Several manufacturer have launched Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 powered smartphones, including Samsung with Galaxy Note9 and Galaxy S9/S9+ models. Those premium smartphones are normally pretty expensive with pricing starting at $720 to well over $1,000.
Xiaomi Mi MiX 2S released last March brought down the price somewhat with price starting at 3,299 CNY ($525 ) in China, but the company’s PocoPhone F1 is breaking all premium phone price barriers with the Snapdragon 845 smartphone launched for about $300 in 65 countries.
PocoPhone F1 specifications:
- SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa-core processor @ up to 2.8GHz with Adreno 630 GPU up to 710MHz, LiquidCool Technology
- Memory / Storage options
- 8GB LPDDR4X dual channel memory + 256GB UFS 2.1 flash
- 6GB + 128GB
- 6GB + 64G
- Display – 6.18″ display with 2246 x 1080 resolution (18.7:9 aspect ratio) 403 ppi; 500-nits (typ) brightness; 1500:1 contrast ratio
- Cameras
- AI rear camera
- Primary 12MP rear camera, 1.4μm large pixel, f/1.9, dual pixel autofocus,
- Secondary 5MP rear camera, 1.12μm pixel, f/2.0
- 20MP front camera with AI portrait mode, selfie mode, face recognition
- Video – 4K video, 30 fps; 1080p, 30 fps; 720p, 30 fps; Slow motion video: 720p, 240fps; 1080p, 240fps
- AI rear camera
- Cellular Connectivity
- 4G dual SIM – 3-choose-2 hybrid SIM tray, nanoSIM + nanoSIM/microSD
- Dual SIM usage – When using both SIM card slots, either card can be set as the primary card, which supports 4G+/4G/3G/2G calling and data
- Network Bands
- GSM – B2/3/5/8
- WCDMA B1/2/5/8
- FDD-LTE B1/3/5/7/8/20
- TDD-LTE B38/40/41 (120MHz)
- Wireless Connectivity
- Dual band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WiFi 2×2 MU-MIMO
- Bluetooth 5.0 with AAC/aptX/aptX-HD/LDAC audio codecs support
- Navigation and positioning – GPS/AGPS, GLONASS, BEIDOU
- Audio – 3.5mm audio jack, built-in microphone and speaker
- USB – USB Type-C reversible connector port
- Sensors – Proximity sensor, gyroscope, accelerometer, electronic compass, vibration motor, hall sensor, ambient light sensor
- Security & Authentication – IR face unlock, rear fingerprint sensor
- Battery and Charging – 4000mAh (typ.) / 3900mAh (min) with Quick Charge 3.0
- Dimensions & Weight
- Standard edition – 155.5 x 75.2 x 8.8mm | 182 grams
- Armored Edition – 155.7 x 75.5 x 8.9mm | 187 grams
The phone currently runs Android 8.1 Oreo based MIUI 9 OS, but an Android P upgrade is planned for Q4 2018. PocoPhone F1 ships with a power adapter, USB cable, SIM eject tool, warranty card, user guide and a clear soft case
As pointed out by XDA Developers, PocoPhone twitter account has more details including the list of countries where the phone has launched in Asia, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and the Americas. Notable exceptions include the US and Canada.
The exact price of the phone will depend on options, as well as your “beloved” government’s regulations and taxes. Some examples for the starting price (6G/64GB version):
- €329 (~$380) and up in France
- 2,800 HKD (~$360) and up in Hong Kong
- 17,990 PHP (~$340) and up in the Philippines
- 4,499,000 IDR (~$310) and up in Indonesia
- 1,237 MYR (~$300) and up in Malaysia
- 10,900 THB (~$338) and up in Thailand
Xiaomi also aims to make the smartphone developer-friendly by promising that unlocking the bootloader will not void the warranty, and a GPL source code release is planned for August 29th. More details maybe found on Xiaomi Poco F1 product page.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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So no New Zealand… which is hardly surprising since we’re too small to bother with, but I am a bit surprised that Australia isn’t on there either. I wonder what their criteria are for choosing markets.
Oh available in England but not Wales, Scotland or Ireland. Suspect there will be some smuggling this contraband over the boarders to fulfil demand 😉
On a more practical note, when will they stop increasing the size of phone screens, 6.18″ sounds huge.
6.18″ in 19:9 is similar to older 5.5″ 16:9 phones with home button and top bezel. It is quite manageable unless you need to reach the top one-handedly.
Open bootloader…hmm i bet this is gonna boot Linux one day! 🙂
So, when it’ll be available to buy in Thailand?
It should be very soon. The pre-order page is up on Lazada -> https://www.lazada.co.th/products/pre-orderpocophone-f1-664gb-graphite-black-free-mi-band-2-i253259202-s390840043.html
But still showing as coming soon, so no pre-order possible yet despite the link saying pre-order starts at 19h00 today!.
Can anyone confirm if the phone has an IR blaster? GSMArena’s spec page seems negative, while their own review of the phone contradicts the presence of IR blaster! I’m assuming the reviewer confused it with the IR face unlock, since I don’t see any top front aperture for the blaster.
no IR blaster
As promised the Linux kernel source code is up @ https://github.com/MiCode/Xiaomi_Kernel_OpenSource/tree/dipper-o-oss