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Again when the POCO F6 and F6 Professional launched, I centered my consideration on the common mannequin. POCO determined to restrict the F6 Professional to only a few world markets, and the system did not make its strategy to India and most Southeast Asian areas. As a substitute, POCO provided the F6 because the default choice 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 evaluation, I referred to as it the most effective value-focused telephones of the 12 months, and that is all the way 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.Ok., and that is not practically as attractive.
Fortunately, there’s a greater choice out there: the F6 Professional. The cellphone is now all the way down to £449 ($572), and that makes it worthy of consideration for those who’re excited about 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 comprehend 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 specifically seems putting. I do not often favor telephones with flat sides, however POCO added beveled edges, and that makes a giant 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 wanting elegant.
POCO did not shortchange customers with materials decisions 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 disadvantage on this space is that the cellphone has IP54 ingress safety, and that is not sufficient; even the common F6 will get an IP64 ranking, so I am probably not certain what POCO was pondering.
Aside from that and an in-screen module that sits somewhat too low on the display, there’s nothing to complain concerning the design; the F6 Professional has ideally suited weight distribution, and the textured sample beneath the glass seems incredible. There’s loads to love concerning 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 units thus far.
The panel would not get fairly as shiny as different mid-rangers I used this 12 months — the 12R is noticeably brighter open air — however it’s nonetheless a robust displaying. On that notice, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is completely the suitable name; Qualcomm’s 2024 chipset nonetheless has loads 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 cellphone 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 comparable story with the cameras; the F6 Professional manages to take higher photographs than the F6 in nearly each state of affairs, and it holds up extremely effectively in low-light situations. 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 difficulty with the cameras is that the auxiliary 8MP wide-angle lens is not wherever 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 effectively, and solely Google manages to ship a mid-ranger with a wide-angle digital camera that is really first rate.
POCO did not change any software program options from the usual F6, and whereas I nonetheless consider 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 plenty 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 without doubt one of the finest telephones at the moment out there within the mid-range phase. POCO’s determination to not launch the system in most world markets is puzzling; it’s the ideally suited various to the OnePlus 12R and Galaxy A55, and with the producer setting lofty targets this 12 months, wider availability of the F6 Professional would have highlighted the model’s ambition on this phase.
The F6 Professional has a fantastic design, the very best AMOLED panel POCO used up up to now, dependable {hardware}, and a terrific digital camera on the again. If you happen to’ve used Xiaomi telephones previously and desire a mid-ranger that has a great worth, the F6 Professional brings loads to the desk.
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