Poco F2 rumours have been doing the rounds of the Internet since 2018. Many, including us, began to wonder if Xiaomi had abandoned this sub-brand, even since it launched its Redmi K20 series in the same price band where we would have expected the Poco F2 to follow its predecessor. However, Xiaomi only recently announced the Poco will now be an independent company and right on cue, we have some live images of what is said to be the Poco F2 Lite. Poco is expected to release around three devices under the F2 series, of which the Poco F2 Lite is alleged to be one of them. These phones will be succeeding the company lone Poco-branded smartphone Poco F1 that was released back in 2018.
The leaked photos don’t reveal too much other than a blurry shot of the phone, which looks a lot like the Redmi Note 7 Pro and a partial shot of the ‘About’ page, revealing its name. As is the case with any leak, take this with a grain of salt.
Shortly after Xiaomi announced that Poco will be an independent company in India, Indian tech YouTube channel RevAtlas received an email from an unknown party, who claimed to have live photos of the Poco F2 Lite. This is the first we’re hearing about the existence of such a device. The email also hinted that there’ll be three models of the Poco F2 launching this year, of which, the F2 Lite is one of them. If this is true, then we can assume the other two models could be called the Poco F2 and Poco F2 Pro, maybe?
Attached in the email were three images, claiming to be of the Poco F2 Lite. Like any leaked image, it’s shot from pretty poor angles and we only see the front of the phone. The one shot which shows the entire front, is blurry. Two of the three images also have a ‘Shot on Redmi K20′ watermark. It’s amusing how all leaked images seem to be taken in a hurry and almost always, are shot under terrible lighting. Looking closely at the phone, the front does remind us a lot of the Redmi Note 7 Pro (Review). It’s possible that Poco might be repurposing parts from existing Redmi phones, at least for the Lite version. The ‘About’ screen states the device name and model and ‘Poco F2 Lite’ and it seems to be running a MIUI version for Poco phones, so presumably with fewer ads. The part which shows the Android version is conveniently cut out.
And for specifications, the mysterious tipster mentions in the body of the email, that the Poco F2 Lite will run on the Snapdragon 765 SoC; will have 6GB of RAM; a 5000mAh battery; and a “high resolution very high” camera. There’s also a line with says “millet model price cheaper than before.”
Let’s break this down. If this purported Lite model actually exists, it makes sense that it would use Qualcomm’s new mid-range SoCs. The Snapdragon 765 series was announced during Qualcomm’s annual Tech Summit in December, which features an integrated 5G modem. This means, the standard Poco F2 would mostly likely have the Snapdragon 865 SoC. As far as RAM goes, 6GB sounds reasonable and in all likelihood, we could have 4GB and 8GB versions too, depending on what price points Poco aims at hitting. As for the high resolution, it will most certainly be a 48-megapixel sensor at the very least, giving how ubiquitous these are now. The leaked image shows a single selfie camera in the notch, but it’s still uncertain how many would be at the back. As for the battery, 5,000mAh seems like a good capacity, if true.
The last part about it being “cheaper than before” is a little vague, considering there wasn’t a Poco F1 Lite. But if you think of the aggressive price of Rs. 20,999 that the Poco F1 launched at back in 2018, we could very well see the F2 Lite launching in this ball park. Like the F1, it’s also possible that the F2 Lite could have a polycarbonate body. This could help keep costs down, without cannibalising sales of Xiaomi’s Redmi K20 series, which offer a premium glass and metal design.
Recently, an alleged Poco X2 popped up on Geekbench, with scores similar to that of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 730G SoC. Before Xiaomi made the announcement, a trademark filing for the Poco F2 name, hinted that the brand is still alive and kicking.