Xiaomi's Pocophone F1 The Ridiculously Cheap Flagship

Introducing Xiaomi's Pocophone F1 which boasts the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It comes with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. It sports a huge 6.18-inch FullHD+ display with rear dual camera 12/5MP. As for selfies, it comes with a 20MP shooter. This flagship killer can be yours from as low as US$300.

By now the world has already known Xiaomi too well for the good and bad reasons of course. The negative flak is due to the so-called carbon copy designs of their devices which look mighty similar to the more expensive iPhone. Then again a lot of smartphones look more or less the same nowadays except for a few a radical ones like Oppo Find X and Vivo NEX which boldly redesign their smartphones. So what can Pocophone F1 bring to the table? Price tag-ridiculously cheap price tag!

Pocophone is the brainchild of Xiaomi; or you can call it as the sub-brand of Xiaomi. Basically it can be heralded as the new OnePlus which used to offer flagship specs and performances at a rock bottom price. As OnePlus is moving towards more premium market bracket, the introduction of Pocophone seems timely and necessary. It is powered by a Snapdragon 845 with a price tag as low as US$300 (RM1,300). So if you are looking for flagship smartphone at dirt cheap price-your search is over.

What do you have in the notch?

You will gleefully smile the moment you hold Pocophone F1 in your hand. The huge 6.18-inch Full HD+ display will make your eyes water (in a good way of course). The display has a resolution of 2246 x 1080 with an aspect ratio of 18:7:9 which gives it its slim and tall profile design. Protected by tough Corning Gorrila Glass, it showcases a brightness of 500nits which will definitely brighten up your day. Like most of the smartphones, it comes with a notch to house extra sensors such as infrared lights and camera so that you can even unlock your phone with your gorgeous face even in pitch black darkness.

Poco F1 is the most affordable smartphone with Snapdragon 845.

Under the hood, the smartphone is powered by flagship-level Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor which come with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage which is expandable for another 256GB of external storage via MicroSD card. Mind you that it comes with premium LPDDR4x RAM and UFS 2.1 storage which will of course allow you to enjoy ultra-snappy experience with it. Coupled with Adreno 630GPU and LiquidCool technology, it runs smoothly and efficiently to deliver top-notch performances for work and play-gaming. *psst* Poco F1 actually outscored OnePlus  6 in the latest Antutu Benchmark. Gamers rejoice. :D

In terms of photography, Poco F1 sports the identical 12MP f/1.9 Sony IMX363 main camera with dual-pixel autofocus that Xiaomi Mi 8 is using. As for secondary rear camera it features a 5MP f/2.0 for all your bokeh effects and portrait shots. As for flawless selfies, you will have a whopping 20MP camera at your disposal which comes with AI portrait mode. Though there is no Optical Image Stabilization, there is EIS when you record videos. By the way the fingerprint sensor is directly at the bottom of the rear camera module.

Some final "bytes" to chew, Poco F1 possesses stereo speakers which will be perfect for drama binge-watching and of course gaming. It is juiced by a huge battery pack of 4,000mAh which supports  Quick Charge 3.0 and guess what? Xiaomi still retains the fast-disappearing 3.5mm headphone jack. You can choose from 3 different colours of Rosso Red, Graphite Black and Steel Blue. If you want something more avant garde, you can opt for the Armoured Edition which utilises DuPont Kevlar aramid fibre for that extra protection. So should you buy Pocophone F1? It is a resounding YES from me. Cheap price and flagship specs: what else do you one? :p The following are the official Malaysian pricing of the phone:

6GB RAM + 64GB storage – RM1,237

6GB RAM + 128GB storage – RM1,428