Xiaomi POCO C61 Review: specs and features, camera quality test, gaming benchmark, user opinions and photos

Xiaomi POCO C61 - the cheapest bestseller possible?

The percentage of low-cost smartphones in manufacturers' revenues usually exceeds that of phones in the mid- and high-price segments. Affordable devices today have significantly improved functionality, design and autonomy, making them suitable for an increasing number of users. The hero of today's review will definitely not empty his wallet and at the same time tries to stand out from his rivals with a number of competitive advantages. But is this a future hit?

As mentioned earlier, the exterior of the new product turned out to be very successful. The beauty of the appearance is achieved due to the block of photomodules copied from the flagships with a stylized metal edging, interesting color schemes for the rear panels with a leather texture, a side fingerprint sensor and not particularly wide screen frames. Of course, there were some simplifications, like the design of the front 5-megapixel camera that was five years outdated. The quality of selfies is mediocre, but it is suitable for video calls. The 6.71-inch IPS display is rather disappointing with its picture clarity at a modest HD+ resolution. Individual pixels can still be seen with the naked eye, but the IPS panel tries to make up for such a shortcoming with a smooth image at a refresh rate of 90 hertz, calibrated color reproduction and a not-so-poor brightness reserve of 550 nits.

Technical characteristics are presented by the MediaTek Helio G36 CPU, 4GB/6GB of RAM and the PowerVR GE8320 video adapter. The combination is inferior in performance to analogues from UNISOC at a similar cost, but it still ensures fairly stable operation of the Android 14 OS. Applications rarely open with a long delay, but the gaming capabilities are still poor. You can only play comfortably in undemanding 3D projects like Call Of Duty Mobile or World Of Tanks Blitz. It is recommended to keep graphic settings closer to minimum. The energy efficiency of the chipset is impressive, because the 5000mAh battery will last for a couple of days. Things didn't work out with the charging power. It was only 10W, so the device will have to remain at the outlet for about three hours. The ROM size can be 64 or 128GB with support for MicroSD memory cards.

The main 8- and 0.3-megapixel photo sensors are very simple; you shouldn’t expect stunning photos and videos from them even during the day. The peak of their photographic capabilities is capturing stationary objects in close to ideal lighting. There is no stereo sound, the only speaker is not loud, but it is enough for notifications and calls. The developer also saved money on NFC contactless payments, but opponents don’t have them either. As a result, the gadget makes a positive impression, although it is not without its shortcomings. He is beautiful, balanced and will not let you down at the right moment.