After establishing itself as an independent brand, POCO has rapidly expanded its presence by launching several new smartphones covering different price segments. Continuing its steady march ahead, the company has now launched a new budget smartphone: POCO M3. The POCO M3 succeeds the POCO M2, which was launched just over two months ago. Unlike its predecessor, the POCO M3 is hitting the European markets first, offering several notable upgrades, ranging from a switch over to the Snapdragon 662 chipset, a more capable primary camera, and a bigger battery.
POCO M3: Specifications
|
Specification |
POCO M3 |
|---|---|
|
Dimensions and Weight |
|
|
Display |
|
|
SoC |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 662:
Adreno 610 |
|
RAM and Storage |
|
|
Battery & Charging |
|
|
Rear Camera |
|
|
Front Camera |
|
|
Other Features |
|
|
Android Version |
Android 10 with MIUI 12 for POCO |
The most striking visual change on the POCO M3 is a giant rear camera module on the back — which takes up one-fourth of the back — with a triple camera assembly arranged vertically on the left corner and the attention-grabbing POCO branding printed on the right corner of the module. What remains unchanged is the front, as you still get a 6.53-inch IPS Full HD+ display with a waterdrop notch cutout for the front camera.
The processor has been swapped from MediaTek Helio G80 to Snapdragon 662, paired with Adreno 610 GPU, 4GB of RAM, and up to 128GB of UFS 2.1/2.2 storage. The number of cameras has dropped from four to three, but on the flip side, there’s a new 48MP primary sensor compared to the previous 16MP shooter, accompanied by 2MP depth and macro sensors. The 8MP selfie camera is unchanged from the previous model.
Another upgrade comes in the form of a bigger 6,000 mAh battery that charges via a 22.5W fast charger and supports reverse wired charging. The phone runs MIUI 12 for POCO based on Android 10 out-of-the-box. Other specifications of the POCO M3 include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, Bluetooth 5.0, dual speakers, microSD card expansion, a 3.5mm audio jack, and an IR blaster.
Price & Availability
The POCO M3 goes on sale starting this Friday November 27th (Black Friday) on various online platforms including Amazon, Aliexpress, and more with a special early bird price of $129 for the base 4GB RAM, 64GB storage model, and $149 for the 128GB model. After that, beginning November 28th, the official retail price climbs to $149 for the base model and $169 for the 128GB storage variant. The phone comes in three colors: Cool Blue, POCO Yellow, Power Black. POCO hasn’t confirmed the device's availability for other markets, including India, but we expect to hear more on that in the coming days. Meanwhile, you can read our hands-on of the POCO M3.