If there’s one thing a gaming phone should do, it is to make you win. POCO proves to be ready for the mission with the latest addition to its lineup: the POCO F6.
Launched last May 23, the POCO F6 is designed with mobile gaming as a strong focus. This is made clearer when the features come into play.
The POCO F6 is packed with a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset, Xiaomi’s Game Turbo utility, 6.67-inch Flow AMOLED display, and 90W charging to boost your moves in your thumb-twitchers.
Curious about how these ammos actually fare on the battlefield? Read on.
Jumpstarting the adventure
Here’s a bit of a trivia: POCO’s boxes differ based on how premium your phone is. Since the POCO F6 is a player in the brand’s star team, it comes in the reverse black and yellow box, unlike its more affordable offerings.
The unboxing experience is pretty basic, especially for a gaming phone. But then again, the concept is consistent with the POCO F6’s aesthetic principle that less is more.
Inside the box, you’ll find the 90W fast charging brick, USB-C to USB-A charging cable, the usual manual and warranty papers, a matte dark green phone case, and SIM ejector tool.
Of course, the MVP is the POCO F6 unit itself which, in our case, comes in a green colorway that looks sophisticated for a gaming handset. It’s a great choice for those who prefer a more discreet look.
Slim chassis
The device’s matte back panel makes it a lot less prone to fingerprints. It features a no-frills “Singularity” design that only has its dual camera setup as the highlight, positioned on the top left of the back panel alongside a Halo flash.
On the right is the POCO logo and an inscription of the main camera’s features: 50MP and OIS (optical image stabilization).
The POCO F6 is comfortable to grip even during prolonged gameplay thanks to its flat and slim edges. The build is all-plastic but still feels sturdy and durable.
For the buttons, the POCO F6 has the power switch and volume rocker on the right side while the left is all button-free. At the bottom, you’ll find the speaker, Type-C charging port, and a dual SIM card slot. Over at the top are the device’s microphone, another speaker, and an IR blaster.
At the front are the POCO F6’s 6.67-inch display panel and selfie shooter in a punch-hole.
Graphics and audio pro
The phone’s display and audio systems are likewise made to level up your gaming experience. The device boasts a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen with a 2712 x 1220px 1.5K Flow resolution. It has an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate and support for Dolby Vision, which adds to the display’s ability to make the graphics truly immersive.
We’ve seen it each time we played Call of Duty using the device. The game environment was bright and sharp, while the characters’ features and weapons appeared realistic. It remained the same even under the sun, with the phone’s brightness peaking at 2,400 nits.
Adding to the gripping experience is the display’s touch sampling rate which peaks at 480Hz. It makes the screen highly receptive to clicks and swipes.
And while the POCO F6’s resolution is ultra-clear, it didn’t eat much of our phone’s battery. That is thanks to the device’s CrystalRes technology, which pairs high resolution with low power consumption.
The phone also has Gorilla Glass Victus to protect its screen from falls and tear, as well as an IP64 rating for water resistance.
Now as for the sound department, the POCO F6 is equipped with dual stereo speakers—one at the bottom and another on top—with support for Dolby Atmos and a Hi-Res Audio certification.
They are pretty impressive and create a perfect combo with the device’s immersive display. The audio is clear, crisp, and loud, with each footstep of the enemy and other minute sounds coming out of the speakers. The output is balanced and solid without unwanted noise.
Built for battle
The POCO F6 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 4nm processor boosted by an Adreno 735 GPU. According to Qualcomm, this flagship chipset has an AI engine that enables it to deliver high speed and extreme battery efficiency, among many other things. Meanwhile, its Snapdragon Elite gaming features are said to churn out graphics that are desktop-quality.
We discussed earlier how the device’s display provides just that. And its hardware’s gaming performance has likewise proven that it can fulfill its mission. Its features, along with the device’s frame rate of up to 120fps, provide a fast and smooth gaming experience sans lags.
The beefy processor is backed by LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 4.0 storage in 8GB + 256GB and 12GB + 512GB configurations. Our unit has the smaller setup but is still good at running various apps and multitasking.
Temperature is fairly manageable with the device’s LiquidCool Technology 4.0. Our test unit heated up while loading games for the first time. Even so, it stayed cool for the rest of our gaming sessions.
Enhancing the user experience is the operating system, which is Xiaomi HyperOS based on Android 14. It provides a simple and intuitive interface and fresh features, including a new control center, always-on display, and lock screen customizations, among others.
Other than its gaming tools, the POCO F6 is equipped with a new feature called AI Controls Gesture. It is designed to let you control the smartphone with hand gestures while you’re away from the screen. Alas, setting up the feature proved to be challenging because the camera couldn’t recognize our hand despite many tries. Hopefully, POCO can keep improving this feature for future versions.
POCO F6 reloads its 5000mAh battery via a 90W power brick. We used it to fully charge our phone twice during our review. It took a little over an hour to charge from 0 to 100 percent.
The battery, on the other hand, kept pace with our activities finely. It lasted for two days with moderate gaming and streaming, as well as constant use of camera and social media apps.
Capable shooter
POCO F6’s main shooter at the back uses a 50MP Sony IMX882 sensor with a relatively large f/1.59 aperture that promises stunning snaps from standard photo to nightscape modes.
It is paired with an 8MP ultrawide sensor and beefed up with OIS to let you capture images minus the blur. With all these working together, the POCO F6 delivers as promised—images captured in basic photo mode and in daylight have vivid details, sharpness, and true-to-life colors. Expect to get even sharper and more vibrant shots when you switch to full 50MP resolution.
Night mode captures images with good contrast, increased highlights, and great sharpness when taken outdoors. Both the standard photo and night modes fall short, though, when it comes to taking night shots indoors. Lights and lamps are captured with too much glare and the effect looks pretty bad in the images.
Portrait mode, on the other hand, has seamless subject-background separation that doesn’t make the photo look too edited.
Take a look at our sample shots below:
For selfies, the phone uses a 20MP front camera. Photos turn out stunning and Instagram-worthy, as the skin is brightened, colors are made more vivid, and contrast is increased without making the overall result look too filtered.
As for the videos, the POCO F6 can record clips with up to 4K HDR10+ resolution for more lifelike presentation of light and shadow. It also has a built-in feature called Motion Tracking Focus 2.0 that tracks each subject with clarity in every shot.
Speed says
The POCO F6 is a great choice for mobile gaming at a competitive price point. It has a powerful chipset, generous RAM and storage, and a brilliant display. The 5000mAh battery with 90W fast charging lasts through long gaming sessions. Overall, the POCO F6 is a great choice for gamers looking for a powerful and affordable option.
The POCO F6 retails for P21,999 for the 8GB + 256GB variant and P24,999 for the 12GB + 512GB model. It is available in POCO stores and online via Shopee and Lazada.
Words and photos Justine Punzalan
