Two new Android telephones might put equally priced Samsung Galaxy telephones on discover, purely as a result of these rival units provide the specs on paper to please gadget followers trying to get the perfect worth for cash when shopping for a brand new smartphone.
The Poco X8 Professional and Poco X8 Professional Max are that can be purchased within the UK now, with costs ranging from £349 and £469 respectively – and simply £289 and £359 if you are going to buy them in early chicken presents between March 17 and March 31, 2026.
Poco is a sub-brand of Xiaomi that after marketed its units as gaming telephones, however now focus on area of interest audiences who favour pure spec energy and maybe aren’t as involved with thighs similar to digital camera efficiency – highlighted by each telephones’ 8MP ultra-wide lenses and lack of telephoto shooters.
The cheaper Poco X8 Professional boasts a 6.59-inch AMOLED show with 120Hz refresh fee, twin cameras fronted by a 50-MP lens, an enormous 6,500mAh silicon-carbon battery with 100W charging and extremely sturdy IP68/IP69K mud and water resistance, the best score any telephone can at present declare on the earth.
You get 8GB and 256GB of quick UFS 4.4 storage as commonplace too, and it’s powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8500 Extremely. In no way dangerous for £349, with £399 getting you double the storage at 512GB.
In case you examine these specs to Samsung’s £399 Galaxy A36, you’ll principally discover the Poco successful out. The Galaxy has a bigger 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED panel, and does pack in triple cameras, with a 50MP principal lens.
However its much less environment friendly lithium-ion battery is smaller at 5,000mAh with slower 45W charging, it’s solely IP67 rated, and for £399 you get simply 6GB RAM and 256GB of slower UFS 2.2 storage.
Poco additionally has you lined with stereo audio system, as does the Samsung, however the X8 Professional has assist for Hello-Res wi-fi playback.
However when you’re on the lookout for an Android improve and need the perfect bang on your buck, the X8 Professional Max is accessible within the early chicken provide for £399 as a substitute of £519, with 12GB RAM and 512GB storage. This Max model has even higher specs than the Professional, with a barely thinner construct and a bigger 6.83-inch 120Hz AMOLED show.
It’s bought the Dimensity 9500s, a chip that ought to outpace its sibling in addition to the Samsung various, which makes use of the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3.
The Max has the identical twin cameras because the Professional, however has a bigger – a lot bigger – 8.500mAh battery. This could simply get two or three days of battery life due to the scale and extra environment friendly silicon-carbon tech.
Each Poco telephones even have RGB lights round each digital camera lenses, with small LEDs lighting up when the telephone is face all the way down to make you conscious of notifications.
Even at its £519 RRP, the X8 Professional Max is taking the battle to the jewel in Samsung’s mid-range crown, the £499 Galaxy A56.
You should buy the Poco X8 telephones from Xiaomi’s UK web site.
