Poco X6 Neo hands-on review
Software
The Poco X6 Neo runs on MIUI 14 on top of Android 13. As with other Poco devices, the version of MIUI is slightly different here compared to Redmi or Xiaomi branded phones, with a different launcher and some other minor UI changes. As with other MIUI devices, some effects such as transparencies are also disabled in the UI (such as for the background of notifications) as this is a lower-end device.
Despite those differences, this is very much MIUI 14, which we have seen dozens of times before and is now on its way out, having been replaced by Xiaomi's new HyperOS. However, we are not sure when this specific device will be getting that update.
The software you do get on this phone is fairly customizable. You can download themes, which can update your icons, fonts, wallpapers, and more. Unfortunately, while you can change things like your fonts separately, the Poco launcher does not support manually changing icons through downloadable icon packs. The only way to change icons is through Themes or by downloading a different launcher.
MIUI 14 for Poco
Another bizarre omission on the Poco phones is also the inability to easily lock apps in memory through the task switcher. Usually, you can just press and hold on an app in the task switcher and tap the lock button but on the Poco phones, you have to go to the Boost speed option within the Security app and then find the Lock apps menu option, where you can individually lock apps in memory.
Aside from that, this is pretty much your usual MIUI affair. The Settings app continues to have a completely different layout compared to every other Android phone on the market. The search function is also useless as even things that do exist within the Settings app often don't show up in the search results.
Bloatware, notification spam, and ads
Then there are the more nefarious aspects of MIUI, which is the bloatware, advertisements, and notification spam. We counted 10 pre-installed third-party apps on the phone, and more are recommended when you launch Xiaomi's own app store. Most of the company's first-party apps will show advertisements when you open them, and you have to dig through their settings to disable them. The phone will also spam with promotional content notifications, and some of them can't be dismissed until you click on them.
These are the mainstay of the budget Xiaomi/Poco device experience and longtime users have grown used to them or learned to avoid them. Still, it's important to name and shame them every time as a lot of it is unacceptable, and ignoring it will only make the situation worse.
Performance
The Poco X6 Neo runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 6080 chipset. It comes in either 8+128GB or 12+256GB variants, and our review unit was the latter.
The performance on the X6 Neo was a bit of a mixed bag. The phone often performs well but there can be some notable stuttering at the start of some activities. This can include opening an app or starting a video on YouTube. These stutters usually last for a second or so and after that the performance is fine. Similarly, there can be the occasional hiccup while scrolling through some apps like Chrome or the Play Store, which never quite goes away.
To us, this seems like an optimization issue that needs ironing out. The hardware seems capable but the software currently isn't polished enough to take full advantage of it. Perhaps the cores aren't ramping up fast enough or there is a bottleneck elsewhere in the system. Regardless, there is scope for further improvement as the performance otherwise is quite good.
Stock clocks • Clocks with Antutu open • Clocks with other apps
Before getting into the benchmarks, we want to note that the Poco X6 Neo does cheat in Antutu. We noticed that the phone tends to ramp up the clock speeds of all of its cores and keep them maxed out as long as the Antutu app is open. This behavior is usually seen when you enable the performance mode on some Android phones but this phone has no such option. It also doesn't do this in other apps or even other benchmarks, for that matter.
This means the Antutu results should be taken with a grain of salt as the phone is clearly operating differently in this specific app than it does in others. We really hoped we were past the age of cheating in benchmarks but clearly, that isn't the case.
Geekbench 5
- Multi-core
- Single-core
OnePlus Nord 3
Redmi Note 13 Pro
Galaxy A34
Motorola Edge 40 Neo
Galaxy A25
Poco X6 Neo
Redmi Note 13
GeekBench 6
- Multi-core
- Single-core
Infinix GT 10 Pro
Poco X6
Redmi Note 13 Pro
Motorola Edge 40 Neo
Galaxy A34
Poco X6 Neo
Tecno Pova 5 Pro
AnTuTu 10
OnePlus Nord 3
Redmi Note 13 Pro
Motorola Edge 40 Neo
Galaxy A25
Redmi Note 13
Poco X6 Neo
Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G
3DMark (offscreen) - Wild Life (1440p)
OnePlus Nord 3
Poco X6
Motorola Edge 40 Neo
Galaxy A25
Galaxy A34
Poco X6 Neo
Tecno Pova 5 Pro
Reader comments
- OpposedScroll75
- 01 May 2024
- g8$
Consider phones that have PWM Dimming on their OLED screens, like, perhaps, the Honor 90.
- CUSTOMROM
- 01 May 2024
- 0p}
Anybody use custom Roms or GSI Roms on this can share their experience? How well does GCAM work on this phone with Mediatek, especially 3x zoom