Review Verdict: Aside from a significantly better overall build, the POCO F6 Pro stands out by being one of the few phones available globally that has a 1TB storage option. The cameras may be average, but the main camera is an upgrade over its predecessor.

Pros

• 1TB storage option
• Light Fusion 800 camera takes good photos and videos
• Well-optimized Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor
• Significantly better overall build

Cons

• The rest of the cameras are mediocre
• Subpar battery life
• Lots of bloatware

After making waves with the X6 series last January, POCO debuts the much-awaited F6 series in Dubai. The F6 Pro is the better option with more significant upgrades across the board–which includes an insane 16GB/1TB variant. We have been using the F6 Pro for over a week, and here are our thoughts on POCO’s latest flagship device.

 

POCO F6 Pro Review Philippines: Design

The F6 Pro looks similar to the X6 Pro with its design language, where you have a large, rectangular camera module that houses three cameras, an LED flash, and statement POCO branding. However, the F6 Pro steps up with its build, as POCO uses an aluminum frame, which is evident with the visible antenna lines.

The F6 Pro also uses glass for the back panel like its predecessor, which makes it more premium than the X6 Pro overall–and also heavier by around 19g. Our review unit is in white, where it has a nice satin finish and subtle graphics.

Overall, the F6 Pro is the most premium POCO device to date, with its overall build reminding us of the Xiaomi 13T Pro. What’s strange, however, is that the F6 Pro lacks an IP rating–given its asking price, we expect at least an IP65 rating.

The button and port layout is the same as the F5 Pro, where you have all of your buttons on the right side, a SIM card tray at the bottom, an IR blaster on top, and a stereo speaker setup on the top and bottom of the phone.

 

POCO F6 Pro Review Philippines: Display and speakers

The F6 Pro appears to be using the same 6.67-inch WQHD+ AMOLED display used by its predecessor, though you are getting higher peak brightness at 4000nits. This makes the F6 Pro’s display makes it at par with more expensive flagship phones. The F6 Pro’s premium display is also evident with the slim, symmetrical bezels.

The F6 Pro’s higher maximum brightness is evident especially when using it outdoors, and the display’s colors are vibrant and more accurate–with POCO offering different display profiles to suit everyone’s needs. The stereo speakers are still there, and they sound ok–not the best for its class, but good enough for general listening.

 

POCO F6 Pro Review Philippines: Cameras

While POCO phones are usually more focused on performance, the F6 Pro gets an all-new main camera with the 50-megapixel Light Fusion 800 sensor that has OIS and a bright f/1.6 aperture. The Light Fusion 800 is an in-house design and is at par with Sony’s IMX766 and IMX890 sensors with its 1/1.55-inch size.

We took the F6 Pro around Dubai ahead of its launch, and the Light Fusion 800 performed great. If we were to nitpick, you’re not getting flagship-caliber performance when shooting in low light–but considering POCO devices don’t prioritize camera performance, the F6 Pro’s main camera is a big improvement over its predecessor.

While the F6 Pro’s main camera is great, we can’t say the same for the other cameras, as they are the same ones used since the POCO F4. The 8-megapixel ultra-wide is aging by 2024 standards, and we wish POCO to use a newer ultra-wide camera for its future F-series models. The 2-megapixel macro camera is simply forgettable, and we prefer POCO to only put two useful cameras instead of adding another filler camera.

Like the F5 Pro, you can shoot videos at up to 8K and 24 FPS. However, 4K30 video recording is slightly better with the F6 Pro: aside from HDR video, you can enable motion tracking focus for snappier autofocus performance.

 

POCO F6 Pro Review Philippines: Internals and Battery Life

As POCO’s top-end series, you get powerful internals that include a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, up to 16GB LPDDR5X RAM, and up to 1TB UFS 4.0 storage. Our review unit is the top-end variant with 16GB and 1TB storage. This is the first time POCO is offering a 1TB variant, and they fulfilled their promise after we asked them about it last year.

There’s no question about the performance the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 has to offer, but we noticed that the F6 Pro has better optimization compared to other Snapdragon 8 Gen 2-powered phones we reviewed previously. Aside from software optimization, the F6 Pro’s vapor chamber is a big help when it comes to heavy gaming.

The F6 Pro is one of the few phones that can run Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail close to 60FPS with minimal frame drops at the highest graphics settings. That’s impressive considering that the F6 Pro is not a full-fledged gaming phone.

The F6 Pro runs Android 14-based HyperOS out of the box. You still have a lot of bloatware to deal with out of the box, but you can, fortunately, delete those unnecessary apps to make the most out of the F6 Pro’s storage. While you’ll have difficulty distinguishing HyperOS from MIUI, we noticed that HyperOS feels more fluid and snappier than MIUI with general use.

The F6 Pro’s battery is slightly smaller at 5000mAh, but you’re getting 120w charging once again–albeit at the expense of omitting wireless charging. Compared to previous phones that use the same 120w charging solution, the F6 Pro’s thermals are more stable when pushing charging speeds to the limit–the phone’s surface is less warm compared to other phones. This can be credited to the additional power management chips POCO implemented on the F6 Pro.

The F6 Pro’s battery life is at under 10 hours in PCMark’s battery benchmark test when setting the display to WQHD+ resolution, which should mean that you can comfortably use the phone for the entire day before needing to charge. You can get a better battery life with the F6 Pro if you set the resolution to Full HD+ instead–in this mode, we got 11 hours and 23 minutes of battery life instead in PCMark.

 

POCO F6 Pro Review Philippines: Wrap-up and Conclusions

The F6 Pro best shows what we expect on a flagship POCO device. While we’re impressed at its very premium build, we’re even more impressed at the fact that the F6 Pro offers a huge 1TB storage at a price that’s relatively accessible to everyone, along with a top-notch display that’s more fitting for a premium flagship. While it has its fair share of shortcomings, it’s hard to deny the incredible value the F6 Pro offers.

 

 

POCO F6 Pro Review Philippines: Price

The F6 Pro is priced at Php 32,999 for the 16GB/1TB variant, Php 28,999 for the 12GB/512GB variant, and Php 26,999 for the 12GB/256GB variant.