Poco M6 Plus has gained momentum in the budget smartphone arena since its launch, compactly supporting a few key features that the price-conscious user wants. Essentially an offshoot of the successful Xiaomi Poco brand, the M6 Plus has carried on the company’s good name with regards to delivering value-packed devices at competitive prices.
Design and Build Quality
 First of all, the Poco M6 Plus feels like a premium, rather than a budget phone. The back of the smartphone is sleek and made from polycarbonate with a matte finish to avoid fingerprints or smudges, while stylishly practical at the same time. It comes in several colors, quite striking in fact, and with which users can make some statement about themselves. Solid construction-wise, the frame feels truly robust and well-built, thus comfortable to hold even for longer periods.
At the top-left corner of the back panel sits the camera module. The setup seems to be a design signature of Poco smartphones so far. Equally well-placed is the fingerprint sensor: its positioning on the side, integrated into the power key, saves some space and allows fast and easy access.
The Poco M6 Plus measures 165.3 x 76.8 x 9.1 mm and weighs about 198 grams for a good balance between screen real estate and portability. The phone comes across as quite light for this size and can easily be moved or taken out if needed and is quite comfortable to use on the go.
Display: Immersive Visual Experience
It is one of the highlighted aspects that the Poco M6 Plus comes fitted with a pretty large 6.67-inch FHD+ display. The resolution on the IPS LCD is 2400 x 1080 pixels, while colorful and sharp images are decent for a budget phone. For display, the pixel density is 395 PPI, which makes text and images crisp while being easily readable. Color accuracy is also quite decent for the budget price.
It has a capability of up to 90Hz refresh rate, and at this price, it is one huge selling point. An increased refresh rate shows in smoother scrolling of apps and web pages for a better user experience. In casual gaming, it adds to the smoothness of gameplay. The screen-to-body ratio is quite generous with slim bezels and a small punch-hole notch at the top to house the front camera.
It’s pretty decent under most lighting conditions. It is decent enough to be seen outdoors, with the screen able to peek at about 450 nits of brightness. This is by no means the brightest compared to some of the high-end devices out there, but it is more than enough to get you through your daily video watching, social media browsing, and gaming.
Performance: Capable and Responsive
The Poco M6 Plus is powered by the MediaTek Helio G88 chipset, an octa-core CPU conjoined to bring in the right balance of performance and efficiency. Coupled with up to 6GB of RAM and a total of 128 GB of internal storage, this phone handles most of your daily tasks without hassle. From multitasking to light gaming, this device has performed rather admirably for a budget smartphone and manages to keep things running nice and smooth for the average user.
This phone works rather decently for users who enjoy mobile gaming. Popular titles such as PUBG Mobile or Call of Duty: Mobile run rather decently on medium settings with the Poco M6 Plus, with not a lot of lag or frame drops. The GPU, Mali-G52 MC2, isn’t designed for heavy-duty gaming; for casual gamers, it’s more than capable. The all-around thermal performance is quite admirable; even on prolonged usage, hardly any heating is observed, or for that matter, when gaming too. It also supports a microSD card for increasing internal storage, helping users increase the capacity of the device to install more apps and store photos and media files.
Camera Setup: Good enough for Daylight Photography
On the rear, the Poco M6 Plus boasts a dual-camera setup that includes a 50MP primary sensor and a 2MP depth sensor. In general, the camera on this phone is one of the highlights for a budget offering; users will appreciate it for mobile photography.
The 50MP camera shoots sharp and vibrant images with good detail in well-lit conditions. The dynamic range is decent, and colors tend to look natural rather than oversaturated. For outdoor photography, the results are impressively good; there’s a good contrast with well-balanced exposure.
Portrait mode works decently, thanks to the depth sensor. The edge detection is fairly right, and the background blur, or bokeh, looks like what it should be. However, similar to most budget phones out there, the camera struggles in low-light conditions, making noise and grain more apparent. This is helped somewhat by Night Mode, but that’s still far from the strong point of the device.
An 8MP sensor sits in the punch-hole cutout on the front. Selfies shot under good light come out quite well- decent detail and color accuracy. Portrait mode is also supported with the front camera, and though the edge detection is not perfect, it’s good enough for social media uploads.
Battery Life: Excellent Longevity
Impressive, however, is the battery life of the Poco M6 Plus. The phone comes with a huge 5,000mAh battery that would last through an entire day without a doubt when it comes to heavy use-for instance, gaming, streaming, and heavy multitasking. On the other hand, this lasts as long as two days on a single charge for light to moderate users, hence being able and reliable for persons who don’t want to be bothered with the recharge hassle every minute.
On the charging front, the phone supports 18W fast charging, which is decent but not exactly the fastest. You need two hours for a full charge from 0%, and the charger itself is included in the box. That’s a plus, especially given that some OEMs recently started excluding the charger from their boxes.
Software: MIUI w/ Poco Enhancements
The Poco M6 Plus runs on MIUI 13 based on Android 12 with a few customizations towards Poco’s liking. Indeed, MIUI has traveled quite a long road, and at the moment, it is full of useful features and optimizations that make using the smartphone more pleasant. MIUI has always offered plenty of customization options and features, but yes, it does come with bloatware, which for sure will be a disappointment for many users. Thankfully, most of those pre-installed apps can be uninstalled or disabled.
The transitions are smooth, courtesy of the 90Hz refresh rate. Moving through menus, opening apps, and switching between tasks is seamless. MIUI also includes dual apps, floating windows, and improved notifications, helpful in multitasking and productivity.
But one of the bigger complaints about MIUI is that there are sometimes ads in the UI, which might bother some users. They aren’t hugely intrusive, but it’s worth noting for people who like their software experience super clean.
Connectivity and Additional Features
The Poco M6 Plus comes fitted with several connectivity options, including 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, and a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer. The inclusion of the 3.5mm headphone jack is nice for those who still want to use wired headphones feature that’s becoming quite rare in today’s smartphones.
It’s also quick and accurate; so is the face unlock, provided the ambient light is decent enough. Another signature feature from the house of Poco, or for that matter, Xiaomi, is the inclusion of the IR blaster that enables the phone to double up as a remote controller for TVs, air conditioners, and several other household appliances.
Verdict: Is Poco M6 Plus Worth It?
The Poco M6 Plus is one of those budget phones that truly punches above its weight, no small thanks to a very decent feature set for the price. That large FHD+ display, decent performance, impressive battery life, and capable cameras make it a great phone for anyone who wants good value for money.
All this sounds very minor at this price, with limitations like the average low-light camera performance and ad-ridden software experience. The Poco M6 Plus is one of those options that you could go for if you put price ahead of a lot of other features.
Whether for a casual task handled by a reliable device or wanting a phone for running light gaming on a budget, the Poco M6 Plus will deliver on all counts as one of the best budget smartphones that one can get in 2024.
