DT Next Tech | POCO’s all-new budget smartphone

CHENNAI: The new POCO C85 5G arrives with a disruptive price tag packed with an array of features. It’s a good looking phone and comes with a dual-tone finish in a choice of three colour ways – Mystic Purple, Spring Green and Power Black. The C85 is IP64-certified for dust and water resistance.

POCO keeps the thickness under 8mm despite a massive 6.9-inch HD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate that is backed by a robust 6000 mAh battery. The display hits 810 nits in HBM (High brightness mode). The device weighs 211 gm despite this heavy duty battery. POCO has bundled a 33W charger in the box that takes the device from 0 to 50% in under 30 minutes. The 10W wired reverse charging option allows the C85 to double up as a portable power bank for mobiles, TWS earbuds and other accessories.

At its heart is a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chipset. The C85 comes with 128GB of internal storage and a choice of three RAM versions (4GB / 6GB / 8GB). It runs on Hyper OS 2.2 built on Android 15 out of the box. POCO has promised two generations of Android updates and 4 years of security updates. A 50MP AI dual rear camera and an 8MP selfie shooter are the other hardware highlights in a device that delivers good value for its asking price (Rs 11,999 onwards).

(Ashwin Rajagopalan is a lifestyle writer and consumer technology expert. Catch the latest digital and tech updates in this weekly column.)