Poco X6 Neo Review: Budget Hero

Budget smartphones are plentiful, and every brand is trying to do something different to grab the attention of the masses. gave Poco X6 Neo There’s a new kid on the block, not really new, it’s a rebranded Redmi Note 13, but with some changes to its design and software. The main selling points for the Neo are its slim display bezel and overall slim form factor. The Poco X6 Neo joins the Poco X6 and Poco X6 Pro. This results in a series of devices that span from the budget segment to the mid-range.

We’ve been testing the budget Poco X6 Neo for a week now to find out if it’s a good phone for around Rs. 15,000 and this is what we found.

Poco X6 Neo Review: Price in India

The Poco X6 Neo is available in two variants in India. The base model with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage is priced at Rs. 15,999, while the high-end 12GB RAM + 256GB storage option can be yours for Rs. 17,999.

The Poco X6 Neo is available in three color options.

Poco X6 Neo is available in Astral Black, Horizon Blue, and Martian Orange. We received the 12GB RAM variant in Martian Orange for review.

In the box, the Poco X6 Neo comes with a case, 33W fast charger, USB Type-A to Type-C cable, SIM ejector tool, and the usual paperwork.

Poco X6 Neo Review: Design

In terms of design, the Poco X6 Neo is definitely a good looking phone. We’re testing the Martian Orange colorway, which has a marble-like finish on the back panel that shines even when light hits the surface. It’s kind of cool and definitely eye-catching. Otherwise, the panel has a matte finish, which is good at resisting fingerprints and smudges.

It has a flat frame with a slight taper which makes the phone comfortable to hold in the hand. Both the frame and the back panel are made of plastic, which helps keep it light at just 175 grams. Along with the dual cameras, there is also a rectangular camera module on the back, which protrudes slightly outwards. The protruding cameras make the phone vibrate when placed on its back.

The Poco X6 Neo has a single loudspeaker.

The Poco X6 Neo is also quite thin, at just 7.69mm. On the front, you get thin bezels around the flat display which gives it a very premium look. There’s no thick chin like you see on most phones in this price bracket. The phone offers an IP54 dust and splash resistant rating and the display screen is covered in Gorilla Glass 5.

Poco X6 Neo Review: Specifications and Software

Moving on to the specifications, the Poco X6 Neo is equipped with a MediaTek Dimensity 6080 SoC, which is based on a 6nm fabrication process. It is paired with Mali-G54 MC2 GPU and 12GB LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB UFS 2.2 storage. You can’t expect fast RAM and storage on a phone priced this aggressively.

The Poco X6 Neo has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.

The phone comes with a USB Type-C port, a single loudspeaker, and a microphone at the bottom. The volume and power buttons are placed on the left side, while the right frame houses the SIM ejector tray, which supports dual SIM or single SIM and a microSD card. At the top you’ll find an infrared blaster, a microphone, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The phone has 5G support, Bluetooth 5.3, dual-band Wi-Fi, and support for the usual Global Positioning System.

Poco has used a side-mounted fingerprint scanner on the X6 Neo which is placed below the power button. The scanner is fast and works well. We did not face any problem while using the phone.

The phone packs a 5,000mAh battery and comes with a 33W fast charger. Out of the box, the Poco X6 Neo runs MIUI 14 based on Android 13, and you get two years of Android and 4 years of security updates. However, since Google will soon launch Android 15 later this year, you’re basically only getting a year’s worth of Android OS updates with the X6 Neo, which is disappointing.

Poco X6 Neo has a lot of bloatware.

In terms of software features, you get the Poco Launcher on the phone with the Glance lock screen (which can thankfully be disabled), along with a lot of bloatware and ads. While most bloatware can be uninstalled, there are some apps you’ll have to live with. Your phone also has the usual set of MIUI 14 features.

Poco X6 Neo Review: Performance

Performance-wise, there isn’t much going on with the X6 Neo as it’s your average run-of-the-mill performer. The MediaTek Dimensity 6080 SoC is decent for everyday use and some gaming. We ran some benchmarks on the phone and here are the results. With AnTuTu, the phone scored 4,59,491 points. On Geekbench 6’s CPU benchmarks, the phone scored 613 points in the single-core test and 1,798 points in the multi-core tests. In the GPU test, the phone scored 1,407 points. As you can tell, this is nothing out of the ordinary.

The phone is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 6080 SoC.

One of the main selling points of the Poco X6 Neo is its display. You get a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, Full-HD+ resolution, and a touch sampling rate of up to 2,160Hz. The panel also features ultra-thin bezels all around. The side bezels are razor thin at just 1.5mm. Meanwhile, the top bezel is 2mm and the bottom bezel is 2.5mm. At first glance, the bezels look uniform and give the device a premium look. It’s a rare sight to see a display with such thin bezels at this price point, especially of the AMOLED variety. Most phones in this price bracket get an LCD panel, which means less deep blacks and no support for Always-On Display (AOD).

