Xiaomi has launched a new Poco sub-brand entry-level phone, the Poco M3. As with most other Poco phones, the M3 has an impressive spec sheet for its rather low price.
The Poco M3 has a 6.53-inch 1080p LCD screen with a waterdrop notch for the 8-megapixel selfie camera. The display is pretty basic: the chin at the bottom is quite big, the fingerprint sensor is integrated into the power button on the side rather than the screen, and the panel is only 60Hz, but it’s sharp enough and perfectly serviceable.
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The phone’s design certainly stands out from behind, with a large glossy camera bump emblazoned with a bright white “POCO” logo. The main camera is 48 megapixels, but the other two cameras are just 2-megapixel sensors for depth and macro, so this isn’t really a meaningful triple-camera setup. While the phone’s chassis is constructed out of plastic, it uses a leather-ish finish that feels much nicer to the touch than most other plastic phones. It’s available in black, yellow, and blue.
The M3’s processor is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 662, which is paired with 4GB of RAM. It runs MIUI 12 atop Android 10. The battery is an impressive 6,000mAh, and the phone is a hefty but fairly manageable 9.6mm thick and 198g in weight. There are options for 64GB or 128GB of storage, and the phone has two SIM card slots in addition to a separate microSD slot. There’s also a headphone jack as well as a USB-C port.
Xiaomi is putting the Poco M3 on sale online on Black Friday, November 27th, with early pricing starting at UGX 482k ($129) for the 64GB model and UGX 560k ($149) for 128GB. The regular price is UGX 630k ($149) for 64GB and $169 for 128GB. These prices give the likes of Tecno a run for their money. There is no availability in Uganda for this smartphone.
