Verdict
The POCO X8 has picked two areas to shine; battery life and durability, and it fares extremely well in both. Besides that, the display is excellent, the design has character, everyday performance is good, and the primary camera is capable in daylight. The compromises are equally clear: it's heavy, there's no ultrawide camera, video recording is stuck at 1080p/30fps, and HyperOS could certainly do with some decluttering. But at ₹29,999, the X8 makes a compelling case for itself. If your priorities are a phone that can last for ages, survive considerably more abuse than the average mid-ranger and still offer a good screen and dependable everyday performance, the POCO X8 is one of the more interesting options in this increasingly expensive segment.
The Good
- Exceptional battery life
- Robust durability
- Excellent AMOLED display
The Bad
- No ultrawide camera
- Limited video recording
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Design
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Display
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Sound
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Camera
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Performance
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Battery Life
The POCO X8 is technically the phone that sits at the start of the current X8 lineup, ahead of the X8 Pro, X8 Pro Max and the 10,000mAh-battery-equipped X8 Power. Somehow, though, it is the last of the lot to make its way into my hands for a review. Better late than never, I suppose.
And the X8 has a fairly straightforward sales pitch: a massive 9,000mAh battery and serious durability. But spending some time with it made me realise there is more to the phone than those headline numbers. You get a 6.83-inch 1.5K 120Hz AMOLED display, Snapdragon 6s Gen 4, a 50MP OIS-equipped main camera and 67W charging. It starts at ₹29,999 for the 6GB/128GB version and goes up to ₹35,999 for the 8GB/256GB variant.
Design
I absolutely love the Frost White variant I have been using. The rear surface is a genuine delight to touch, and POCO’s bolt-inspired detailing gives the phone an industrial, almost mechanical character that sets it apart from the increasingly samey slabs around it. There are contrasting textures and geometric sections on the back, while the faux-bolt elements reinforce that rugged aesthetic.
It isn’t a small phone, though. At 8.6mm thick and 223 grams, the X8 is definitely on the heavier side, despite the fact that it ships with a silicon-carbon battery. It isn’t the sort of weight that makes the phone uncomfortable to use, but you will notice it when carrying it around all day.
What you absolutely cannot ignore, however, is the durability. The X8 gets IP66, IP68, IP69 and IP69K protection, along with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and certified drop resistance. That makes it particularly reassuring if your phone spends time around a swimming pool, on a beach or simply has to survive the monsoon.
The slightly curved sides also make the sizeable chassis easier to grip, and despite the extensive use of plastic, the phone doesn’t feel cheap. Quite the opposite, actually.
Display & Sound
The 6.83-inch 1.5K AMOLED is one of the X8’s strongest arguments. It runs at 120Hz, supports 12-bit colour and has a claimed peak brightness of 3,500 nits. In the real world, it is a punchy, colourful panel with deep blacks and enough brightness to remain usable outdoors.
I spent quite a bit of time watching Widow’s Bay on it, and the combination of the large screen, AMOLED contrast and 120Hz refresh rate makes the X8 a rather enjoyable content-consumption device. It is especially good for movies and shows where the darker scenes benefit from those deep blacks.
The stereo speakers are equally competent. They get loud without turning completely tinny, and there is enough separation to make watching videos without headphones perfectly acceptable.
Camera
The camera setup is where POCO has kept things relatively simple. There is a 50MP primary sensor with OIS, accompanied by a 2MP depth camera and a 16MP selfie camera. There is no ultrawide, which feels like an odd omission at this price.
The main camera is actually quite capable in daylight. Colours are reasonably natural with a little extra pop, details are good, and the processing doesn’t go overboard. The OIS also helps at night, where images retain a respectable amount of detail and noise is kept under control.
But don’t expect miracles once you start zooming. A 2x crop remains usable, while pushing beyond that quickly exposes the limitations of the sensor. The 2MP depth camera feels more like a box-ticking exercise than something I would actually miss if it weren’t there.
The bigger disappointment is video. Recording tops out at 1080p/30fps, which feels decidedly restrictive in 2026, particularly for anyone who uses their phone to shoot social-media content.
Performance
The Snapdragon 6s Gen 4 isn’t going to turn the X8 into a gaming phone, but that’s not really what this device is trying to be. In regular use, it is perfectly respectable. Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, Slack and multiple other apps can happily coexist without the phone feeling sluggish.
Gaming is a different story. BGMI and Call of Duty: Mobile are playable at 60fps on lower settings, but frame drops are noticeable when things get busy. The good news is that sustained gaming doesn’t turn the phone into a pocket heater.
HyperOS 3 brings plenty of customisation and useful features, but there is also the usual collection of pre-installed apps that you’ll probably want to spend some time removing.
Battery Life
And now we get to the reason you are probably considering the X8 in the first place. Its 9,000mAh battery.
It is enormous by normal smartphone standards, and the silicon-carbon chemistry allows POCO to squeeze that capacity into a phone that hasn’t turned into a literal brick. In mixed usage, I received around 12 hours of screen-on time and comfortably more than a day of use, with lighter usage easily stretching towards three days.
The 67W charger is included, and a full charge takes roughly 1 hour 40 minutes in testing. That’s not spectacularly fast in isolation, but considering the size of the battery, it is perfectly reasonable.
The bigger advantage is simply not having to think about charging. A long day of shooting, navigation, calls, social media and video consumption doesn’t leave you nervously hunting for a socket.