Again when the POCO F6 and F6 Professional launched, I targeted my consideration on the common mannequin. POCO determined to restrict the F6 Professional to just some international markets, and the machine did not make its method to India and most Southeast Asian areas. As a substitute, POCO provided the F6 because the default possibility in these international locations.
Hardwired
In Hardwired, AC Senior Editor Harish Jonnalagadda delves into all issues {hardware}, together with telephones, audio merchandise, storage servers, and routers.
In my POCO F6 evaluate, I known as it top-of-the-line value-focused telephones of the 12 months, and that is right down to how inexpensive it’s in India, the place it retails for simply ₹27,999 ($336). That mentioned, POCO would not fairly provide the identical worth in different areas; the F6 is on the market for £359 ($457) within the U.Okay., and that is not almost as attractive.
Fortunately, there’s a greater possibility accessible: the F6 Professional. The telephone is now right down to £449 ($572), and that makes it worthy of consideration when you’re fascinated by a brand new mid-ranger. I did not use the F6 Professional when it got here out, however I switched to it after utilizing the OnePlus 12R Sundown Dune version; it did not take lengthy to appreciate that POCO is onto one thing particular with its 2024 flagship.
The F6 Professional has a a lot better design than the usual mannequin, and the white colour variant particularly seems putting. I do not often favor telephones with flat sides, however POCO added beveled edges, and that makes an enormous distinction in every day use. The glass window across the rear digital camera housing has been a mainstay on POCO telephones going again 4 years now, and it finally ends up trying elegant.
POCO did not shortchange customers with materials selections both; the F6 Professional makes use of an aluminum body that is sandwiched between panes of glass, and it seems simply as premium because the Xiaomi 14 — if something, I like POCO’s design extra. The one downside on this space is that the telephone has IP54 ingress safety, and that is not ample; even the common F6 will get an IP64 ranking, so I am not likely certain what POCO was pondering.
Apart from that and an in-screen module that sits a little bit too low on the display, there’s nothing to complain in regards to the design; the F6 Professional has superb weight distribution, and the textured sample beneath the glass seems implausible. There’s rather a lot to love in regards to the panel too; POCO went with a 120Hz AMOLED panel with QHD+ decision, and it’s simply the very best display of any of its gadgets thus far.
The panel would not get fairly as shiny as different mid-rangers I used this 12 months — the 12R is noticeably brighter outside — however it’s nonetheless a robust displaying. On that notice, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is completely the best name; Qualcomm’s 2024 chipset nonetheless has rather a lot to supply, and it’s simply as quick in every day use.
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Contemplating that the 12R can be powered by the identical silicon, the F6 Professional is on an equal footing. I did not see any points within the week I used the telephone as my every day driver, and it handles demanding video games with ease; the one tangible acquire you will see with the 8 Gen 3 is healthier battery life.
It is a related story with the cameras; the F6 Professional manages to take higher pictures than the F6 in nearly each scenario, and it holds up extremely properly in low-light eventualities. The 12R has a slender edge on this space, however on the entire, the F6 Professional is not far behind.
That mentioned, the most important problem with the cameras is that the auxiliary 8MP wide-angle lens is not anyplace pretty much as good as the primary digital camera, and I nonetheless do not perceive why POCO cannot ship two usable sensors on the again. That is true of the 12R as properly, and solely Google manages to ship a mid-ranger with a wide-angle digital camera that is really respectable.
POCO did not change any software program options from the usual F6, and whereas I nonetheless imagine that the software program is in want of a visible overhaul, it’s a lot better optimized this 12 months. The interface is fluid, there is a good quantity of customizability, and it would not have any annoying bugs. There’s nonetheless quite a lot of bloatware out of the field, and POCO is not good at delivering updates on time — these are issues it must actively change.
Total, the F6 Professional is among the finest telephones at the moment accessible within the mid-range phase. POCO’s choice to not launch the machine in most international markets is puzzling; it’s the superb different to the OnePlus 12R and Galaxy A55, and with the producer setting lofty objectives this 12 months, wider availability of the F6 Professional would have highlighted the model’s ambition on this phase.
The F6 Professional has an excellent design, the very best AMOLED panel POCO used up thus far, dependable {hardware}, and a terrific digital camera on the again. If you happen to’ve used Xiaomi telephones prior to now and need a mid-ranger that has a very good worth, the F6 Professional brings rather a lot to the desk.