POCO has been launching a lot of new smartphones after its comeback in the past few months. Most of these smartphones are budget and mid-range smartphones and the latest in the bunch is POCO M3, which is a successor to POCO M2 that was launched back in September. The new POCO M3 came earlier this month in India and it will soon go on sale again via Flipkart. The phone has caught many people’s eyes because of its different looks and affordable price tag. So, here we are with our POCO M3 review after using it for some time and we’ll tell you what more it has than just looks.
POCO M3 Quick Review
The phone goes on flash sales on Flipkart and if you are planning to buy one for yourself or for someone else, read this quick review to know a few things about POCO M3.
POCO M3 Full Specs
| Key Specifications | POCO M3 |
| Display | 6.53-inch IPS LCD, FHD+ 2340×1080 pixels |
| Dimensions, and Weight | 162.3 x 77.3 x 9.6 mm, 197 g |
| Operating System | Android 10 with MIUI 12 |
| Processor | Octa-core, Snapdragon 662 (11nm) Up to 2.0GHz, Adreno 610 GPU |
| Rear Camera | 48MP Wide, f/1.8 aperture + 2MP Macro with f/2.4 aperture + 2MP Depth |
| Front Camera | 8MP, f/2.1 |
| Battery and Charging | 6000mAh, 18W Fast Charging (22.5W Adapter inside the box) |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 6, GPS, 3.5mm jack, and USB Type C |
| Variants and Price | 6GB+128GB- INR 10,999, 6GB+128GB- INR 11,999 |
| Review Test Results | AnTuTu: 180585 (v 8.5.3) |
POCO M3 Unboxing: Box Contents
- POCO M3 Unit
- Silicone Case
- Adapter with USB Type-C Cable
- SIM Ejector tool
- User Manual.
1. POCO M3 Design and Build Quality
The phone has a new look that makes it distinct from other phones in the segment. POCO M3 comes with a plastic body but that is not a con for this as the leather type textured back feels quite good in hands. It is not slippery and unlike glass or other plastic phones, it doesn’t attract fingerprints as well.
The camera module also looks quite cool with a rectangular setup housing camera lenses and LED flash. There is no fingerprint sensor on the back which makes the look even cleaner.
The phone weighs just 199 gms despite having a big battery. It measures 9.6mm in width as it also features a fingerprint sensor on the side button.
If we talk about the front, there is a big FHD+ LCD panel. There is a small waterdrop-style notch on the front which housed the front camera.
The phone also dual speakers, USB Type C port, 3.5mm jack, and SIM card as well as micro SD card slots at their usual places. You can check out the gallery above for more pictures.
2. POCO M3 Display Quality
POCO M3 comes with a big 6.53-inch FHD+ IPS LCD display that has an old waterdrop style notch in the middle. The display has a 19.5:9 aspect ratio so you get more screen space and offers 394 PPI. The screen is also protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
Talking about POCO M3 display quality, the screen offers nice, warm colors in all conditions. The viewing angles are also fine. The company claims 400nits brightness and in our testing, we found it 233 LUX.
The screen is bright and you will not usually face any issue on it, however, in direct sunlight, it may struggle a little bit so you’ll need to adjust the brightness to full.
Despite the brightness of the phone’s display is not that much, overall the screen is good as it is big, immersive, and offers a good viewing experience.
3. POCO M3 Processor Performance
POCO M3 is powered by the new Snapdragon 662 11nm processor. It is an octa-core chipset that has Kryo 260 CPUs clocked at a maximum frequency of 2.0GHz. The chipset is combined with Adreno 61 GPU for handling graphics.
Moreover, the hardware is supported by 6GB LPDDR4X RAM and up to 128GB UFS 2.1 Type faster storage, and it also supports expandable storage up to 512GB. If we talk about processing power, the phone has a powerful chipset and hence it works just fine.
You will face any issue while multitasking and all. You can also check that out in the test results above.
4. POCO M3 Gaming Performance
We played Call of Duty on our POCO M3 and we didn’t face any issue while gaming. The phone can handle all the heavy gaming very well. It doesn’t lag or heats up while gaming.
We played this game with very high graphics settings and a high frame rate. So you can easily play heavy mobile games on this phone.
5. POCO M3 Audio and Loudspeaker
The phone is loud in terms of audio and comes with dual speakers located at the bottom and the top. It also supports Hi-resolution audio.
