POCO F6 Pro GBAtemp review
Hardware

Name: POCO F6 Pro
Item: POCO F6 Pro
Rating: 8.3
Author: Prans

Product Information:

Official Store: https://www.po.co/global/product/poco-f6-pro/

POCO, the global smartphone branch of Xiaomi, launched its latest F series phones last week. Among these is the POCO F6 Pro, the company’s current flagship which aims to be a contender for your daily driver and gaming phone. Does it achieve that? Let’s find out in this review!

attachFull439760

The POCO F6 Pro is POCO’s latest all-round flagship device and it went on sale last week. After having seen some of its touted features during the launch event, I was curious to experience for myself the device’s performance when it comes to gaming and emulation, as well as a daily driver. Having finally had my hands on the smartphone, I did just that. So let’s dive in!

POCO F6 Pro contents and specs

POCO’s latest flagship comes in two colours, Black and White, and three different models based on their storage. The 12GB+256GB model retails for $499, the 12GB+512GB model retails for $549 and the 16GB +1TB model retails for $629. The latter model is quite a unique storage option and is the one reviewed in this article. Each model comes with the following items:

POCO F6 Pro smartphone
Adapter
USB Type-C Cable
Protective Case
SIM Eject Tool
Quick Start Guide and Warranty Card

attachFull439762

Specs of the POCO F6 Pro can be found below:

Value-for-money hardware with the POCO F6 Pro

While there are different colours and storage models of the F6 Pro, they all bear the same outer hardware. This aspect of the device is reflective of its flagship moniker. The device’s metal frame, the glass panel around the camera array and the curved glass back add to the premium appeal. Being 8.21mm thick and weighing 209g, the POCO F6 Pro is also comfortable to hold and use.

As usual with POCO’s phones, this model also comes with a protective case and screen protector. The latter is already applied at factory level and having these accessories included provides some peace of mind while making for a value-for-money package.

attachFull439772

The POCO F6 Pro’s classy hardware and quality build makes it an appropriate contender for a daily driver, even if traditionally the company has been gaming-oriented. This design approach seems to have been a deliberate move from the company as they seem to target a wider audience beyond gamers, as can be inferred from my interview with Angus Ng, head of product marketing at POCO Global. I do appreciate the sleeker and less conspicuous design of the phone; but as a gaming phone, the lack of physical control persists. POCO does advertise the F6 Pro for gaming ends but the company does not support the phone with gaming accessories or integrated hardware as they did with the POCO F4 GT.

Gaming and emulation performance on the POCO F6 Pro

Powering the POCO F6 Pro is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which isn’t the same high-end chip as other flagships such as the Xiaomi 14 Ultra (the latter packs the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip). Opting for this processor might be a decision to keep prices down while still handling demanding games and tasks well. The octa-core CPU and packing up to 16GB + 1TB storage makes the POCO F6 Pro well capable of delivering quality gaming. The GeekBench 6 scores positions it among the upper tier (although not chart-topping)..

With its specs, you can expect to play Android games without any issues. Titles such as Pascal’s Wager and Dead Cells run at a stable 60fps at the highest graphical settings. In the case of PUBG Mobile, the POCO F6 Pro debuts the 120fps mode with WildBoost Optimization 3.0. It is quite a unique and attractive offer for a popular game, showing the gaming-oriented aspect of the phone. However, this feature has not been rolled out yet and will be part of a future OTA update. This is a downer considering the marketing focus on WildBoost Optimization 3.0.

attachFull439781

Regarding emulation, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip is well capable to handle demanding systems. For PS2 games, Shadow of the Colossus and Ratchet & Clank run at a stable 60fps at 3x resolution with no audiovisual issues.

Switch games are rather hit-or-miss due to the WIP nature of available emulators (which have also been subject to Nintendo crackdown). Less demanding titles such as Cult of the Lamb runs steadily at 30fps in handheld mode, while Untitled Goose Game would be stuck on a black screen at start-up or would be stuck at the loading screen. I also encountered issues with Super Mario Odyssey’s cutscenes and while in-game, the emulator would display a grey screen. Dragon Ball FighterZ would work fine up to the mini map but show a blue screen during battles. So it might be tricky to run Switch games and you could try your luck with some games and tweaking some settings. That’s not the fault of the phone but rather the nature of the emulator.

attachFull439785

That said, older systems such as Gamecube, Dreamcast and earlier have no issues running on the POCO F6 Pro. For Gamecube at 3x resolution, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes runs at 60fps while The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess runs at. Dreamcast games such as Crazy Taxi and Dead or Alive 2 run at a steady 60fps.

attachFull439790

As with other POCO phones, the F6 Pro has a gaming tab that you can pull at any time to view performance and toggle some performance options. It’s a handy feature that makes for a streamlined mobile gaming experience. This is supported by the Game Turbo app which is POCO’s customisable games launcher.

Supplementing the gaming performance is the POCO F6 Pro’s crisp AMOLED display. It delivers detailed visuals and added immersion is provided with the dual speakers’ quality output.

attachFull439795

Having 1TB storage on a phone really makes storage concerns a thing of the past. You can simply download your games, take screenshots and recordings without having to worry about running out of space. However, having the option to expand the storage with microSD cards would be welcome, especially if you are opting for the cheaper models with less storage. Moreover, having expandable storage would allow you to more easily transfer your retro games library to your new phone. Not having this feature is likely due to keeping costs down on the phone.

Another likely cost-cutting decision is the lack of USB-C video output support. This prevents the POCO F6 Pro from being paired to an external display or AR glasses to game on larger screens. AR glasses from the likes of XREAL and RayNeo have become popular companions for mobile gaming; and it would be welcome, if not expected, for gaming-oriented phones to support such accessories.

