Poco X2 release date, specifications, price and leaks

Monday, 27 January 2020

Poco X2 release date, specifications, price and leaks

Update (January 27): Poco X2 confirmed as successor to Poco F, launch on February 4 in India

Update (January 17): Poco spins-off from Xiaomi to form an independent entity

Update (November 8): Added case renders from Spigen

The Poco F1 was quite possibly the hottest debut product by any brand to hit the Indian market in years. It changed what consumers would expect from affordable flagships, and now, the Poco F2 will try to live up to that legacy. Here's everything we know about Xiaomi's Poco F2.

Xiaomi’s dream run in India has been fueled by remarkably well-priced smartphones for an extremely price-sensitive market. Fun fact, just the Redmi Note series of budget smartphones outsell most other smartphone brands. With the ball in their court, Xiaomi knew they had to try and replicate this model at a higher price segment. The answer came in the form of Pocophone, a Xiaomi sub-brand that would focus on gaming phones.

Back in the day, gaming phones were pretty much just regular smartphones with bolder designs and top-of-the-line specifications. The Poco F1 nailed that aspect by bringing the flagship Snapdragon 845 silicon to the sub 30K price segment. This product mix was a masterstroke and made the F1 one of the most loved smartphones of its time, especially when mobile gaming was once again gaining traction. India is known to be a processor-centric market, and the Poco F1 tickled the right spot.

Of course, this left consumers hoping for a Poco F2 which would retain the same DNA and bring incredible performance for the price. But it’s been almost a year since the launch of the F1, and there’s still no word on the existence of the F2 from the company, raising questions on whether we should even expect one at this point.

Cut to the chase

What is it? The successor to the Poco F1
When is it out? February 4, 2020
What will it cost? Should start at under Rs 30K in India

After a year long wait, Xiaomi opened up about Poco and the much awaited successor to the Poco F1. Earlier Xiaomi executives have commented that the Pocophone brand will not be discontinued, and that their current focus is still on the F1.

On January 27, Poco announced that it is going to launch the Poco X2 on February 4 in India. That said, it is currently unknown whether this phone is the successor to the Poco F1 or a new product for a different price segment.

Recently, a phone with the name Poco X2 was spotted in a Geekbench listing which hinted at an impending launch by the brand. There are also reports that the Poco X2 might share its genes with the Redmi K30.

Having said that, we're just a week away from the launch of the Poco X2 and we'll know more until then.

Update (November 8)

Spigen, the famous smartphone case maker now has Poco F2 cases listed on its website, and can already be ordered. The images seem to use the Redmi K20 design for now, which could mean that the Poco F2 will retain the K20's design and chassis, but could mix things up in terms of materials or colours.

Poco F2 specifications

As mentioned, the F2 will ship with the latest Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset with 6 or 8GB of RAM. Poco will also add some tweaks that improve the gaming experience of the device.

In terms of design, the phone is expected to look very similar to its predecessor with a big, notched display on the front, a polycarbonate back with the camera array in the center and unapologetically thick to house a big battery.

The display will stick to an FHD+ resolution but could get a little taller, coming in at 6.4-inches. Rumors also point at an OLED screen with an in-display fingerprint scanner, which will be a big step up from the wide-notched LCD panel on the Poco F1. Some design patents filed by Xiaomi recently show a phone that looks very similar to the Poco F1 but brought trendy upgrades such as a triple camera setup and a punch-hole camera on the front.

Speaking of cameras, the Poco F2 is likely to come with the triple camera setup, which might consist of a primary, an ultrawide and either a telephoto or a depth sensor. Xiaomi has announced that it will be bringing 64MP and 108MP image sensors to its smartphones later this year, and could make an appearance on the Poco F2 as well. The camera performance was not the most influential aspect last year and should be improved by Xiaomi this year.

What we want to see

If Pocophone wants to win consumers’ hearts once again, here are a few suggestions that should help the Poco F2:

Premium design

The Poco F1 had a very functional design, but it was nothing spectacular and looked very basic. Add the plastic construction to the mix, and it loses a few more points. Xiaomi has moved to glass bodies for most of their budget smartphones and should be implemented on the Poco F2 as well, if feasible. Agreed that the design is not a top priority, but even something a little more unique or iconic will help the F2 standout.

A better display

The F1 shipped with a mediocre display with pretty sizeable bezels all around, and an uncomfortably fuller notch. Not only should they work at increasing the screen-to-body ratio, but also improve the panel quality. If gaming is still the top priority, a slightly bigger or taller display will be appreciated. If we were to be wishful, it would be great to see the Poco F2 bring a higher refresh rate display to the budget segment.

Bigger battery

The Poco F1 had a 4,000 mAh battery in a rather thick body. By the time the F2 comes, we expect them to find a way to ship with a larger battery and not just chase a slim waistline for aesthetics.

Stereo speakers

Year 2019 saw the launch of multiple gaming smartphones that brought newer, bolder designs and elements like dual front firing speakers. The Poco F2 will be positioned as a gaming smartphone and should offer an immersive audio experience, especially if the top and bottom bezels are not very slim. If not, at least the earpiece should function as a second speaker.

64MP primary camera

Xiaomi has been very vocal and optimistic about this new 64MP Samsung GW1 image sensor and has even mentioned that it will debut on a Redmi device. The Poco F2 is meant for spec junkies, and an impressive 64MP sensor should go a long way in establishing that.

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Monday, 27 January 2020