In our testing, we found it to produce 92.2 decibels of sound, which is pretty loud for a phone. The phone also has two mics and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
6. POCO M3 Software and UI
The smartphone comes running on Android 10 with Xiaomi’s custom MIUI 12 skin on top. As we mentioned in some articles, MIUI has some new features that make it lighter and smoother than before. This phone has POCO Launcher for MIUI which also has some good features.
Talking about bloatware in the phone, it does come with some unwanted apps and you can uninstall these apps anytime you want. If you face any issue during the same, you can follow our guide to uninstall such apps. So, software-wise, the POCO phones have become better with time.
7. POCO M3 Camera Performance
POCO M3 Sports a triple camera system on the back. It consists of a 48MP primary wide camera, a 2MP depth camera, and a 2MP macro camera.
The phone has all the necessary camera modes for all photography enthusiasts out there. Some of these modes include Ultra HD, Night Mode, Macro, HDR, AI Scene Detection, Document Mode, AI beautify, Portrait, Panorama, AI Watermark, Google lens, Pro Colour, Movie frame, Timed burst, etc.
If we talk about camera performance, the phone clicks some really good pictures in the daylight. The portrait mode is not that sharp but if you take pictures from a proper distance in daylight, it can offer good results. The night mode pictures are also better than average and offer some details as well.
Rear Camera Samples
The phone has an 8MP selfie camera that has a 1.12μm lens, f/2.05 aperture, and 77.8 degrees Field of View. The front camera houses in the notch of the display.
The selfie camera also has several modes such as Timelapse, AI-beautify mode, Short Video, Kaleidoscope, Movie frame, and Palm Shutter.
Selfie Camera Samples
If we talk about selfie camera performance, it also clicks some nice pictures for uploading on social media. You will even find details in good lighting conditions.
If we talk about video recording, you can shoot up to 1080p quality videos from both rear and selfie cameras. It doesn’t have any stabilization, but then again hardly any phone comes with it.
8. POCO M3 Battery Life and Charging
POCO M3 comes with a huge 6,000mAh battery. For this type of battery, you will need to charge your device once a day if you are a heavy user, otherwise, it can last up to 2 days on normal usage. In our POCO M3 review, we found that the battery doesn’t drain that fast.
The phone comes with a 22.5W fast charger in the box, however, it can support up to 18W quick charging only. With this speed and the in-box charger, this huge battery takes more than two hours to get fully charged.
9. POCO M3 Connectivity, Sensors, and Ports
The device comes with all necessary connectivity options such as Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, GPS/AGPS, GLONASS, FM radio, etc.
It also has all the ports such as a 3.5mm headphone jack, and USB Type C. Moreover, it also has all the sensors such as fingerprint sensor, Proximity sensor, Ambient Light, Accelerometer, E-Compass, Vibration Motor, and IR Blaster.
10. POCO M3 Price and Availability
POCO M3 is priced at Rs. 10,999 for the 6GB+64GB version and the 6GB+128GB version is priced at Rs. 11,999. The phone is available on Flipkart and goes on flash sales only. The next sale is on February 23 at 12 PM and you can stay tuned to the Flipkart page if you are planning to buy.
Availability has been the issue with most Xiaomi and POCO smartphones. The company organizes only flash sales online and there is always a limited stock made available which makes it pretty hard for interested buyers.
POCO M3 Questions and Answers
Q. Do earphones come inside the POCO M3 box?
A. No, earphones are not there in the box.
Q. Does POCO M3 comes with a fast charger in the box?
A. Yes. POCO M3 supports fast charging and the 18W Fast charger IS included in the box.
Q. Does POCO M3 have a dedicated SD card slot?
A. Yes. It has a dual sim card slot and a dedicated micro SD card slot.
Q. Can I remote control my TV, and AC with POCO M3?
A. Yes, POCO M3 comes with an IR blaster that allows you to control these appliances.
Q. Does POCO M3 support WiFi calling?
A. Yes.
Q. Can I use two 4G (Jio) SIM cards at one time on POCO M3?
A. Yes, you can use two 4G SIM cards at the same time as it supports the Dual SIM Dual VoLTE feature.
POCO M3 Review: Final Words
As you can see in our POCO M3 review above, the phone has some really great features given the price point it comes at. It has all that one can look for in a budget phone- including a cool design, a powerful processor, triple cameras, a big battery with a fast charger, etc. So if you are looking for a new budget phone or even a mid-range phone, you can go for POCO M3.
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