| Category | Specification |
| Display | 6.9-inch FHD+ 120Hz AMOLED, 1,800 nits peak brightness |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 4 |
| Battery | 8,000mAh with 45W fast charging & 22.5W reverse wired charging |
| Camera | 50MP Main Camera + 8MP Selfie Camera |
| Software | Android 16 with HyperOS 3, 4 Android OS updates & 6 years security updates |
Shopping for a mid-range phone usually means picking your poison. Buy something fast, and the cameras take a hit. Look for a huge battery, and you end up saddled with a washed-out screen.
POCO is trying to balance those trade-offs with the new M8 Power. It brings an 8,000mAh battery, a bright 120Hz AMOLED panel, refreshed styling, and Qualcomm's latest mid-range silicon under one roof.
Starting at ₹24,999 for the 6GB + 128GB version, the spec sheet checks the right boxes. Still, strong specs on a press release do not always translate to a great daily experience.
I used the M8 Power as my main phone for a week before launch. Here is how it actually holds up in hand.
POCO gives the M8 Power a distinct look that sets it apart from typical mid-range phones. I reviewed the green model, which sports a clean matte finish without any oversized logos plastering the lower back panel. The shade is understated and subtle, though the matte material tends to collect finger smudges easily. Unless you want to wipe it down constantly, a case is practically essential. If green isn't your thing, orange and black options are also available.
My favorite detail is the rectangular camera module, which is split evenly into four quadrants. The company logo is tucked away discreetly in the lower-right section rather than drawn across the center.
The right side houses tactile volume and power keys that deliver a satisfying click. At the top sits an IR blaster, while the bottom frame holds the USB-C port, main microphone, a mono speaker, and a SIM tray with microSD storage expansion. The single speaker gets loud enough, but the audio lacks depth and hits weak notes on bass-heavy tracks.
Packing a massive 8,000mAh battery into an 8.4mm chassis is a remarkable engineering trick, keeping the profile deceptively thin. That said, the 225g heft is hard to miss when holding the phone one-handed during longer sessions.
On the build quality front, the display is shielded by Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, and the device carries an IP65 rating to protect against routine dust and water exposure.
Up front, the phone packs a massive 6.9-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display capable of refreshing at 120Hz. Considering how spotty mid-range phone releases have been recently, landing a proper AMOLED display at this price point is a huge relief. Not long ago, I tested the Realme 16T, which hit the market around this same price bracket but forced users to settle for an LCD panel. POCO opting for AMOLED on the M8 Power gives it an immediate competitive advantage.
In everyday use, the quality difference is hard to miss. Text looks crisp, contrast is deep, and streaming video looks punchy. The only obvious missing feature is HDR playback support across major apps like Netflix and YouTube.
Outdoor readability, on the other hand, is excellent. With a rated peak brightness of 1,800 nits, you never have to squint when using the phone outside. During a recent trip through Lajpat Nagar while searching for a music shop under a harsh afternoon sun, the screen stayed bright and perfectly legible the whole time.
As for the front layout, while the side borders are fairly slim, the bottom chin is noticeably thick and gives the device a slightly older look. The optical fingerprint reader embedded near the bottom of the glass is quick and reliable, but its low placement on the chin forces an awkward thumb stretch if you have smaller hands.
Finally, while the 120Hz refresh rate ensures smooth scrolling across the system interface, it isn't applied everywhere, as plenty of third-party apps still drop back to standard 60Hz.
Historically, POCO prioritizes raw performance over camera capabilities, but the primary sensor on the M8 Power performs better than anticipated. The 50MP main rear camera captures sharp daylight shots featuring vibrant colors and strong highlight management.
When taking photos of people, the camera preserves natural skin tones with a subtle warm cast. It stays far away from the heavy smoothing or artificial processing common in budget devices.
Low-light performance was another pleasant surprise. The lens controls glare from streetlights well and retains clean structural detail, showing noticeable noise only in extremely dark environments. While it will not shock high-end camera enthusiasts, the results exceed standard expectations for this price bracket.
Portrait shooting holds up well, too. The software applies a soft, natural background blur that is ideal for social media feeds, even if edge detection stumbles slightly on loose hair strands.
Conversely, the 8MP selfie shooter delivers strictly entry-level performance. It functions adequately for video calls, but selfies lack crisp detail and dynamic depth.
Video capabilities are basic. Both the front and main rear cameras top out at 1080p resolution at 30fps. Although color rendering stays accurate in video mode, the lack of effective handheld stabilization makes motion footage look shaky when you walk.
POCO’s M8 Power brings the Snapdragon 4 Gen 4 chip to India for the first time, pairing it with LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.2 storage.
Benchmark testing put the numbers at roughly 628,000 on AnTuTu, alongside Geekbench scores of 942 for single-core and 2,318 for multi-core. Sure, on paper, those figures lag behind what mid-rangers from a couple of years back delivered.
Real usage is what counts, though. In hand, the phone feels snappy. Apps load right away, social timelines scroll smoothly, and juggling a few open windows rarely bogs things down.
Gaming performance is decent, too. Titles like BGMI and Call of Duty: Mobile stay stable and keep cool, even if you are locked to 60FPS. If you need 90FPS or higher for competitive play, look elsewhere. For an everyday casual match or two, this handles business just fine.
Running Xiaomi HyperOS 3 over Android 16, the POCO M8 Power brings a noticeably smoother user experience. I have never been a big fan of HyperOS, but this build feels far more refined than earlier versions. Useful additions include Hyper Island, deeper Xiaomi ecosystem integration, and baked-in Google tools like Circle to Search and Gemini.
On the AI front, POCO bundles basic writing aids alongside handy photo editing options for quick touch-ups.
Third-party bloatware comes installed right out of the box, which is annoying, though you can wipe almost all of it in a few minutes.
The biggest highlight here is long-term software support. POCO promises 4 years of major Android updates and 6 years of security patches, giving this mid-ranger exceptional future-proofing.
An 8,000mAh capacity is the main selling point here, and it makes power worries irrelevant. Reaching two full days on a single charge happened without breaking a sweat. If you use your phone mostly for quick messages and light social browsing, getting through part of a third day on the same charge is completely doable.
Replenishing a cell this size takes time, but the included 45W power adapter keeps the process manageable. Expect a full zero-to-hundred top-up in about ninety minutes.
You also get 22.5W reverse wired charging support. That transforms the handset into a fast portable battery for topping up your wireless earbuds, smartwatches, or another phone when you are out and about.
Picking a phone in this price bracket comes down to trade-offs. The POCO M8 Power doesn't try to be a high-end camera phone or a competitive gaming device, and it doesn't make fake promises. Instead, it targets everyday practical problems.
If what you want most is a battery that lasts two straight days, a sharp AMOLED panel for watching videos, and long-term software support that keeps your device current, this is an easy buy.
Sure, you'll have to live with a few obvious compromises. The body feels heavy in the hand, the bottom chin is on the thicker side, and games peak at 60FPS. But for most regular users, none of those issues are deal-breakers. The M8 Power gets the fundamental stuff right, making it a reliable pick that delivers strong overall value.