Best Phone Under 20K

Poco X2 

Xiaomi has spun the Poco sub-brand off into its own company, just in time for the launch of the Poco X2. The brand is of course well known because of the iconic Poco F1, but it has been well over a year since that model was launched. Poco is now on its own, though it will likely share many resources with Xiaomi for the foreseeable future. The new Poco X2 is sure to be noticed, however fans should be clear that this is not the next version of the Poco F1, and doesn't follow the same formula at all. The Poco X2 is much more conventional and somewhat less path-breaking than its illustrious predecessor.

Poco X2 design

With a 6.67-inch screen, this is undoubtedly a large phone. The tall 20:9 aspect ratio helps with reach ability and the non-slippery rear makes for a decent grip. It's still difficult to get to all parts of the screen with a thumb though, making one-handed use potentially awkward. Your eye will be drawn to the wide dual-camera cutout in the upper right corner of the screen – it isn't too noticeable in ordinary use, but definitely is a distraction when watching full-screen video.

Poco X2 specifications and software

As we stated earlier, the Poco X2 should not be seen as the successor to the Poco F1, and as such it isn't trying to offer a flagship-grade SoC at mid-range prices. You do get the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G, which is pretty much the next best thing. This is the same chip that powers this phone's primary competitor, the Realme X2, so we can assume that gaming and general-purpose performance will be solid.

You can buy the Poco X2 with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage for Rs. 15,999; 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for Rs. 16,999; or 8GB of RAM and a whopping 256GB of storage for Rs. 19,999. We have the top-end variant with us for review and if you choose this one, the hybrid dual-SIM tray won't be much of a problem.

The 6.67-inch 2340x1080-pixel display has a killer feature to boast of – a 120Hz refresh rate. This is a subtle feature but it really does improve the quality of the usage experience, making the Android UI feel smooth and responsive. Poco calls this feature “RealityFlow” and it isn't hard to see why. Games will benefit the most from this, but they have to explicitly support it and not a lot do yet. HDR-10 is also on the spec sheet.

There's also a 4500mAh battery, dual VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5, GPS, FM radio, and all the standard sensors. Interestingly, the design and specifications of the Poco X2 are practically identical to those of the Redmi K30 being sold in China. It will be interesting to see how the two brands segment and differentiate themselves if the Redmi K30 is launched here.

Poco X2 cameras

The Poco X2 has four rear and two front cameras. The primary 64-megapixel rear camera has an f/1.89 aperture and uses the Sony IMX686 sensor which succeeds the widely used IMX586. There's also an 8-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide camera, a 2-megapixel macro camera with a 2cm-10cm focal range as well as autofocus, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. The primary selfie camera has a 20-megapixel resolution and is accompanied by a 2-megapixel depth sensor.

Poco's camera app takes a little time to get used to. You have to use the zoom control to switch to the wide-angle camera (marked only as 0.6x) but going the other way to 2x performs a digital zoom since there's no optical zoom capability. There's a separate toggle button at the top for the macro camera. It's a bit tedious to swipe through the mode selector which has a lot of options including 64-megapixel, Pro, Portait, Night, Short Video, and Slow Motion. Unfortunately, photos are branded with a Poco watermark by default, and we wish all manufacturers would stop doing this.

Verdict

Offering high-end specifications at rock-bottom prices is the simplest way to succeed in the Indian market, and Xiaomi has been one of the biggest forces here for years now. The Chinese giant constantly pushes out new models that raise the bar in terms of value, whether the focus is on style, battery life, cameras, specifications, or attention-grabbing features.

While the Poco X2 doesn't have quite the impact that the Poco F1 did, it still does everything it needs to, and pricing is its main advantage. The Realme X2 (Review) and Redmi K20 (Review) have dominated the sub-Rs. 20,000 market of late and many recent models, such as the Oppo F15 (Review) and Vivo S1 Pro (Review) have simply not been able to match them in terms of power and features. Now, the Poco X2 makes all of them look a little worse in comparison.

The processor, RAM, storage, battery, and cameras are all strong, and there's nothing to complain about in terms of build quality or the included accessories. We do, however, wish that the UI eased up on the bloatware and nagging notifications much more, and frankly the rear of the Poco X2 is a little too garish for our taste. Some people will also struggle with the sheer size of this device.