News in Short
- Poco X8 Power starts at ₹35,999 in India.
- It packs a massive 10,000mAh silicon-carbon battery.
- The phone supports 100W HyperCharge and 27W reverse charging.
- It has a 6.83-inch 1.5K AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate.
- The display supports Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and up to 3,500 nits.
- It gets IP66, IP68, IP69 and IP69K protection.
The mid-range smartphone segment has become increasingly competitive, but brands are not all chasing the same thing. Some are focusing on performance, others on cameras, design or charging speeds. Poco, with the X8 Power, has taken a different route by putting a much larger battery at the centre of the phone.
Priced from ₹35,999, the Poco X8 Power comes with a 10,000mAh battery, 100W charging and a 6.83-inch AMOLED display. At the same time, it uses the Snapdragon 6 Gen 5, weighs 229 grams and makes some compromises in the camera department.
After using the phone for several days, I found that the X8 Power has some clear strengths, but it also raises a bigger question: does the massive battery make enough of a difference to overlook what Poco has compromised elsewhere?
That is what I wanted to find out with this review.
Design
The Poco X8 Power is a large phone, and there is no getting around that. It measures 163.44 x 78.27 x 8.65mm and weighs 229 grams. The weight is noticeable during extended use, especially when compared with lighter phones in the same segment.
However, there is a practical reason for that added weight. The phone houses a 10,000mAh battery and comes with a fairly extensive protection package. It has IP66, IP68, IP69 and IP69K ratings, along with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
The additional protection does make the X8 Power feel reassuringly sturdy. Poco has also received five-star quality certifications from SGS and TÃœV. So, while this is not the phone I would pick if portability were my biggest priority, the construction does explain some of its bulk.
For me, the design is therefore more about practicality than aesthetics. You get a substantial phone that feels built for everyday wear and tear, but you also have to live with the extra weight.
Display
The 6.83-inch 1.5K AMOLED display is one of the more enjoyable aspects of the Poco X8 Power. It has a 2772×1280 resolution and supports a refresh rate of up to 120Hz.
The large panel works particularly well for watching videos and browsing. Text looks sharp, colours are punchy and the 120Hz refresh rate keeps scrolling and animations smooth.
Poco has also packed in support for HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 12-bit colour and DCI-P3. Peak brightness is rated at up to 3,500 nits, which gives the display plenty of headroom for outdoor use.
There is some competition on the refresh-rate front. The Motorola Edge 70 Pro, Motorola Edge 70 Fusion and OnePlus Nord CE 6 offer 144Hz panels. However, I did not find the difference between 120Hz and 144Hz significant enough to affect my overall experience with the Poco.
The phone also gets TÃœV Triple Eye Protection, Wet Touch 2.0 and up to 3,200Hz instantaneous touch sampling through Game Turbo. Overall, the display is one of the areas where the X8 Power feels well suited to its price.
OS and AI
The Poco X8 Power runs Xiaomi HyperOS 3 based on Android 16. Poco has listed four Android updates and six years of security updates for the phone.
HyperOS 3 offers plenty of customisation, and the phone also brings several AI features into the overall software experience. I like that AI does not feel like the entire identity of the phone. Instead, it sits alongside the other software tools and features.
There is one part of the software experience that I would have liked Poco to handle differently. The phone comes with several pre-installed apps that I did not find particularly useful.
These apps add unnecessary clutter and make the initial software experience feel less clean than it could be. I would have preferred fewer pre-installed applications and more control for users over what they want on the phone.
Apart from that, HyperOS 3 is feature-rich and offers plenty of options for users who like to customise their devices.
Processor
The Poco X8 Power is powered by the Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 processor. It is paired with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.1 storage, with configurations going up to 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.
This is perhaps the clearest area where the X8 Power falls behind some of its competitors.
In my testing, the phone scored 920 in Geekbench single-core and 2,866 in multi-core. It recorded 987,724 on AnTuTu.
For comparison, the Motorola Edge 70 Pro scored 1,669 in single-core, 5,508 in multi-core and 1,868,482 on AnTuTu. The OnePlus Nord CE 6 recorded 1,098, 3,111 and 1,142,518 respectively. The Motorola Edge 70 Fusion also posted higher scores of 1,242, 3,454 and 1,147,225.
So, the numbers clearly put the Poco behind these rivals.
In everyday use, however, the difference is not as dramatic. Browsing, social media, streaming, switching between apps and regular multitasking are handled well. The phone does not feel sluggish during normal use.
The bigger gap becomes relevant if you are buying a phone primarily for demanding gaming or raw processing power. That is not where the X8 Power makes its strongest case.
Camera
The Poco X8 Power has a 50-megapixel primary camera with OIS, an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera and a 32-megapixel front camera.
The main camera performs reasonably well in daylight. Images have good detail and colours that look pleasing without becoming too distracting. OIS also helps keep shots steady when there is some movement.
Low-light photography is acceptable when there is enough light around the subject. The main camera can retain a decent amount of detail in these conditions.
However, the limitations become more apparent when you use zoom in darker environments. Images can lose detail and appear softer, so I would avoid pushing the zoom too much at night.
The 8-megapixel ultrawide camera is another compromise. Some competing phones offer considerably higher-resolution ultrawide cameras, giving them more flexibility when shooting wider scenes.
So, while the main camera can handle everyday photography well, the overall camera system is not the primary reason I would choose the X8 Power.
Battery
This is the area where the Poco X8 Power makes its biggest statement.
The phone packs a 10,000mAh silicon-carbon battery. It supports 100W HyperCharge and 27W wired reverse charging. Poco also includes a 100W charger in the box.
The battery capacity is significantly larger than what you normally see in this segment. It also changes the way you think about the phone during everyday use. You are less likely to be constantly checking the battery percentage or carrying a charger everywhere.
The reverse charging feature adds some flexibility too. It allows the phone to provide power to compatible accessories or other devices when required.
The obvious trade-off is the weight. A 10,000mAh battery has contributed to a 229-gram phone, so this is not a device that disappears in your hand or pocket.
For me, though, the battery is the strongest reason to consider the X8 Power. Poco has clearly prioritised endurance over making the phone thinner or lighter.
Verdict
The Poco X8 Power is an interesting example of a phone built around a specific priority rather than trying to win every category.
Its 10,000mAh battery is the headline feature, but the package goes beyond capacity. You also get 100W charging, reverse charging, strong protection and a large 1.5K AMOLED display.
At the same time, there are clear compromises. The phone is heavy, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 trails several rivals in benchmark performance, and the ultrawide camera is not particularly ambitious. The software could also benefit from fewer pre-installed apps.
At ₹35,999, the Poco X8 Power makes the most sense if battery life and durability matter more to you than outright performance or camera versatility.
It is not a phone that tries to be the fastest or lightest option in its segment. Instead, it offers a different balance. And whether that balance works for you largely comes down to how much value you place on not having to reach for a charger.
