POCO, the new smartphone brand by Xiaomi unveiled its first smartphone in India back in August. Launched at starting price of Rs. 20,999, the POCO F1 is still the most affordable phone with Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset and up to 8GB RAM. So, how will the OnePlus 6T take on the POCO F1? Let’s find out whether the OnePlus 6T will be able to retain its title of flagship killer or POCO F1 will make it look costlier.
POCO F1 Vs OnePlus 6T Specifications
Design and Build
Starting with the design first, both the phones are quite different in terms of design and build quality. The One Plus 6T, just like its previous model, comes with a premium build quality with metal frame and glass back. While, POCO F1 on the other hand, compromises with its design with its plastic body. Though its top model comes with Kevlar back as well. Overall, 6T looks the attractive one with the glass back just like flagship phones. 6GB/128GB- Rs. 23,999 8GB/256GB- Rs. 28,999 8GB/128GB- Rs. 41,999 8GB/256GB- Rs. 45,999 Up front, the OnePlus 6T sports a new waterdrop notch which is small than regular ones and has only a few sensors. While the notch on the front of POCO F1 is wider than usual, also it has more chin at the bottom. The form factor of both the phones is similar in terms of size and weight, but 6T has more screen to body ratio. One additional feature in OnePlus 6T is its splash resistance capacity. However, POCO F1 has no such protection. Overall, OnePlus 6T has an upper hand in terms of design and build quality.
Display
The OnePlus 6T sports a 6.41-inch Optic AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution and 19.5:9 aspect ratio because of the new notch. On the other hand, POCO F1 sports a 6.18-inch FHD+ IPS display panel with an 18.7:9 aspect ratio.
The OnePlus 6T’s display looks better, thanks to AMOLED panel and better resolution as well. The 6T also has a fingerprint scanner in its display as well.
Cameras
OnePlus again used a 16 MP + 20 MP (both with f/1.7 aperture) rear camera combination for its new flagship. The OnePlus 6T’s rear camera is impressive in all conditions. There is also a new ‘Night Sight’ features for better low light photography. For selfies, it has the same 16MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture and portrait mode. The OnePlus 6T also has EIS, OIS and 4K recording at 60fps as well. Xiaomi’s POCO F1 also has a dual camera set up at the back and also boasts of having AI features in it. The 12MP+ 5MP shooters with large pixels and aperture size perform well in all conditions. The 20MP front camera also clicks good selfies and has a portrait mode as well. Overall, both the phones click good pictures in all lighting conditions and sometimes OnePlus offers better detailing and sometimes the POCO. They both lack flagship level photography, but for your social media profile, they can give you some really impressive shots.
Performance
Both the OnePlus 6T and POCO F1 focus on speed and promise fast performance. Both are powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 845 chipset and also pack up to 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.1 storage up to 256GB. The POCO has also done a few under-the-hood optimizations for enhanced performance and it is LiquidCool technology. They claim to offer better gaming performance without getting the phone overheated. We played PUBG Mobile, Asphalt 9 on both the phones and there is not much difference in terms of performance. The heat dissipation claim by POCO doesn’t make much difference. We can see a considerable gap between the AnTuTu benchmark scores of both the phones.
Software
Software-wise, both the phones offer quite a different user experience. The OnePlus 6T runs its own Oxygen OS on top of the latest Android 9.0 Pie which offers more like a stock experience. The POCO F1 is still running the Android 8.1 Oreo with a customized MIUI and a new POCO launcher that offers several new features. Both the UIs are lightweight and smooth; however, the OnePlus 6T with the latest version of Android looks better here. The POCO is also to get Android Pie soon.
Battery and Connectivity
The OnePlus 6T packs a 3,700 mAh battery while the POCO F1 has a bigger 4,000 mAh battery. Both the phones support fast charging. They both have the usual connectivity options like Wi-Fi, 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth, USB Type C port.
The 6T lacks the 3.5mm audio jack and POCO F1 has it. The POCO F1 sports hybrid SIM card slot and you can also use a microSD card as well, but, 6T doesn’t support microSD. They both also have all the essential sensors, but the POCO F1 lacks the NFC, which is there on OnePlus 6T. The 6T also sports the new in-display fingerprint scanner as well.
Conclusion
With the POCO F1, Xiaomi tried to disrupt the market while offering Snapdragon 845 powered phone for as low as Rs 21,000 which is a super affordable price tag when compared to the OnePlus 6T’s starting price that is Rs. 37,999. Performance wise, both the phones are equally capable, though the design and display wise OnePlus 6T looks better. If you are ready to spend those extra bucks for a better-looking phone and for a better build and of course the new display with an in-display fingerprint scanner, you can go for OnePlus 6T.
