Xiaomi: New budget smartphone offers microSD, 120Hz and 800 nits

It is official, or at least it was: Xiaomi is preparing to launch a new smartphone. The Poco C81 Pro was briefly listed on the company’s global website, but it has since been removed. Google was able to index the page, but there is no longer any product page that can be linked. Xiaomi only published a product page and did not provide any details on pricing or availability for individual markets.

The Xiaomi Poco C81 Pro definitely does not come with flagship-level hardware, starting with the SoC. The Unisoc T7250 used here does not support 5G connectivity, and its two Cortex-A75 cores plus six Cortex-A55 cores do not suggest high-end performance. RAM is limited to 4GB, while internal storage comes in 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB configurations. Storage expansion via microSD card is supported, and dual-SIM use is generally possible at the same time.

It does not use an AMOLED display. Instead, Xiaomi has equipped the phone with a 6.9-inch LCD with a resolution of 1600 x 720 pixels and a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. Peak brightness in HBM is listed at 800 nits. The main camera has a resolution of 13MP, while the front-facing camera uses an 8MP sensor. As is fairly typical in this class, buyers will have to do without features such as a telephoto camera. The 6,000mAh battery can be charged at up to 15W, which is not especially fast. The fingerprint sensor is located on the side rather than under the display.