Whereas a lot of the main target of the M8 Energy is centred round it’s battery and show, the design units it aside too
Simply across the time I started to check the POCO M8 Energy, I acquired two calls from work associates asking for suggestions on smartphones within the ₹20,000-30,000 worth band. Whereas the age profiles of each of the last word customers had been completely different, the request was the identical – a vivid show and a strong battery. At a time when video content material has turn into the popular medium for the whole lot from leisure to information, it’s no shock that each these callers had been on the lookout for a cellphone with a big show. The POCO M8 Energy is aimed toward this viewers.
POCO from the Xiaomi secure splits its smartphone providing into 4 tiers. The M Collection was envisioned as its finances line. The sharp improve in enter prices that has sparked worth will increase by smartphone manufacturers throughout the board has meant that the M Collection now performs within the ₹20,000-30,000 decrease mid-range to mid-range section. The M8 Energy performs to the strengths of this product line, specializing in media consumption and on a regular basis utilization. However there may be one characteristic that units this machine aside, which is its battery.
Battery
Large battery is the headline characteristic and the first cause why we’d advocate the POCO M8 Energy. POCO calls it an EV-grade silicon-carbon (Si-C) battery. The M8 Energy is a superb instance of how advances in smartphone battery tech over the previous couple of years have allowed smartphone producers to pack huge batteries with out the additional heft. It is a welcome change from the early 2020s when a race for battery supremacy ended up reworking smartphones into unwieldy bricks in some instances. The 8000 mAh battery underneath the hood of the M8 Energy walks the discuss. It comfortably lasted two days regardless of intensive display time and a few digital camera utilization.
I might put this down as a two-day battery for many customers, and you possibly can lengthen it into day three in case you are disciplined about your display time. With 22.5W reverse charging, this machine can double as an influence financial institution in case you have to cost equipment like Bluetooth earbuds on the go. POCO bundles a 45W charger within the field, which may take greater than 100 minutes to go from 1 to 100%. A sooner charger would have augmented the M8 Energy’s credentials as a battery champion.
Design
Orange is the brand new black. Whereas a lot of the main target of the M8 Energy is centred round its battery and show, the design units it aside too. The very first thing you may discover is the oblong digital camera module that provides a contact of magnificence to the general design, regardless of the all-plastic building. The love for orange within the smartphone area that started in 2025 continues this 12 months. The hero colourway for this POCO machine is the placing blaze orange, the inexperienced variant is value trying out too. The machine doesn’t really feel clunky in your hand, regardless of the 225 g heft and is IP65-certified for primary splash and dirt resistance.
Show
Whereas we would like to think about this worth section as mid-range, spiralling prices have now blurred the strains between finances and decrease mid-range telephones. It’s why an OLED panel at this worth level in 2026 is nice to have. Colors had been punchy and blacks had been deep as I watched the primary episode of The Bombing of Pan Am 103 on Netflix with Full HD playback. There’s no HDR help although. The 6.9-inch (2396 x 1080 pixels) FHD+ AMOLED show with a 120Hz refresh fee hits a peak brightness of 1800 nits and is among the higher shows on this section. You’re higher off along with your headphones, as this machine solely comes with a single bottom-firing mono speaker.
Efficiency
The ability suffix on this machine doesn’t appear to increase to uncooked efficiency. This isn’t a tool aimed toward energy customers or intense avid gamers, nevertheless it handles on a regular basis duties with out breaking a sweat. At its coronary heart is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 4 chipset and the machine is available in a alternative of 6GB/128GB and 8GB/128GB storage variants. We put the higher-end variant to the check and it breached the 2300 mark within the Geekbench (multi-core) benchmark check. It’s definitely not within the prime tier, however efficiency is definitely not the M8 Energy’s calling card.
The machine is powered by Xiaomi’s Hyper OS3 (primarily based on Android 16). Whereas HyperOS comes with some helpful picture modifying instruments and heaps of customisation choices, the bloatware is a dampener. POCO is providing 4 years of Android OS updates and 6 years of safety updates, which supplies it an edge over a lot of its rivals on this worth vary.
The first digital camera does an excellent job in optimum gentle
Digital camera
The digital camera is an space the place the POCO M8 Energy retains issues easy. Digital camera duties are shared between a 50MP main lens and an 8MP selfie shooter. The first digital camera does an excellent job in optimum gentle and handles portraits surprisingly properly. The dearth of OIS (optical picture stabilisation) signifies that it’s not the most effective cam for shaky fingers or lowlight pictures. Video stabilisation can also be a weak hyperlink, it’s not very best for motion pictures. Each cameras can solely shoot movies at 1080p at 30fps. The selfie digital camera is sweet for video calls however unlikely to please selfie fiends.
Verdict
The POCO M8 Energy ticks the packing containers it goals to. If an immersive show and battery life are your main buy drivers, the M8 Energy is among the finest buys at this worth section. The 4 years of OS updates add to its longevity enchantment. The massive query is whether or not you’ll be able to work with the opposite compromises.
POCO M8 Energy
Value: ₹24,999 onwards.
Professionals: Battery life, smooth design, vivid show, 4 years of Android OS updates.
Cons: Lowlight digital camera efficiency, bloatware.
Revealed on August 19, 2026
