In the POCO X6 test – there are no compromises, but they are negligible

Comparing the Galaxy A55 and POCO X6 just by comparing the specs on paper, the clear winner is the POCO. If I add the Pro version to the calculation, the victory is even easier. However, some key features such as the camera, battery and operating system cannot be discerned on paper. Even if Samsung's candidate is better in these areas, it is also necessary to take into account the fact that POCO is hundreds of thousands cheaper.

In the beginning, before the test, I didn't have a winner, after the test I had one. Guess which one is better?

POCO X6 price in Slovenia?

• POCO X6 8/256GB: €299

It is available in black, blue and white combinations.

POCO X6 – a very good mid-ranger

The appearance has not changed significantly since last generation, only the placement of the cameras has been slightly changed. The bottom one is still too big for the sensor size alone and could confuse the consumer into thinking that the top and bottom cameras are identical. The rest of the elements were held back this year as well. POCO phones used to have at least one kitschy element, I'm glad they got rid of that habit.

The screen is flat and the overall image is also becoming more and more boxy, similar to the iPhone. The screen is protected by Corning, and mostly plastic is used, which I don't mind, because we are still in a more modest category. However, Samsung is better in this respect, as it uses aluminum and glass. The black edges around the screen are present, but you hardly notice them, even on the chin of the phone.

The POCO X6 has earned an IP54 rating for water and dust resistance, but it's more basic protection and nothing drastically advanced. Still be careful how you handle it and use the included cover, which works great for me. More than the usual transparent covers that we get on other phones.

Screen bright spot, performance average

The brightness is surprisingly high (1800 nits), the AMOLED panel shows very pleasant colors and it is a pleasure to use it for multimedia and playing games. At 6.67 inches, it is not a small phone, but it is quite light (181g) and relatively slim (8 mm). It refreshes at 120 Hz or dynamically between 60 and 120 Hz. The processor is powerful enough and the operating system is well enough optimized that I didn't notice any stuttering or slowdowns when moving through systems and using applications.

They used the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2, which I can't exactly sing the praises of, but it's a perfectly adequate choice for this category. There is enough space (256 GB; expansion with microSD is not possible), RAM (8 GB) for now too, maybe in 2-3 years there will be a small deficit, depending on how greedy applications will be in the future. They used an older generation (LPDDR4X), which is one of the compromises for the lower price. Will it be known on performance? Not for now, and I doubt that this difference will be noticeable even in the coming years. Depending on the chip, older RAM will also be sufficient. I rather regret that they used a UFS 2.2 drive. You could go for the newer version, I doubt there's a huge difference price wise.

I did not notice overheating, but the battery is only average. Considering the performance of the chip and the capacity of the battery (5100 mAh), I expected more anyway. There is enough energy for all-day use, but it runs out for anything more. Good thing there is fast 67-W charging, a compatible charger is commendably present in the packaging.

If you haven't been following what's happening, then you might not know yet that Xiaomi introduced a new HyperOS operating system a few months ago, which we have been able to test on Redmi and Xiaomi 14 phones so far. The POCO X6 has not yet received it, nor has it moved to Android 14.

MIUI 14 is an old acquaintance, by default some cover is installed in the form of unnecessary games, which you will have to remove manually. I didn't have any problems with the optimization, stuttering and other problems appear (if at all) usually after a few months. We have last year's X5 Pro in the household and have had no problems with the software so far.

During the day, he has photos lying around

First of all, I have to scold the low-resolution macro camera, which somehow crept onto the case again. I'd rather see them get rid of it entirely or replace it with a depth sensor on the front camera for better facial recognition. That way you would have a sensor that is at least usable. An ultra-wide camera is a very similar story with the exception of some scenarios where you can capture a satisfactory photo with really good conditions.

The main camera (64 MP) is more than solid during the day. For this price, I was satisfied with the details in the pictures, the stabilization is not bad either, but there is a lot of work to be done in the night photography, where the quality drops by at least two levels. Portraits are fine, except in more complex scenarios where the camera doesn't know exactly where the edges of the subject are.

The front camera will be fine for a selfie, but not for anything more serious.

POCO X6 is very good for this price, but…

There is always at least one "but" with lower-end phones.

Before I get into them, there are a lot of things I like about the POCO: the screen, the main camera, the performance to some extent, and most of all the price. There aren't many phones in this range that can offer the same value. The closest is the Redmi 13 and the Samsung A55, which is €100 more expensive. In that class, we already find the POCO X6 Pro and also the Xiaomi 13T, which is light years ahead of both.

We could slowly start thinking about extending the software support and also offer faster upgrades to new Android versions. They also have to air out the assortment of secondary cameras, which are mostly useless. The battery could also be improved a little, but I won't split hairs here, as it offers extremely fast charging.

The biggest problem is supply. If I rely on the past, POCO phones will disappear from the offer much faster, especially with operators, where the largest number of phones are sold in Slovenia by leaps and bounds. Here, Samsung has a huge advantage, as they have been on offer for a long time and there are also many campaigns around them.

The POCO X6 is objectively on par with the latest Galaxy A55, but it lacks that dot on i that comes with the Samsung name. I know which one gives me better value, but which would you choose?