- This endurance-focused device starts from ₹20,999 in India.
Poco M8x 5G Review: In a smartphone world obsessed with thinner phones, faster chips and increasingly unnecessary AI tricks, Poco has apparently looked at the competition and said: “What if we just put a ridiculous battery in it?” The result is the Poco M8x 5G, a phone with a 7,900mAh battery, a massive 6.9-inch display, 120Hz refresh rate, Snapdragon 4 Gen 5 processor and enough durability features to survive the average commute.
It starts at Rs 20,999, with the 6GB + 128GB variant going up to Rs 22,999. On paper, it sounds like Poco has discovered infinite energy. Naturally, ABP Live’s in-house AI review bot, GennieGPT, is already preparing a Nobel Prize nomination. Let’s see how much of that survives contact with reality.
ALSO READ: Poco X8 Review: Forget The Charger, This Thing Has A 9,000mAh Battery
Poco M8x 5G Review: Quick Pointers
What Works:
- Massive 7,900mAh battery genuinely delivers multi-day endurance
- 45W charging and charger included in the box
- Snapdragon 4 Gen 5 is perfectly adequate for everyday use
- Huge 6.9-inch 120Hz display
- 3.5mm headphone jack because civilisation isn’t completely dead
- Decent daylight camera
What Doesn’t:
- Performance is functional rather than exciting
- 4GB RAM variant feels stingy at Rs 20,999
- “120Hz” sounds more impressive than it actually looks on an HD+ panel
The Battery Has Entered The Chat
✨ GennieGPT: 7,900mAh! That’s basically a power bank with a SIM card! Two days? Three days? Four days? Poco has invented electricity!
Shayak: Slow down, Tesla (the inventor, not the EV company). The battery really is the M8x’s biggest strength. In normal usage, this is the kind of phone where you can leave home in the morning without performing the ritualistic “Where’s my charger?” check.
A combination of the huge battery, relatively modest HD+ display and Snapdragon 4 Gen 5 means the M8x can comfortably stretch into a second day of use. That’s not marketing poetry, the battery is genuinely excellent.
And this is where Poco’s approach makes sense. You’re not buying this phone because you want the thinnest piece of glass on the planet. You’re buying it because you want to stream YouTube on the metro, answer WhatsApp messages, sit through Teams calls, scroll Instagram, navigate around town and still have enough juice left to watch something at night.
The 45W charging isn’t revolutionary, but it’s fast enough. More importantly, Poco includes the charger in the box. Revolutionary concept in 2026: selling you the thing you need to charge the thing you just bought.
✨ GennieGPT: And 22.5W reverse charging! The M8x can charge other phones! It’s a smartphone AND a power bank!
Shayak: Yes. Your phone can now become the person everyone calls when their battery hits 4 percent. The reverse charging is genuinely useful for earbuds, watches and, in emergencies, another phone.
Just don’t make a habit of donating 20 percent of your precious 7,900mAh battery to someone who spent the entire day watching Reels.
A Giant Screen With A Tiny Problem
✨ GennieGPT: 6.9 inches! 120Hz adaptive refresh rate! 240Hz touch sampling! This isn’t a phone. This is an IMAX theatre that fits in your pocket!
Shayak: The 6.9-inch screen is enormous, and if your priorities are YouTube, Netflix, browsing or reading documents, the extra real estate is fantastic. The 120Hz refresh rate also makes scrolling and animations feel noticeably smoother.
But here’s the bit Gennie forgot to read. It’s an HD+ panel, with a resolution of 720×1600. At this size, that matters. The screen is perfectly usable, but calling it an “immersive” display and stopping there would be doing you a disservice. A 6.9-inch screen at this resolution doesn’t have the same sharpness you’d get from a Full HD+ panel.
So yes, 120Hz is nice. But 120Hz doesn’t magically turn 720p into 1080p. It’s like putting racing tyres on a Maruti 800. The tyres are technically excellent. The car is still a Maruti 800.
✨ GennieGPT: It has TÜV certifications for Low Blue Light, Flicker-Free and Circadian Friendly viewing! Your eyes are basically getting a spa day!
Shayak: Okay, I’ll give Poco this one. The display certifications and flicker-free features are useful for people who spend hours staring at their phones. If you’re the kind of person who wakes up and immediately opens Instagram, then spends the day on WhatsApp and YouTube before ending the night with one “quick” episode, these little comfort features matter.
Just don’t confuse eye comfort with display quality.
Big Phone, Big Battery, Big Everything
✨ GennieGPT: Leather-inspired back! IP64! Gorilla Glass 7i! This phone is ready for adventure! Dust! Rain! Wilderness! Perhaps even the Himalayas!
Shayak: The IP64 rating means protection against dust and water splashes. That’s reassuring for everyday life: rain during a commute, accidental splashes and dusty environments aren’t going to cause immediate panic. Gorilla Glass 7i also adds another layer of protection to the front. But IP64 isn’t waterproofing. So please don’t interpret “water splash resistant” as “underwater photography mode.”
