Xiaomi Poco C85

The Xiaomi Poco C85 is listed at Rs. 50,999 for 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. At that price, it is hard to recommend on hardware alone. Its appeal is a large battery, lots of storage, a charger in the box and an attractive design, not speed or screen quality.

Main advantages:

• 6000 mAh battery with a 33W charger included
• 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, plus a dedicated microSD slot
• Eye-catching dual-tone back design
• IP64 splash resistance, a 3.5mm headphone jack and 10W reverse wired charging

Main compromises:

• 720p IPS LCD screen with a notch and a thick chin
• Older 12 nm Helio G81 Ultra chip with slower eMMC 5.1 storage
• Single speaker and only 1080p video recording
• No ultrawide camera

The Itel Super 26 Ultra at Rs. 47,499 costs less and offers a far better 144Hz AMOLED screen and a faster 6 nm chip, though it charges at only 18W. Verdict: the Poco C85 suits buyers who mainly want battery life and storage for calls, social media and streaming. Anyone who cares about the display or performance will get more for the money elsewhere.

The Poco C85 has a large 6.9-inch IPS LCD with HD+ (720 x 1600) resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate.

Real-world use:

• The 120Hz refresh rate makes scrolling feel smooth for a budget phone.
• The large size suits videos and social media.
• The 8-bit panel shows decent colours for an LCD.

Brightness: Xiaomi quotes 810 nits in high brightness mode, though reports differ on how bright it gets in practice. Outdoor visibility is typical of a basic LCD, not as clear as AMOLED screens at this price.

Limitations:

• 720p resolution looks noticeably less sharp than Full HD screens on a 6.9-inch panel.
• It keeps an older drop-style notch and a thick bottom chin.
• Being an LCD, blacks and contrast are weaker than on AMOLED rivals.

The phone uses the MediaTek Helio G81 Ultra (12 nm) with a Mali-G52 MC2 GPU, LPDDR4X RAM and eMMC 5.1 storage.

Everyday use: For calls, WhatsApp, browsing and YouTube, the phone feels snappy, helped by the efficient HyperOS 2 software. The 8GB of RAM keeps several apps open in the background. App loading is slower than on phones with UFS storage, because eMMC is an older and slower storage type.

Gaming: PUBG Mobile runs at Smooth or Balanced graphics with the Ultra frame rate, or HD graphics with the High frame rate. It handles casual games, but heavy titles at high settings are beyond this chip.

Benchmark: AnTuTu results differ between reports, from about 250,000 to 380,000. Either way, this is average for the price, and many rivals with Helio G99 or newer chips are faster.

Limitations: This is a light-use phone. Gamers and heavy multitaskers should look at phones with stronger chips and UFS storage.

The back has a 50 MP main camera and an auxiliary lens that only helps with light sensing, so there is no ultrawide or macro camera. The front has an 8 MP selfie camera.

Daylight: Rear photos are detailed for a budget phone, with improved processing compared with the older Poco C75. Colours lean slightly cool and white. Selfies look good in daylight, but with a warmer tone than the rear camera, so colours do not match between the two.

Low light: Night mode works well for the price, balancing colours better than older Poco budget phones. Low-light rear shots still carry a warm orange tint.

Portraits: Portrait mode is available on both cameras. Edge detection can miss in dim light, and the background dynamic range suffers.

50 MP mode: The Ultra HD mode gives more resolution but weaker colours, so the default mode is the better choice for most photos.

Video: Both cameras record at 1080p 30fps. Focus sometimes hunts during recording, and bright areas in selfie video can be overexposed. There is no 4K.

The Poco C85 has a 6000 mAh battery, which is its strongest feature.

Battery life: The efficient Helio G81 Ultra and the large cell give long endurance. Reports put it at roughly ten to eleven hours of screen-on time, or about one and a half to two days for normal users.

Charging: A 33W charger and a USB-A to USB-C cable come in the Pakistani box. A full charge takes about 1 hour 30 to 35 minutes, which is reasonable for this battery size but slower than many newer phones.

Useful extras:

• 10W reverse wired charging, so it can top up earbuds or another phone in an emergency
• Battery health and charge cycle count in the settings
• Charging protection settings to slow battery wear

There is no wireless charging.

The phone runs HyperOS 2 on Android 15, with Poco's own launcher on top.

Bloatware and ads: A few pre-installed apps and games come out of the box, but they can all be uninstalled. Ads are much less intrusive than on older Xiaomi budget phones.

Useful features:

• Battery health, charge cycles and charging protection settings
• Google Gemini and Circle to Search
• AI face unlock alongside the fast side-mounted fingerprint scanner

Limitations:

• The phone uses the Google dialer, so there is no call recording option.
• The control centre still uses the older layout.

Updates: Xiaomi has not published a clear update commitment for the Pakistani 4G Poco C85. Spec sites give different figures, so buyers should not assume long-term Android upgrades.