Pocophone brand is Xiaomi's answer to OnePlus, Samsung in premium segment

Poco, the newly announced sub-brand of Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi, is gearing up to make its India debut soon with the launch of a smartphone, likely to be named the Pocophone F1. The Poco brand is expected to add a touch of premium to the portfolio of parent Xiaomi, known mostly for its budget and midrange smartphones.

In a recent media interaction, Xiaomi India Managing Director Manu Kumar Jain said that the company had been working on a premium smartphone, which would not be from the company’s existing portfolio but a new offering designed specifically for Indian consumers. The phone is said to have premium looks, features and specifications. However, as informed by Jain, it will be a device for masses, and therefore, a reasonable price tag.

Jai Mani, head of products at Xiaomi, and the mind behind Poco, recently posted a tweet detailing information about the new brand. According to Mani, Poco is a project initiated with support from the Xiaomi team to make powerful smartphones. It is a small outfit that will create premium products and use Xiaomi’s resources such as supply chain, operations and service infrastructure to deliver the final products.

He added, “the pace of innovation in smartphone industry has slowed down, while prices are creeping up with flagship smartphones now past the $1000 mark. We set out to build something to buck this trend.”

Though Mani’s tweet was more about the brand, it did not provide any specifics about the first India-bound premium smartphone. However, another tweet from Poco Twitter handle confirmed that the phone would feature Qualcomm chipset, likely to be flagship Snapdragon 845 system-on-chip. Other details such as camera, battery, screen, RAM, storage and price remains speculative.

Based on a leak shared by online technology portal mysmartprice, the PocoPhone F1 would sport a 5.99-inch fullHD+ display, 4000mAh battery, 12-megapixel and 5MP dual rear cameras, 20MP selfie camera and fingerprint sensor on the back. The phone is expected to get three RAM and internal storage configurations -- 6GB/64GB, 6GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB. It is also reported to come in four colour options – red, grey, blue and gradient, and Kevlar.

As for the price and launch, the phone is expected to be priced at around Rs 34,000 and launch on September 30.