Beebom
Rating8.5
Poco X8 Power's massive battery delivers excellent backup, while the sharp AMOLED screen, capable main camera, stereo speakers and long software support make the experience well-rounded. The performance and average ultrawide camera are where Poco has cut corners. However, if battery life matters most, these compromises are easier to live with, as this Poco X8 Power doesn't just have power, but it knows how to make it last.
Pros
- Exceptional battery life with 100W charging
- Excellent 120Hz AMOLED display
- Capable primary camera with OIS
- Durable and attractive design
- Long-term OS support
- Loud stereo speakers
Cons
- Not built for heavy gaming
- Sub-par ultrawide camera
I’ve reviewed plenty of big battery phones, but the Poco X8 Power takes the idea to another level with a 10,000mAh battery packed into a surprisingly manageable body. But a huge battery alone doesn’t make a great phone, so in this Poco X8 Power review, I put its display, performance, cameras, software and overall endurance through their paces to see whether there’s more to the "Power" than just battery life.
Poco X8 Power 5G Unboxing
In classic Poco fashion, you get a good starter kit out of the Poco X8 Pro 5G box, keeping you as sorted as possible initially. Here's what you get:
- Poco X8 Power 5G smartphone
- Silicone case
- Pre-applied screen protector
- USB Type A to C cable
- 100W charging adapter
- SIM ejector tool
- Paperwork
Before moving on with this review, here are the key specs of the Poco X8 Power 5G.
Poco X8 Power 5G 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
- 163.44 x 78.27 x 8.65 mm
- 229 grams
- IP66, IP68, IP69 and IP69K ratings
The first thing I noticed about the Poco X8 Power 5G is that it is a big and fairly substantial phone. At 229 grams and 8.65 mm thick, you definitely feel it in your hand, but given that Poco has managed to fit a 10,000mAh battery inside, I found the overall proportions surprisingly manageable. It does not feel like the brick I expected a phone with this kind of battery capacity to be.
I tested the Yellow variant, and it is easily the more attention-grabbing of the two finishes (the other being Black). The bright vegan-leather back is paired with a black frame and a matching camera module, giving the phone a distinctive Poco look.
More importantly, the textured rear has plenty of grip and does a much better job of keeping fingerprints away than a glossy glass or plastic back.
The frame itself is plastic, although it has a finish that makes it look more like metal at first glance. The volume rockers and power button sit on the right, while the bottom houses the USB-C port, primary microphone, speaker and dual-SIM tray.
There is also an IR blaster and a secondary microphone up top. You get an optical in-display fingerprint scanner as well as stereo speakers.
Poco has gone fairly aggressive with durability here, with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and IP66, IP68, IP69 and IP69K ratings. That is a reassuring combination for pretty much any phone out there.
There are a couple of omissions worth knowing about, though. The USB-C port is limited to USB 2.0 speeds, and there is no NFC or eSIM support. Neither affects the basic experience, but they are features I would expect buyers to check before spending Rs 35,999 on the phone.
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Display and Audio Quality
- 6.83-inch 1.5K LTPS AMOLED, 120 Hz, 2772 x 1280 pixels, up to 3200 nits peak brightness
- Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection
- HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support
The Poco X8 Power's display is one of the best things about the phone. You get a large 6.83-inch flat 1.5K AMOLED panel with a 120 Hz refresh rate, and the higher resolution is noticeable when you're reading text, scrolling through feeds or watching video.
Colours are punchy without going overboard, while the AMOLED panel delivers the deep contrast you'd expect. It is also a particularly good screen for consuming content. The X8 Power supports both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, including Dolby Vision playback on supported Netflix content.
Pair that with the large display and sharp 1.5K resolution, and this is clearly one of those phones that didn't make me miss my monitor as much. I binge-watched Neagley on Prime Video on the phone, and it was an absolute treat to the eyes. Chicago really did come alive in those action-packed sequences.
Both indoor and outdoor visibility are strong, with the display rated for very high peak brightness. We recorded a little over 3,000 nits of peak HDR brightness using the Luxmeter at the office, which left barely any room for complaints.
Poco has added Wet Touch 2.0 as well, while the panel supports high-frequency PWM dimming and a high instantaneous touch-sampling rate for gaming. The latter can reach 3,200 Hz through Game Turbo, although that is obviously a much more specific use case.
The stereo speakers complement the display nicely. They support Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Audio, and they get properly loud. I found that you don't really need to push the volume very high for watching YouTube or a movie, and the combination of the large AMOLED panel and loud stereo output makes the X8 Power a very capable multimedia phone.
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Performance Tested
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 chipset
- Up to 8 GB LPDDR5X RAM and 256 GB UFS 4.1 storage (128 GB storage uses UFS 2.2)
The Poco X8 Power is the first phone in India to use the Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 chipset, and this is where Poco has made one of its more noticeable compromises. This is not a performance-focused phone, despite the Poco branding in this segment.
Instead, the chipset seems tuned more towards delivering consistent everyday performance without putting too much strain on that massive 10,000mAh battery.
In regular use, though, I had little to complain about. Apps opened quickly, scrolling through social media felt smooth, and jumping between multiple apps was generally hassle-free. The 8 GB LPDDR5X RAM also does a good job of keeping frequently used apps around.
It is only when you start pushing the phone harder or look at benchmark numbers that the limitations of the Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 become more apparent:
Gaming follows much the same pattern. BGMI and CoD Mobile can run at 60 FPS, and gameplay remained smooth for the first 30 minutes without major concerns. After around 45 minutes, however, occasional frame drops and some sluggishness began to appear. I wouldn't recommend giving Genshin Impact a whirl here.
