Overall Review Summary
Expert Rating: 8.0/10
Pros
- Affordable Price
- Massive 5000mAh Battery
- 90Hz Refresh Rate Display
Cons
- No IP Rating
Introduction
In a smartphone market teeming with flagship features and mid-range contenders, POCO—a brand known for its power-packed budget phones—has launched yet another competitive model: the POCO C65. Tailored for those who seek performance and aesthetics without burning a hole in their pockets, the POCO C65 is designed to be an ideal daily driver for casual users, students, and those stepping into the world of smartphones. This blog delves deep into every nuance of the device, giving you a comprehensive take on its performance, design, display, camera capabilities, battery life, and overall value. Welcome to the Best POCO C65 Review you’ll read today.
POCO has carved out a name in the smartphone industry for producing budget-friendly devices that deliver surprisingly premium experiences. The POCO C65 enters this legacy with the promise of performance, style, and practical functionality. At first glance, this phone does not seem to really say "budget." Instead, it possesses a unique contemporary design with the slim base and gigantic display.
It equips a MediaTek Helio G85 processor, a 6.74-inch HD+ screen with a 90Hz refresh rate, up to 8GB of RAM with dynamic RAM expansion. All these features bundled in a price bracket of below ₹10,000 make it quite the contender among entry-level smartphones.
Let us analyze the features which have rendered POCO C65 attractive and why it might just be your pick in a new phone.
Design and Build Quality
POCO C65 does not look or feel like a budget phone. It embraces a clean and contemporary design language with sharp edges and a textured back panel that is fingerprint resistant. It comes in three elegant color options: Matte Black, Pastel Blue, and Purple.
The rear camera housing is inspired by POCO’s classic style—a rectangular island that houses dual cameras and the POCO branding in bold. At 192 grams, it’s on the lighter side and at 8.09mm, it’s insanely thin. The in-hand feel is nice and the textured plastic back ensures a secure grip during extended usage.
Being low budget, yet the POCO C65 manages to emanate sturdy construction. There are no creaks or weak spots, and the buttons offer decent tactile feedback. It is very evident that POCO did not take any shortcuts when it came to design execution.
Display Experience
The POCO C65 offers a huge 6.74-inch HD+ Dot Drop display with a resolution of 1600x720 pixels. Viewing here must be a new experience-clocks at 90Hz! For a phone in such a compact price range, bearing a high refresh rate for the screen becomes such an added blessing. Be it scrolling through a social feed, going through a few websites, or casual gaming; everything felt smoother.
The screen might not be Full HD, yet pixel density is enough for an average user. Colors are bright, contrast is decent enough, and viewing angles are fair enough. Such displays feature TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light and Flicker-Free certification, ensuring that eyes remain protected during prolonged periods of usage.
Under direct sunlight, the display brightness can shoot up to 600 nits. The screen gives a pleasant experience for watching YouTube videos, navigating through apps, or even reading e-books. For users with budget constraints, POCO C65 probably provides the best display package in this segment.
Performance
The MediaTek Helio G85 chipset powers the POCO C65 under the hood-a chipset that has proved its worth for budget and mid-range smartphones. It is an octa-core CPU produced on a 12nm process and has two high-performance Cortex-75 cores and six efficiency-oriented Cortex-55 cores. With up to 8GB LPDDR4X RAM, augmented by another 8GB through memory expansion, the phone does daily chores well.
Viewing streams or multimedia content, switching from one application to another, sending mails, or web browsing, it seldom stutters. For lunging intermittently in a little gaming, the Mali-G52 GPU truly cleans up well. Popular stuff like Subway Surfers, Free Fire, and Call of Duty: Mobile are playable without much frame drop on low to medium settings.
The device runs MIUI 14 for POCO based on Android 13, relatively optimized and much cleaner than the previous MIUI versions. The UI here is snappy; animations flow like butter with the 90Hz smoothness, with only a slight possession of bloatware compared to previous POCO products.
Storage and RAM Variants
There are POCO C65 versions, very close to each other; 4GB RAM + 128GB storage and 6GB RAM + 128GB storage with the top-end version being 8GB RAM + 256GB storage. Employing UFS 2.2 storage instead of the older eMMC standard is a delightful surprise since it improves app loading and file transfer speeds. It's a boost when it comes to everyday usage!
The storage memory can be expanded further using a microSD card of up to 1TB. The phone comes with a triple card slot, permitting use of both SIM cards and a microSD card at the same time. Such flexibility is what's cherished, especially by the users who work with local media files.
