Poco has launched the X8 and X8 Power in India, boasting batteries of 9,000mAh and 10,000mAh respectively, redefining endurance and performance in mid-range devices with premium features and competitive pricing.
Poco has pushed unusually large batteries into India’s mid-range smartphone market with the launch of the X8 and X8 Power, led by a 10,000mAh silicon-carbon pack in the higher model and a 9,000mAh unit in the standard version. That makes the X8 Power one of the largest-battery mainstream phones now entering the country, close to the Realme P4 Power, which India Today said carries a 10,001mAh cell. First sales are scheduled for 11 September at 12 noon.
The pricing shows Poco is aiming above the entry end of the segment rather than chasing a budget play. The X8 starts at Rs 29,999, while the X8 Power opens at Rs 35,999. Launch incentives include a Rs 2,000 coupon discount plus either a Rs 1,000 bank offer or an exchange bonus, taking the effective starting prices down to Rs 26,999 and Rs 32,999 respectively. Reports from 91mobiles and The Times of India said buyers will also be offered 12-month no-cost EMI plans starting at Rs 2,250 a month for the X8 and Rs 2,750 for the X8 Power. Most launch coverage described the range as a Flipkart exclusive, although Digit reported that Poco’s own e-store would also carry the devices from 11 September.
Battery performance is the central selling point. The X8 Power combines its 10,000mAh cell with 100W HyperCharge and 27W reverse wired charging, while the standard X8 drops to 67W charging and 22.5W reverse charging on its 9,000mAh battery. My Mobile India, citing Poco’s launch materials, said the larger model is rated for roughly 3.5 days of use, can go from 1% to 50% charge in about 30 minutes, and can gain enough power for a full day’s use in around 15 minutes. The same report said the battery is designed to retain 80% of its capacity after 1,600 charge cycles, and that the X8 Power also supports PPS charging up to 50W, alongside Smart Charging and Bypass Charging.
Poco has also drawn a clear performance line between the two models. The X8 Power is being positioned as the India debut for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 platform, which The Times of India said reaches CPU speeds of up to 2.6GHz. Digit said it is paired with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.1 storage. The X8 uses Snapdragon 6s Gen 4 on a 4nm process, with CPU speeds up to 2.4GHz. Launch reports broadly agree that the standard handset begins at 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, rising to 8GB and 256GB, while My Mobile India separately said the X8 Power can scale to as much as 16GB of RAM, a specification not repeated by several rival launch reports.
On the front, Poco has kept the two handsets closely aligned. Both use a 6.83-inch 1.5K AMOLED display with 2772 x 1280 resolution, up to 120Hz refresh, 12-bit colour and peak brightness of 3,500 nits. The X8 Power adds HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support, according to The Times of India and Digit. India Today said both phones also carry Gorilla Glass Victus 2, TÜV Rheinland eye-protection certifications and Wet Touch 2.0, alongside stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Audio. That combination suggests Poco is not treating these devices simply as battery showcases, but as premium-leaning multimedia phones with an emphasis on ruggedness.
The battery uplift has not produced a dramatic size penalty, although the Power model is slightly heavier. Gadgets 360 listed the X8 at 163.45 x 78.27 x 8.6mm and about 226g, while the X8 Power measures 163.44 x 78.27 x 8.65mm and weighs roughly 229g. 91mobiles described the X8 Power as the more endurance-led and bulkier variant, with the regular X8 presented as the more balanced option for buyers who do not want to prioritise battery life quite so heavily.
The camera split is equally deliberate. The X8 uses a 50-megapixel stabilised main camera with an f/1.8 aperture, a 2-megapixel depth sensor and a 16-megapixel front camera. The X8 Power upgrades the primary camera to an f/1.5 lens, adds an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera and moves to a 32-megapixel selfie camera. Both devices run HyperOS 3 based on Android 16, and India Today said Poco is promising four years of Android upgrades and six years of security updates. That software pledge is longer than many mid-range Android rivals still offer in India.
My Mobile India said Poco is also attaching unusually strong durability claims to the X8 Power, including IP68, IP69 and IP69K ingress protection, SGS certification, a 3-metre drop test and an underwater camera mode for use in up to 2 metres of water for 30 minutes. Digit likewise highlighted the IP69K positioning. Whether those claims convert into a commercial edge will become clearer once the phones reach buyers on 11 September, but Poco’s strategy is already plain: in a crowded market, it is betting that longer endurance, faster charging and heavier-duty construction can justify a move up the mid-range price ladder.
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