Gadgets and Gizmos August 2018 | Page 4

Poco F1 is available in four variants with a starting price of `20,999 Xiaomi’s Sub-brand Enters India China’s Xiaomi is expanding its footprint with the launch of sub-brand Poco. It marked the global debut by launching Poco F1 in India. Featuring Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, 4000 mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0, and dual camera setup at the rear, Poco F1 will be available in four variants with a starting price of `20,999. Jai Mani, Head of Product, POCO Global, says, “POCO stands for ‘a little’ — we believe in starting small but dreaming big. As a small outfit within Xiaomi, POCO has the freedom to start from scratch, zeroing in on the product choices and technologies that matter.” It features a 6.18-inch full HD+ display with a notch and 18:7:9 aspect ratio. The notch houses a 20-megapixel front camera, prox- imity sensor, earpiece along with infrared lens and infrared lighting for Face Unlock. Poco weighs 180 grams and has a rear fingerprint scanner. It has a hard-coated polycarbonate unibody. Running MIUI 9.6 based on Android Oreo, it is powered by Qualcomm 2 Snapdragon 845 processor. The MIUI has been custom- ised for lighter and faster experi- ence. It has a system optimisation feature called 'turbocharged engine', for faster app launches, faster gaming, and faster-swiping experience. In India, MIUI for POCO incorporates taxi, music, and video streaming services. Based on Android 8.1 Oreo, MIUI for POCO will receive regular patches and updates from Google and Android P update in the near future. It is available in three variants -- Graphite Black, Steel Blue, and Rosso Red. The 6GB+64GB vari- ant will be available for `20,999, 6GB+128GB for `23,999, and the 8GB+256GB for `28,999. There is also an Armoured Edition with 8GB+256GB configuration at `29,999. Xiaomi has been ruling the sub-`15,000 segment with its Redmi and Redmi Note devices. It launched Xiaomi Mi 5 in 2016 and Mi Mix 2 in 2017, but both these devices were outshone by One- Plus’ devices. Poco F1 packs in the latest specifications at aggressive pricing.