half or even three days should be possible, while heavier users should still comfortably get through a full day without reaching for a charger. That's what makes the Poco M8 Power genuinely convenient, especially if you travel frequently or simply don't want to think about battery life.
Charging is less impressive, though, as the 45W wired charging takes roughly 1 hour to reach 50%, while a full charge takes close to 2 hours. That's acceptable for an 8,000mAh battery, but it isn't ideal if you're used to phones with 80W or faster charging. The 22.5W reverse wired charging is a nice bonus.
Poco M8 Power Review Verdict: Should You Buy It?
The Poco M8 Power's 6.99-inch AMOLED panel is excellent for the price, while the 8,000mAh battery easily delivers around 8–9 hours of screen-on time across nearly two days. Add IP65 protection, Gorilla Glass 7i and four years of OS updates with six years of security patches, and you have a solid phone in hand.
The compromises are equally obvious. The Snapdragon 4 Gen 4 is fine for everyday tasks but isn't suited to serious gaming or heavy multitasking, while the single speaker is disappointing for a phone with such a large display.
Charging is also merely adequate at 45W, with a full charge taking close to two hours. These aren't exactly deal-breakers if you ask me, but they're worth keeping in mind before you buy.
Overall, starting at Rs 24,999, the Poco M8 Power is easily one of the best phones under Rs 25,000, considering the worsening RAM crisis.
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