Camera Setup
Down at the back of the POCO C65, we have a two-camera set-up consisting of a 50MP super-pixel main sensor and a 2MP depth sensor. On the front, you have an 8MP selfie camera tucked away in a waterdrop notch.
In daylight, the main camera, with its 50MP sensor, captures really well-detailed shots that are well balanced. The colors appear natural, the dynamic range is pretty good, and these images are ready for social media with little to zero post-editing required. For portraits, the depth sensor helps deliver respectable edge detection, though it may sometimes blur out fine edges.
For a price point like this one, the low-light performance is nothing exceptional but not really disappointing either. Scenes are brightened through the Night mode, but clarity shouldn't be expected at flagship level.
The 8MP selfie shooter captures nice, clear shots, provided good light conditions apply, supporting beautification and filters for the social media people.
As far as videos go, the front and rear cameras support 1080p recording at 30fps. It's software-assisted nevertheless; this stabilization is sufficient for casual shootings and video calls.
Battery Life and Charging
The POCO C65 has one of its main highlights in the gargantuan 5000mAh battery sitting there waiting to get some juice out of it. The capacity ensures convince that the phone comfortably lasts through a day of medium-to-heavy use. Whether you are watching videos, attending online classes, or just casually gaming, draining the battery in a single day might be a tough task.
In our testing, the device gave us a screen-on time of over 8 hours. That means standby time is just splendid, and ideal for those who want to charge their phone only occasionally.
Charging-wise, the device supports 18W fast charging yet comes with a 10W charger out of the box. Using the 18W adapter (sold separately), it takes around 2 hours from complete discharge to full battery. While charging speed may have never been an attraction, it is given more leeway at this price level.
Software and User Interface
The POCO C65 is running Android 13-based MIUI 14 adapted for the POCO ecosystem. It is a much better-optimized and lighter MIUI build, hence speedier. Features include split-screen multitasking, floating windows, a revamped Control Center, and customizable always-on display (for supported devices).
POCO has kept bloatware down, with most being uninstallable. There is system-wide dark mode, reading mode, and tons of choices when it comes to themes, icons, and gestures.
Security-wise, we have a quick and accurate side fingerprint scanner along with AI-powered face unlock. On the privacy front, settings enable good control of your apps, making you feel secure throughout your device use.
Audio, Connectivity, and Extras
A singular bottom firing speaker sits on this Poco C65, loud enough for media consumption. Sound clarity is good, but the lack of stereo speakers would be a downside for the hard-core consumers. Having a 3.5mm headphone jack is a big plus, though, for those who still prefer to go wired with their audio solutions.
When it comes to connectivity, there is 4G LTE support coupled with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, and GPS. There is no 5G support, which was anticipated in such price points. Call quality stands to be just alright, as the phone fares well in maintaining network stability in varied environments.
Also provided is a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer purposes; proximity, accelerometer, and ambient light sensors are all functional as expected.
Price and Availability
The POCO C65 is aggressively priced:
₹7,499 for 4GB RAM + 128GB storage
₹8,499 for 6GB RAM + 128GB storage
₹9,999 for 8GB RAM + 256GB storage
It’s available on leading online platforms like Flipkart, as well as offline stores including Supreme Mobiles, one of the best destinations to buy the POCO C65 with excellent after-sales service and exchange options.
Final Thoughts
If you want a phone performing really well in terms of design, performance, and usability, then the POCO C65 is one of those choices on the entry-level market, for sure. A large display with a 90Hz refresh rate, reliable MediaTek processor, huge 5000mAh battery, and clean software experience all make it a great power companion for everyday use.
If you are up for a typical sort of phone-and-budget price entry, the POCO C65 proves to be one of those selections for sure in the entry-level market. Having its big display with a 90Hz refresh rate and a reliable MediaTek processor, huge 5000mAh battery, and clean software experience, it is at par with any power companion for daily work.
What sets the POCO C65 apart from other budget devices is its consistent performance across all parameters. A beauty to frame on paper, it really charms its buyers with its promises and delivery. The POCO C65 fits every bill for a student with online classes, a professional with daily chores, or someone just grabbing an inexpensive upgrade.
If you need to grab a POCO C65 for yourself, we'd advise you to look into an established name in the mobile retail market—Supreme Mobiles. Supreme Mobiles boasts several outlets with premium service and competitive prices for genuine products, mobile accessories, EMI options, and exchange programs. Their team would ensure that you take home the best device according to your needs and with reliable support.
Those looking for value, class, and performance-a perfect gallop-need not look any further. The Best POCO C65 Review ends with the confident suggestion that this phone is not just affordable, but smartly designed for the real world.