So while the X8 Power isn't a phone I'd pick specifically for competitive gaming, it is perfectly capable of handling a casual or moderately long gaming session.
Overall, I wouldn't call the Poco X8 Power a powerhouse, but a rather dependable performer. If your idea of performance is smooth scrolling, quick app launches and occasional gaming, it gets the job done. But if benchmarks and demanding gaming are high on your priority list, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 leaves the X8 Power with noticeably less headroom.
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Software and Updates
- HyperOS 3 based on Android 16
- Four years of major OS updates and six years of security patches
The Poco X8 Power runs HyperOS 3 based on Android 16, so if you have used a recent Xiaomi or Poco phone, there is very little to figure out.
The interface is familiar, with plenty of customisation options for the lock screen, wallpapers and overall look. I also like the addition of features such as Circle to Search and Xiaomi's Offline Communication tool.
In day-to-day use, HyperOS 3 is mostly smooth. I did notice the occasional jitter while switching between apps, and there were a couple of instances where notifications arrived late when the phone was locked. These weren't frequent enough to become a major problem during my testing, but they are worth mentioning.
My bigger complaint is the amount of pre-installed software. The Poco X8 Power comes with several third-party apps and games, including the Indus App Store. Thankfully, most of these can be uninstalled, and Glance is not enabled on the lock screen by default.
The long-term update commitment, however, is where Poco gets things right. The X8 Power is promised four years of Android OS upgrades and six years of security updates. Since it ships with Android 16, that should take it through Android 20, assuming Poco sticks to the stated schedule.
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Cameras Reviewed
- 50 MP primary rear camera with OIS and f/1.5 aperture, 8 MP ultrawide shooter with f/2.2 aperture
- 32 MP selfie shooter with f/2.2 aperture
- Up to 4K @ 30 FPS video recording on the main and front cameras
Main Camera
The Poco X8 Power's camera setup is fairly straightforward, with the 50 MP primary sensor doing most of the heavy lifting. It comes with OIS and a wide f/1.5 aperture, and that combination makes the main camera quite capable in good lighting.
In daylight, I found the main camera capable of capturing plenty of detail, with generally accurate skin tones and good dynamic range. Colours can occasionally look a little boosted, though, and the processing tends to favour a slightly cooler look. For the kind of everyday photos most people will take, which are food, people, pets or quick outdoor shots, the results are easily good enough to share without much editing.
The camera also offers a 2x in-sensor zoom, which is useful for getting a little closer to your subject without immediately resorting to digital zoom. Beyond that, though, detail starts to fall away, so I wouldn't rely on the higher zoom levels unless absolutely necessary.
Low-light performance is actually where the main camera surprised me. The phone can take a little longer to capture a night shot, but the resulting images can retain good detail and sharpness. The downside is that the processing can brighten scenes quite aggressively, sometimes making a nighttime scene look a little brighter than it actually was.
Ultrawide Camera
The 8 MP ultrawide is the weaker link. It is useful when you need a wider field of view for landscapes, architecture or group photos, but there is a noticeable drop in detail compared with the primary camera.
Colours remain reasonably consistent between the two cameras, which I appreciate, but the difference in sharpness becomes more obvious when you crop into an image. As the available light drops, the ultrawide also struggles more, so I would stick to the main lens for the most part.
Front Camera
The 32 MP selfie camera is decent, although Poco's processing can be a little too enthusiastic with faces. Skin smoothening is noticeable even when beautification is reduced, which can take away some of the natural facial detail.
That said, the camera produces reasonably detailed selfies in good lighting and supports 4K @ 30 FPS video recording. For video calls and social media, it gets the job done without any major complaints.
The primary camera can record at 4K @ 30 FPS, with OIS helping keep handheld footage steady. The resulting footage is usable for everyday clips and social media. The ultrawide is limited to 1080p @ 30 FPS, while the front camera can also record at 4K @ 30 FPS.
Battery Life and Charging
- 10,000mAh silicon-carbon battery
- 100W HyperCharge fast wired charging
- 27W reverse wired charging
The 10,000mAh battery is easily the Poco X8 Power's biggest advantage. In real-world use, it comfortably lasts through a full day and can stretch into a second day with moderate usage, meaning I rarely found myself checking the battery percentage or carrying a charger around.
With a mix of social media, calls, browsing and video streaming, the phone comfortably stretches across two days of use. The X8 Power ends a workday with around 45-50% remaining to carry over to the next day, delivering a total screen-on time of about 10.5 hours.
The 100W HyperCharge support is welcome, although filling a battery this large naturally takes longer than charging a typical 5,000mAh phone. A full charge from 5–100% takes about 1.5 hours. Poco also includes the 100W charger in the box.
You also get 27W wired reverse charging, which lets the X8 Power double as a power bank for other devices.
Poco X8 Power 5G Review Verdict: Should You Buy It?
After spending time with the Poco X8 Power, I think Poco has been quite clear about what this phone is trying to be. This is a phone for people who are simply tired of charging their phones every day, thereby justifying the "Power" in the name.
The 10,000mAh battery delivers on that promise, while the large 1.5K 120 Hz AMOLED display, capable primary camera, stereo speakers and long software support make sure the rest of the experience doesn't feel like an afterthought.
The Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 is perfectly adequate for everyday use, but this isn't the Poco to buy if gaming performance is your priority, while the 8 MP ultrawide is fairly average.
You are essentially trading some performance headroom and camera versatility for the freedom of not having to think about a charger nearly as often. Honestly, for the right buyer, that is a trade-off worth considering, especially considering the worsening RAM crisis.