POCO F6 Pro: a performance-driven daily driver

While the F6 Pro is still a gaming phone at heart, as its performance attests, POCO has shaped its latest flagship to appeal to a wider audience. This is not only reflected in the looks of the phone but the general use case of the phone. It packs features that you’d expect out of a premium device such as in-screen fingerprint sensor which also supports heart rate monitoring. It also has 5G and WiFi-7 support. Its crisp display with up to 120Hz refresh rate allows for swift navigation and is also well apt for streaming videos.

The relatively beefy specs not only suits gaming purposes but is also apt for multitasking. This is where having support for external displays would come in handy. Being able to multitask lends itself well on larger screens but this is not an option via the POCO F6 Pro’s USB-C port.

attachFull439796

Thanks to the built-in 5000mAh battery, you can have a full day’s use with no worries. However, your mileage will vary and if you are gaming often, the battery will drain quicker. But the F6 Pro supports Xiaomi’s lighting-fast 120W HyperCharge. This can charge the device to 100% in under 20 minutes and is always an impressive feature of Xiaomi phones.

With the F6 Series, POCO has also paid more attention to its photography features. Its triple camera array (50MP main camera, 8MP ultra-wide camera, 2MP macro camera) can take quality shots and the Ultra Night Algorithm delivers impressive shots in dark environments, although the results can be lacking in details.

Ultrawide, 1x and 2x zoom pictures

Same pictures taken with lights (first picture) and lights off in a dark room (second picture)

POCO has also introduced some AI features such as erasing photobombers, expanding landscapes and generating new images from portraits based on user prompts. These are welcome additions to play around with. However, while the company has touted these features since launching the new F series, they are currently only available in Beta Access. This requires signing up with your Xiaomi account and is an extra hassle, especially as these features have been prominent during the marketing campaign.

You won’t get to try the AI features from the get-go but the POCO F6 Pro does come with the usual pre-installed bloatware typical of Xiaomi phones. Having less bloat and allowing the user to choose their own apps, instead of having to uninstall dozens of them, would make for a better experience.

As the F6 Pro leans towards the flagship tier of smartphones, it also brings along downsides of such phones such as the lack of headphone jack. For gaming purposes, this is a downer as you’ll have to rely on battery-dependent Bluetooth headphones which can in turn be taxing to the phone’s battery. In my interview with Angus Ng, the POCO representative, did mention that headphone jacks reduce a phone’s water resistance rating and is a flagship issue.

Despite some nagging downsides and unavailable standout features (at the time of writing), POCO does deliver a compelling daily driver and gaming smartphone package with the F6 Pro. Its specs allow it to play popular Android games and handle demanding emulators well without packing an overly “gamer” aesthetic. All of this is packaged in classy hardware which is reasonably priced, and, achieving POCO’s aim of appealing to a larger audience.

Verdict

What We Liked ...

Premium hardware
Attractive price:performance ratio
Handles Android games and emulators smoothly
Up to 1TB built-in storage option
120W HyperCharge support

What We Didn't Like ...

No physical controls on a gaming-oriented smartphone
WildBoost Optimization 3.0 not yet available
AI features in Beta Access
No expandable storage or headphone jack
Lack of video output support over USB-C

8.3

out of 10

Overall

With the F6 Pro, POCO delivers a compelling high-end daily driver that easily doubles as a gaming smartphone.

Reactions: Weyu, Fatih120, Blythe93 and 1 other person

Marc_LFD
May 30, 2024

Practically any Android phone nowadays can smoothly run Dreamcast so that's not much of a surprise, the next stage is the PS2 emulator.

GCN is somewhere between the two as it runs very well on a phone I used to use (Samsung A52s).

Reactions: TheNintendoEnthusiast and Blythe93

codezer0
May 30, 2024

Based on the bands, yet another phone that can't be used in the states...

The phone market here feels like the communist drudgery the baby boomers were raised to fear.

Would it be a good time to buy some older Poco variant to get a budget deal?

>No physical controls on a gaming-oriented smartphone
This shows up on every gaming phone review here, but are there ANY modern phones with built-in controllers for gaming? I can't think of any since the Sony Xperia Play (though I really wish there would be one).

Reviews

PlayStation 5
Enotria The Last Song review

Become the Mask of Change and free a world of unwilling actors, stuck in an eternal script not of their making in Enotria: The Last Song.
Hardware
Mobapad M6 HD review

The Mobapad M6 HD is yet another Joy-Con replacement option for the Nintendo Switch. Does it offer anything worthwhile?
Hardware
Turtle Beach KONE II review

The KONE II is gaming peripheral manufacturer Turtle Beach’s latest mouse and we take a look at this wired gaming mouse in this review.
Computer
The Plucky Squire review

Indie developer All Possible Futures recently released their debut title, The Plucky Squire. This action-adventure game mixes 2D and 3D gameplay for an innovative take on the genre. Is it as...
Hardware
Xiaomi 14T Pro review

Xiaomi is debuting its mid-range 14T Series and in this review, we’ll take a look at the Xiaomi 14T Pro.

More reviews

Product Information:

POCO F6 Pro contents and specs

Value-for-money hardware with the POCO F6 Pro

Gaming and emulation performance on the POCO F6 Pro

POCO F6 Pro: a performance-driven daily driver

Verdict

Overall

Enotria The Last Song review

Mobapad M6 HD review

Turtle Beach KONE II review

The Plucky Squire review

Xiaomi 14T Pro review