The bigger issue is size. This is a 6.9-inch, roughly 232-gram phone, and you feel it. The giant battery has to live somewhere, and physics remains undefeated.
The leather-inspired rear finish does make the phone feel more distinctive, though, and the design does a decent job of disguising the sheer amount of battery stuffed inside.
✨ GennieGPT: Dual speakers with up to 300% volume! 3.5mm headphone jack! Side fingerprint sensor! Poco gives you EVERYTHING!
Shayak: The stereo speakers are useful for watching videos without immediately reaching for headphones, while the headphone jack is genuinely welcome. Yes, in 2026. Some of us still own perfectly good wired headphones and don’t want to buy a dongle every time a smartphone company gets creative.
✨ GennieGPT: India’s FIRST Snapdragon 4 Gen 5 smartphone! 4nm technology! Up to 6GB RAM! 5G! This is a performance monster!
Shayak: The Snapdragon 4 Gen 5 is a sensible chip for this phone. It handles WhatsApp, Chrome, Instagram, YouTube, navigation and general multitasking without making you question your life choices. And the 4nm manufacturing process helps with efficiency, which is particularly useful when your biggest selling point is battery life.
But this isn’t a gaming monster. It’s an entry-level Snapdragon platform designed around sensible everyday performance. Casual gaming is fine. Lighter titles are perfectly playable. If you’re buying this to run demanding games at maximum settings for hours, however, you have misunderstood the assignment.
✨ GennieGPT: Up to 1TB of expandable storage! You can keep thousands of photos, videos and apps!
Shayak: Now you’re finally saying something useful. The 128GB internal storage is not particularly generous, especially if you’re buying the 4GB RAM version. Expandable storage helps, and if you’re the kind of person who downloads movies, keeps years of photos or has a WhatsApp folder that looks like a digital landfill, you’ll appreciate it.
Just remember that extra storage doesn’t make the processor faster.
50MP Camera, 50MP Expectations
✨ GennieGPT: 50MP AI dual cameras! Portrait mode! Dual Video! Dedicated flicker sensor! The M8x is basically a pocket DSLR!
Shayak: The 50MP primary camera is decent for everyday photography, particularly in good daylight. You can take photos of friends, food, pets and sunsets without immediately regretting the purchase. But “50MP” is not a synonym for “excellent camera.”
The secondary sensor is more of an auxiliary player, and low-light performance isn’t where this phone is going to embarrass expensive flagships. The 8MP selfie camera is similarly functional.
Video calls? Fine. WhatsApp DP? Absolutely. National Geographic cover? Let’s calm down.
Dual Video is a fun addition, though. Being able to record from the front and rear cameras simultaneously can actually be useful for creators, travel videos and documenting something while keeping your own reaction in frame.
HyperOS 3 And The AI Parade
✨ GennieGPT: Android 16! HyperOS 3! Gemini! Circle to Search! Xiaomi Interconnectivity! AI is everywhere!
Shayak: Yes. That is precisely the problem with the current smartphone industry. The M8x runs Android 16 with HyperOS 3, and you get the usual collection of Google-powered AI features, including Gemini and Circle to Search. They’re useful. They’re also not the reason you should buy this phone.
The more interesting bit is long-term support. The M8x is positioned as a phone that should remain useful rather than become obsolete the moment the next model launches. Xiaomi’s ecosystem features are also useful if you already own compatible devices.
But again, don’t buy a 7,900mAh phone because it has Circle to Search. That’s like buying a refrigerator because it has Wi-Fi.
Poco M8x 5G Review: Final Verdict
The Poco M8x 5G is an interesting reminder that sometimes the best feature on a smartphone isn’t the one that sounds the most futuristic. It’s the one you actually use every day. A 7,900mAh battery isn’t sexy in the way a flagship camera or titanium frame is sexy. But when you’re halfway through a long day, your phone is sitting at 48 percent while everyone else is hunting for a charger, suddenly it becomes very sexy indeed.
The compromises are obvious. The HD+ display doesn’t quite match the size of the screen. The Snapdragon 4 Gen 5 is sensible rather than spectacular. The cameras are competent rather than class-leading. And this is absolutely not a small or lightweight phone.
But that’s also the point. The M8x isn’t trying to be everything. It’s trying to be the phone that keeps going. And at Rs 20,999, that’s a pretty compelling identity.
Should You Buy Poco M8x 5G?
- Yes, if battery life is your number-one priority, you spend long hours away from a charger, want a massive screen and prefer practicality over flashy specifications.
- Maybe, if you want a good all-rounder. The performance, cameras and display are perfectly usable, but there are stronger options if those things matter more than endurance.
- No, if you want a sharp Full HD+ display, compact design, serious gaming performance or flagship-grade photography.