The screen gets quite bright thanks to a peak brightness of 1,000 nits, but its typical brightness is only 500 nits. The screen peeks out, but just barely. The phone offers three color modes – Vivid, Saturated, and Standard. We’d recommend going with Standard Color mode if you want the most accurate colors, or if you want the phone to adjust colors based on the colors on the display. You can also adjust the color temperature on the phone. Viewing angles are great with no change in colors and contrast.

The Poco X6 Neo has a 500 nits display.

The phone comes with a single loudspeaker that can get loud, but lacks any kind of bass. The microphone and ear speaker quality is also good and I didn’t face any problem while making phone calls. Poco X6 Neo is good for content consumption, but it would have been nice if the company had included stereo speakers.

I played Call of Duty: Warzone on the Poco X6 Neo and it automatically set the graphics quality to ‘low’, but that wasn’t surprising. You can play BGMI and other graphic intensive games on the phone, but don’t expect high or ultra graphics. BGMI chose HD graphics by default but most of the effects were grayed out. The phone didn’t overheat during long gaming sessions (30 to 45 minutes), and performance didn’t suffer. Touch sensitivity was also good, but lacking here and there. I didn’t notice any heating issues while using the camera or during regular use. The phone stayed cool in most scenarios.

Gaming is fun on the Poco X6 Neo thanks to the large display.

Coming to software performance, I didn’t experience any major lag or hesitation when navigating the UI, opening apps, or using the camera. Yes, the phone did occasionally lag when switching camera modes and I experienced some stuttering in animations. Overall, the 120Hz refresh rate helps overcome those rare stutters and won’t be a deal breaker.

The Poco X6 Neo’s 5,000mAh battery lasted a day and a half with my regular usage which included some gaming, watching videos, listening to music using wired headphones, taking photos, browsing the web, and making some calls. With heavy usage that includes an hour of gaming, photo/video capture, and a few hours of streaming content, the phone will last me a day. The phone supports 33W fast charging and comes with a charger in the box. In our tests, the phone took about 1 hour and 15 minutes to charge from 1 to 100 percent, while a 50 percent charge took about 35 minutes.

Poco X6 Neo Review: Cameras

Okay, let’s talk about the cameras. The Poco X6 Neo comes with a dual rear camera setup that includes a 108-megapixel Samsung ISOCELL HM6 sensor and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. On the front, the phone has a 16-megapixel sensor for selfies and videos. The camera app is easy to use and has most of the camera modes right up front. There’s a dedicated 108-megapixel mode, a night mode, portrait, document, and one more option that gives you access to time-lapse, slow motion, pro mode, panorama, and AI watermark.

The Poco X6 Neo has a 108-megapixel main rear camera.

Daylight shots from the main camera show good detail with accurate colors in most shooting scenarios. However, it wasn’t able to handle difficult lighting conditions well even with the HDR option enabled. 108-megapixel captures pack more detail, are surprisingly sharp and color accurate. In low light, the camera does not perform well even in night mode. Detail, sharpness and color accuracy are severely lacking. You will also see washed out colors and details.

Poco X6 Neo Primary Camera Sample (Tap Image to Enlarge)

Poco X6 Neo primary camera sample taken at 3X digital zoom (tap image to enlarge)

The Poco X6 Neo offers 2x and 3x digital zoom from the primary camera, but the zoomed shots are digitally cropped and so don’t pack much detail. Especially the zoom shots at night show a lot of watercolor effect. Daylight shots are better and have some level of detail.

Poco X6 Neo Primary Camera Sample (Tap Image to Enlarge)

Poco X6 Neo primary camera sample taken at 3X digital zoom (tap image to enlarge)

You also get a 2-megapixel depth sensor which is used when capturing portrait photos. The camera takes good portrait photos in daylight, but things deteriorate after the sun goes down. Portrait photos don’t have an option to choose, but you can adjust the depth of field. Daylight averaging detection. In low-light images, you’ll see edge detection errors.

When it comes to selfies, the Poco X6 Neo again manages to take decent photos. Daylight selfies are good and have a good level of detail with accurate white balance and colors. Low-light selfies look washed out and lack detail.

The Poco X6 Neo only offers 1080p 30fps video recording from both the rear and front cameras. While you can use the camera to record videos, expect it to have a lot of noise and artifacts. Dynamic range is also not good in daylight videos and things get worse in low light conditions. The stabilization in the video is excellent, start running and you will see all the shock. In slow motion mode you can record at 720p 120fps, but the results are mediocre.

Overall, the camera setup on the Poco X6 Neo is good for basic daylight photography.

Poco X6 Neo Review: Verdict

The starting price of Poco X6 Neo 5G is Rs. 15,999 and sees competition from phones such as Realme 12 5G, Redmi Note 13 5GAnd Vivo T3 5G. However, only the Realme 12 5G is in the same price bracket, while the others are priced slightly higher. Of course, when you pay more, you also get a better phone, especially when it comes to camera performance.

Poco’s X6 Neo’s hardware isn’t exactly new, but it offers good value for money. The AMOLED display is definitely something you won’t find in this price segment and is perfect for content consumption. The phone can take good photos even in daylight. You also get good battery life, and good performance. At this price point, the Poco X6 Neo is definitely a hero.

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