POCO M8 Power 5G Review: Impressive, But There’s A Catch

The POCO M8 Power 5G price in India starts at Rs. 24,999 for the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage variant. The 8GB RAM + 128GB storage model costs Rs. 27,999. During the initial sale, buyers can get the 6GB + 128GB variant for an offer price of Rs. 21,999, while the 8GB + 128GB model is available for Rs. 24,999.

It is available in three colour options: Black, Green, and Blaze Orange. You can buy it from Flipkart and offline stores.

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip8 Quick Review: The Flip Phone Gets Better

The POCO M8 Power 5G packs the following items inside the box:

• Phone
• 45W Charger
• Type C cable
• SIM ejector tool
• Protective cover
• Documentation

Before we talk in detail about the POCO M8 Power 5G, let’s see what the on-paper specs look like:

• Display: 6.99 inches AMOLED screen
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM4450-AF Snapdragon 4 Gen 4
• RAM & ROM: 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM
• Software: Android 16 HyperOS 3
• Rear camera: 50MP, Auxiliary lens
• Selfie camera: 8MP
• Battery: 8000mAh
• Weight: 225 grams
• Dimensions: 169.7 x 79.1 x 8.5 mm

POCO M8 Power has a larger body, measuring 169.7 x 79.1 x 8.5 mm, with a fairly heavy weight of 225 grams. It has a thickness of 8.5mm, which is mainly due to the larger battery cells and display, both of which are among the phone’s USPs.

Talking about its appearance, its design looks like a copycat of the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max, especially in the Cosmo Orange colour. From a consumer’s perspective, I don’t mind this approach. For someone who can’t afford a ₹1.4 lakh phone but likes its design, this could be an affordable alternative.

If even 1% of consumers feel like they are getting a similar design experience, I would consider that a win. The camera module is perfectly aligned with the overall design and minimally protrudes from the body.

Overall, the finish is good. The back is made of plastic (polycarbonate), which looks like glass, but POCO could have done better in making the phone slimmer to give it a more premium feel. Its plastic body looks quite durable, although there is no certification to confirm its durability.

Honestly, if you’re not used to giant phones, you might find the design a bit awkward. I’ve been using 6.5-inch phones for a long time, so the POCO M8 Power feels quite large to me, especially when holding and using it in one hand while walking around.

It also comes with an IP65 rating for dust protection and water resistance. This means it can resist low-pressure water jets. However, I did not test its water resistance in real-world conditions during my POCO M8 Power 5G review.

Moving on to the POCO M8 Power’s ports and buttons, the right side has the power and volume buttons, while the left side is completely clean. The top houses the secondary speaker, while the bottom has the SIM tray, microphone, USB Type-C port, and main speaker.

POCO M8 Power 5G has a single rear camera with a 50MP sensor with Auxiliary support. There isn’t much to talk about regarding its camera. In simple words, I would say that its camera quality is not up to the mark compared to the competition.

With smartphone component prices increasing since the start of 2026, we are now seeing the complete effect on phones in this segment. I captured a few photos, and the images looked quite pixelated and lacked depth.

The results also seemed to be enhanced through AI, which made the images look somewhat raw and grainy in the final output.

During the POCO M8 Power 5G review, I clicked a few portrait images as well, which you can see here. The phone performs better in portrait mode and does a fairly good job of defining the edges.

The results also look better compared to the normal camera mode. You can also see a few images that I clicked of things around me.

Moving on to the front camera, it has an 8MP sensor that offers decent results. You can also record 1080p videos using both the rear and front cameras.

POCO M8 Power 5G comes with an 8,000mAh battery for long-lasting battery life, and this is what I liked most about the phone. Talking about its screen-on time, I got almost 14 hours of SOT during moderate usage, including social media scrolling, watching live matches, movies, and other everyday tasks.

When I played games like Free Fire continuously, I still got around 11 hours of SOT on a single charge. This phone can easily last two to three days on a single charge, so you don’t have to worry about charging it every day.

The phone comes with a 45W charger in the box, which takes around 1 hour and 45 minutes to fully charge the battery. Due to its giant battery capacity, it naturally takes more time to juice up completely. POCO has also added 22.5W reverse wired charging support, allowing you to charge your earbuds and other compatible devices using the phone.

The display is also one of the major highlights of the POCO M8 Power 5G. This phone comes with a 6.99-inch AMOLED display, offering a great viewing experience.

I watched almost everything from live matches to YouTube videos on it, and because of its large screen, I enjoyed watching content on this phone. The deep blacks are also quite impressive. Keep in mind that it supports a maximum video quality of 1080p, so don’t expect anything beyond that.

This phone also comes with a peak brightness of 1,800 nits. During my POCO M8 Power 5G review, I used the phone multiple times outdoors. The experience wasn’t the best, but I would say it was fine for regular outdoor use.

Its 120Hz refresh rate also impressed me, as I initially thought POCO might cut down on the refresh rate to keep the cost more balanced. Thanks to the 120Hz refresh rate, the overall display experience feels fast and smooth.

To protect the display from accidental damage, the phone comes with a Corning Gorilla Glass 7i panel for added durability.

POCO M8 Power 5G is powered by the Qualcomm SM4450-AB Snapdragon 4 Gen 4 chipset, paired with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. For daily usage, its performance is quite good.

I used the phone for social media scrolling, watching videos, browsing, switching between apps, and other regular tasks. But, I didn’t face any major lag or stutter. The chipset is clearly focused on delivering a balanced experience rather than upper mid-range level performance.

Talking about RAM and storage, the phone comes with up to 8GB of RAM, which is enough for regular multitasking and keeping multiple apps open. The 256GB storage also gives you enough space for apps, photos, videos, and games, so you won’t have to worry about running out of storage quickly.

Moving on to gaming, I played Free Fire on the POCO M8 Power 5G and didn’t face any major issues. The gameplay was smooth enough for regular gaming, and I also didn’t notice any significant heating during my sessions. However, the experience was different when I opened BGMI.

Since BGMI is a relatively heavy game, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 4 struggled to deliver the same smooth experience, with some noticeable performance limitations. So, if you’re buying this phone mainly for gaming, it is better suited for lighter titles like Free Fire rather than demanding games like BGMI.

I also ran several Benchmark tests on the POCO M8 Power 5G to assess its performance across different aspects. Its Geekbench scores are 727 in single-core and 1283 in multi-core. The maximum in the CPU throttling test is 94 per cent. Moreover, its Antutu score is 611268. The 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Stress Test for stability has an overall score of 97.9%.

POCO M8 Power 5G runs on Android 16 with Xiaomi’s HyperOS 3 on top. The overall UI experience is smooth, and I didn’t face any major lag or stutter while moving through menus, opening apps, or switching between different screens. The animations also feel responsive, making the day-to-day experience quite pleasant.

POCO has also promised up to four major OS updates, which is a good move considering the phone’s price segment. This should keep the device relevant for a longer period and give users access to newer Android features in the future.

However, the software experience isn’t completely clean. The phone comes with a lot of pre-installed bloatware, including apps and games such as Bubble Shooter, Story TV, Wood Blast, and several others.

Most of these apps may not be useful for every user, and I would have preferred POCO to offer a cleaner software experience out of the box.

That said, you can uninstall many of these third-party apps if you don’t need them. Overall, HyperOS 3 offers a smooth and feature-rich experience, but the amount of bloatware takes away from what could otherwise be a cleaner UI.