Overall Review Summary
Expert Rating: 7.3/10
Pros
- Affordable pricing for budget users
- Massive 5000mAh battery
-
Side-mounted fingerprint scanner
Cons
-
Front camera quality could be better
Expert point of view
The affordable smartphone segment is quite cluttered, but POCO has carved out a unique space in this market by offering high-quality, value-for-money phones. The POCO C61 is a worthy contender in this arena. Launching as a fresh offering for the user looking toward affordability but not wanting to sacrifice on basic needs the POCO C61 enters the Indian market with competitive specs, a fresh design, and a focus on user-centric performance. The handset is designed to fill the basic requirements of a student, a first-time smartphone buyer, or one looking for an affordable secondary cell, with some design flair thrown in.
Around the PR of the POCO C61, this device promises to provide a secured experience with the glitz and glamor of a stylish design. How about that for performance in everyday-use scenarios? The POCO C61 has some stiff competition in the entry-level smartphone segment: can it hold its own? We go in-depth on every aspect of the POCO C61, from design philosophy to battery performance, so you can make an informed decision.
Design
POCO C61 flourishes with a modern and youthful appeal. It is in the POCO tradition to manufacture phones that appear more expensive than they really are. The design language applied here is almost stark but very trendy, on purpose for the youth segment. It has a plastic body with a matte finish, excellently preventing marks and fingerprints from forming with prolonged use. There are gentle curves along the back edges to allow for a secure and comfy grip.
For a budget phone, POCO C61 really looks and feels anything but cheap. The square-shaped island of the rear camera module gives it a very up-to-date appearance. Branding is done with subtlety, with the POCO name etched along the rear panel. The phone feels graciously paced most people can use it with one hand. Button and fingerprint scanner placement are comfortable and easily accessible.
POCO has managed to build a device with clean and symmetrical aesthetics that go beyond what would be expected from a budget device. The device is fairly slim, making it pocket-friendly and easy to carry around.
Colour Options
POCO C61 comes in very attractive three colors to suit assorted tastes and preferences. These color variants include:
- Diamond Dust Black
- Ethereal Blue
- Mystical Green
Each variant offers a shimmering finish, granting a unique visual appeal. The blue and green colorways have a reflective texture that is mesmerizing, while the black colorway is much more professional and understated.
Display
POCO C61 sports a 6.71-inches HD+ LCD display with a 1650x720 pixel resolution. A 90Hz refresh rate in this price segment is a nice touch. The higher refresh rate means smoother scrolling or a generally fluid experience during UI navigation or when browsing Apps. The tall and immersive display comes with a 20:9 aspect ratio, a great choice when it comes to watching videos or casual gaming.
Color-wise, the display is decent in its reproduction. It offers decent brightness levels if one is indoors, and maybe you might-only-have-to straint a little under direct sunlight. The good thing with POCO is that the company has provided some software tuning so that users can change the color temperature and contrast to their liking.
While not Full HD, the HD+ resolution still manages to offer great satisfaction for the regular uses of watching YouTube, social media, and light text reading. Bezels are clearly perceivable, especially on the chin, but they do little to distract from the viewing experience. The waterdrop notch houses the front camera without getting in the way while engaging with any media.
Camera
The POCO C61 includes a two-camera system on the back, with one being the primary 8MP sensor and the other a secondary depth sensor. The primary sensor works well in daylight, capturing images with enough detail and reasonable color tones for that segment. - For the POCO C61 rear camera, casual photography is just fine for social media uploads.
The camera UI is also quite intuitive, keeping different modes like Portrait, Pro, and Night within easy reach. Portrait shots look pretty good if there's enough light, with just average edge detection from the depth sensor. Dynamic range is limited, but that's to be expected in this category.
The camera gets a little confused and starts struggling when it comes to low-light and indoor shooting. There is noise, and images tend to have less detailed even without a steady hand. Its lack of a real night mode makes it quite inconsistent in low light conditions, but then again, so would be any phone in its price bracket.
Front Camera
The POCO C61 sports a 5MP selfie camera in the front. It is quite modest in its resolution by any means but would suffice for any type of selfie, video call, and casual usage. All good things considered, the camera is quite capable of producing beautiful images, with accurate skin tones and fine sharpness, but only under ample lighting conditions.
In anything less than such conditions, the front camera does not hold up so well and fairly grainy or washed-out selfies result. The default levels for beauty mode are quite aggressive but could be reduced, which users can do via the settings menu. Generally speaking, for the price range, the front camera served well and functional thus satisfying the end-user who places a higher priority on usage rather than aesthetic qualities.
Video Recording
The POCO C61 carries video-recording capabilities of up to 1080p at 30 fps from the rear camera. The videos look quite stable and quiet in bright scenarios, but since there is no electronic image stabilization, handheld shots may end up shaking a little. The audio is loud and clear enough for an occasional vlog, school project, or just casual sharing.
The front camera, however, also allows for 1080p recording at 30fps. It performs best in outdoor settings. Indoors, though, one will have to seek out brilliantly lit spots in order to get decent clarity.
Performance
In terms of performance, the MediaTek Helio G36 chipset powers the POCO C61. Being an entry-level processor, it caters to light or moderate compute needs. The POCO C61 comes with up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage (expandable via a microSD card) and runs day-to-day apps such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and YouTube without much trouble. However, it is capable of basic multitasking.
The UI transition is smooth, and app launch times are reasonably quick. The phone is also limited to light gaming but can run Subway Surfers or Free Fire at medium settings. Heavy multitasking or high-end gaming will really stress the phone, but for the target market, this phone offers adequate performance that feels very fluid.
Software
The POCO C61 features MIUI 14 based on Android 13 (Go Edition). As it is Go Edition, the OS is downgraded to run on entry-level hardware and smoother and lighter operation are emphasized. The interface presents itself as familiar given MIUI users, on which POCO offers a thin weave of customizations.
The system comes with a set of pre-installed Google Go apps that lend speed and consume less resources. Animations are kept to a minimum and the lag-less UI shines throughout general navigation. Are there a few bloatware apps? Yes, but most of them are uninstallable.
POCO texts together some features too, such as reading mode, dark mode, and digital wellbeing controls. Ad-free system apps are a nice touch compared with older versions of MIUI, and this greatly enhances the user experience.
Battery Life and Charging
It comes with 5000mAh battery, a feature known to lend incredible battery life. The phone's modest hardware configuration and HD+ display allow the device to just get through a day. For people, whose phone usage majorly involves making calls, running light applications, and an occasional video, stretching it to two days is quite conceivable.
Charging supports 10W cable charging via a USB-Type C charging port. Though the charging speed would not be classified as fast by any stretch of the imagination, a thumbs-up is indeed in order for POCO for at least throwing in the Type-C port at this price. The phone takes more than two hours for a full charge, which from empty to full could have been a let-down, while the long battery life balances it out. Those who put battery first before performance will find the POCO C61 just about perfect.
Conclusion
With its coming price, the POCO C61 is a fantastic deal as it was the good balance between performance and features, and then the battery life was on the budget lists with many other potential purchases. More attractive compared to its peers relating to the large stand-out display, camera decent, and storage expandable. Not the best but one of the best affordable choices out there in the market.
In a nutshell, POCO C61 is an all-rounder budget smartphone that offers high-class performance in a combination of features. It boasts sleek design, massive screen display, decent cameras, and longer battery life to offer an ideal value for money for every tight-budget user. So, if you want a reliable, cheap, and great option in the world of smartphones, then I will recommend this model strictly.
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